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Anita85 Asked October 2018

As carer for my husband I'm having difficulty coping especially when he refers to his parents who are both deceased several years ago. Any advice?

My husband has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's early this year although he has been suffering for 3 or 4 years. Should I explain to him his parents are dead or wait for him to forget their planned visit?

MargaretMcKen Oct 2018
'They are too far away to visit at the moment, but they send you their love. They're looking forward to the next meeting, as soon as it works out'

SusanF86 Oct 2018
Not sure where you're located, but I would highly recommend getting in contact with your local Alzheimer Society and speaking with a counselor. They will be able to help you to deal with these issues and more, and provide you with some education as well that will help to make this easier on you.

If telling your husband that his parents are deceased causes him stress or anxiety or sadness, I would suggest not telling him. If you have to give a little white lie to avoid the negative emotions that come with telling him again, it's OK. The term for this is called "therapeutic lying". And sometimes telling a Therapeutic Lie is more beneficial to the person than the truth because, often times, the person is beyond being able to understand the truth which causes a Domino Effect of other negative emotions.

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JoAnn29 Oct 2018
Explaining parents are gone will be forgotten. You are just going to hope he forgets. Playing along will be the only thing u can do.

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