Is there a way to get my Mom to talk about something other than all the things that are wrong?

I wonder if music and song could help. Maybe you have some sort of portable music player (ipad, or something) you could carry on you. Or if you can sing, maybe you could ask her if she knows the words to a particular song, and then start to sing it.

Speaking of the shrink thing, a very funny (now it seems funny) thing happened to me. I started taking care of my grandmother around 1995. I would visit her apartment, and it was dark in there. We finally found out at an eye appt. that she could only see light and dark, nothing else. I started having conversations with her where I found out she had been depressed. That also had something to do with the darkness of her home. I told her we would go to see a geriatric specialist and see what we could do for her depression. The doctor walked in at the appt. where I told him about her depression. She shrieked out that she was NOT depressed, why would I lie to the doctor like that! Well, it was not funny then, but it does seem funny now. As cjbailey said, seeing someone for an emotional or psychiatric problem had a "stigma" attached to it. She started on an antidepressant and was a new woman.

My late Mother was the polar opposite of this woman. Mother sugar coated EVERYTHING! She even made up a "fabricated-to-her-liking" story about her own father, who was an EXTREMELY poor money manager. He quit jobs often because he didn't like what the boss told him! She said "the boss gave him a position in another town." Yea, right! They lived on pennies!!!! Taking my mother to the doctor...doctor asks "what's wrong, N?" My mother="oh, nothing." Argh! She was on my last nerve!!

Negative people are like stray cats: stop feeding them and they go away.

NYDaughterInLaw: Agreed...don't respond to acrimonious people!

We have the same issue with my MIL. She has 3 modes of conversation: running other people down, slanderous gossip, and complaints about minor ailments. It brings us all down. We have been in a way mean about not engaging in those modes -- a direct correction brings on a tantrum but we either don't respond, ignore the negativity and start talking about something else, or even get up and leave the room. She's catching on.

If nothing good happens during the day, she
doesn't have anything good or happy to talk
about.i know because i live alone with no one
to talk with during the day. All you have to is
the bad to talk about. Maybe arrangements for
some positive things to happen to give her
something better to talk about at the end of her day.
I go through the same. No one comes by or calls all
day so nothing positive to talk about.

My mother in law dwells and swims in all things negative. Sadly you probably cannot change her. Don't try. Just keep a positive attitude and IGNORE when she talks about her daily dose of despair. Turn a deaf ear and say. OK, sure or whatever you need to and then get out. Don't let her overwhelmingly negative life pollute yours. That is my advice because that is what I do. I ignore talk and remain positive while taking care of her. It is a sad way to live dwelling on negatives. But for many people it is what they cling to. You just cling to good thoughts and be happy.

Clinging to the positive cliff
Is hard to do at best
Made even worse through lack of sleep
You know you need to rest

But no the drone goes on and on
This is bad... that's worse
Is it any wonder
That you leave the room and curse?

I swear being negative makes her happy
Being positive makes her sad
And when she has no-one else to abuse
Its always me that is so bad

Keep this in mind my caring friends
Stay positive and never lose it
For when its your turn for a care home
Remember its your kids who will choose it!
xx

Get a presciption for xanex... for yourself... and if marajuana isnt legal in your state, get a medical script for it... and I think caregiving children for ungrateful self centered parents should be enough eligibility for a discount. ; )

(C'mon... we cold all use a good laugh!)

There is a song I recall from the 1960's that kept coming to mind here; probably can find it on YouTube. Kingston Trio's "Merry Minuet."
I wonder if trying to top a negative person would break the train of thought--everything she says, say something even more negative, even ridiculously awful. At least, you might get a laugh out of it. Yes, there are people who can't see the bright side of anything and don't want to. Or take a little DVD player and a stack of old Lucy episodes.

It's very difficult. We have the same problem with my MIL. She's not depressed, but just wants to lie around in her pajamas everyday watching tv and reading magazines (yet she says she can't see). We've tried encouraging other activities, even a drive with us on the beach, talking books, learning the computer, meeting other people her own age, and she rejects everything. What's disturbing is how she wants everyone to do everything for her and how she tries to emotionally imprison us. she'll tell us we are her life. she doesn't know what she'd do if we weren't with her. I don't want to be responsible for anyone's happiness except my own. We all have a responsibility to ourselves, but she takes no responsibility.

I was just thinking about the chore of dealing with family heirlooms and stuff; and an aunt who had a lot of things and stories she had collected from living in different places. Fortunately, her mind was still sharp, so she was able to make a book from some of stories she had collected, and she also went through her stuff and gave some of it away. Most of the goodies we collect over the years have stories and memories; if your mom has things that have memories, ask for the stories and write them down. if she can't remember anything about something it might be time to ebay it (try a few times first). If you do wind up doing a house sale the stories might make them more saleable. (my DIL has asked me to label stuff I have).

Partsmom: That's a great idea! Negative elder says "It's going to rain all day today and I am not happy about it." Your response="A hurricane's coming tomorrow causing our home to flood."

As soon as she starts, you can stop her in her tracks by saying, "stop, I've heard this before and don't want to hear it again. Can you talk about something else more pleasant?" Just do this every time she starts and keep doing it until she gets the hint. 

Another thing you can do if the TV or radio is on is greatly increase the volume as soon as she starts in order to send a more subtle hint and drown her out each and every time she starts. This will require you to always have the remotes on you. 

If this happens over the phone, just drop the call. If she calls back, just hit the reject button or block her number altogether. 

What she can do if she has a tablet or some kind of computer is do some journaling and just write about what's on her mind instead of wearing out the people around her. Journaling really helps a lot when you just open up the notepad of something like a tablet or iPad and just start typing about what's on your mind or what hurts. I sometimes journal to God or even people I knew who since died. The reason why I journal to those specific people is because things are coming out that really need to be said that I wasn't allowed to tell them to their face

Telling them that you've heard the story before won't work. They will fight you tooth and nail. That's just the way it is, sadly.

Living to 100 is not good at all.

These are all such good answers. I'm not an expert but here's my take. One aspect to consider is the reaction she's looking for. All people engage in conversation because they crave a certain reaction whether pleasant or unpleasant. It takes skill to handle the person who craves an unpleasant reaction. This craving may also need some medication to thwart it. Bickering and complaining are ways people cause other people to engage with them. 
For example, a couple that bickers constantly may not have any other type of conversation. One or the other may use the bickering to engage the non talkative partner in conversation. All other attempts at conversation may have failed for the couple, but by golly the wife can get him to bicker! That then satisfies her need to converse. They need to engage somehow because they are human, but negative conversation is not helpful in the long run. Complaining also can be used to try and hurt the person they are talking with, like a verbal punishment, or to share the misery. 
Whether with children, or old folks take a good look at the tone of conversation, it's intriguing. NOW how to keep it healthy and positive? No whining, no depressing thoughts, no complaining. It's hard. Try being positive, and pointing out the good things, but it may not be enough. Seek help for your LO, written material, or counseling, medication, etc..