Talking to mirrors

nancelot

Greetings! This is my first post.  My DH is 62 and in stage 6 of EOAD.  For the last several months he has been talking to mirrors and to his reflection in anything he can see it in, even car windows.  Its pretty funny sometimes, he and his reflection seem to be best buddies and even joke around together frequently.  Other times, he complains about me to that handsome devil in the reflection.  Now that his speech is almost completely jibberish, he spends much more time with the pleasant guy in the mirror than he does interacting with the rest of us.  Does anyone else have any experience with this?  Most of the reading I have done suggests that frequently patients fear their reflections as they don't recognize the face looking back at them, so I guess I should be glad that it is a friendly face that he sees.  I'm not sure my husband recognizes his face or if he just thinks it's a pleasant fellow to chat with.  I guess it is harmless and keeps him pleasantly occupied for the most part.  He goes from mirror to mirror in our house, then outside to visit in the truck mirror many times per day, touching the glass and even trying to share food and other things with the reflection.

Ed1937

Welcome to the forum that nobody wants to need to be part of. Yes, talking to reflections is not rare in this world, although I have no personal experience with it. Count your blessings that he thinks they are good people. Some have a very hard time with the viscious people in the mirrors.

Is that a German Shorthair? Whatever it is, it's a pretty dog.

Lorita

Welcome to the forum, Nancelot - a good place to make friends and learn lots of things that will help you as time goes by.

 I lost my husband, six years ago today (just realized the date) to vascular dementia.  When he was diagnosed my sister (lost her this September to Alz) told me I'd have to cover all the mirrors in the house so Charles wouldn't talk to them and be afraid.  I didn't and he never did any of that. 

 If your husband finds solace in talking to the man in the mirror and isn't afraid or aggressive I see no reason to be concerned.  You can watch him and if things change, then you can make changes.  You have to learn to know which battles to fight during the progression of this disease.  This seems like one to not worry about.

 Again, welcome.

Crushed

Its called Mirrored self misidentification
Major issue for DW

 
  
 
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirrored-self_misidentification

https://www.jneuropsychiatry.org/peer-review/the-mirroredself-misidentification-delusion-neuropsychiatry.pdf

Joe C.

Hello & welcome, My DW has been on both side of misidentified in the mirror. When it started she was afraid of the people in her dresser mirror which she could see when she was in bed. I place a nature scene print over the mirror, problem solved and she never mentioned the change. More recently her girlfriend is the person in the other mirrors around the house. She waves and talks to the reflection, I have begun joining her in the conversations while I’m getting her dressed in the morning. As long as she is not frightened by it then why not join her delusion.

nancelot

Thank you all for the welcome.  Yes, a club that I never wanted to join, along with another club I sadly was forced to join this year, the parent of a deceased child club.  2020 will not be a year that I will want to remember.

Ed1937, you are correct! German Shorthaired Pointer...Walker, my sweet buddy. Your German Shepherd is beautiful.

Lorita, I am sorry for your losses, anniversaries of loss are difficult, I know firsthand.

mrl

Nan,

My Tom too started talking to the mirror, It was stage 6 he kinda said things like you "she always starting trouble" (me) but he was good natured with whomever it was. Sometimes I would get mad and say Who are you talking to? He would always respond "just my friend"

its harmless but heartbreaking!! 

abc123

Nance, I'm very sorry for the loss of your precious son. My heart goes out to you.

nancelot

Thank you abc123, he would have been 24 on Jan. 31 and  Feb. 16 will mark the 1 year anniversary of his death.  I say that  he is a victim of AD because seeing his dad go through it took such a toll on him. These next few weeks are going to be really rough.

Doityourselfer

Nancelot,  I'm so sorry for the loss of your son.

My husband is also 62 with EOAD, late stage 6/early 7.  He rarely looks in the mirror but the other morning he saw his image, didn't recognize himself and said "That guy" and smiled.

Ed1937

Nancelot, I'm sorry to hear about your son. We lost one of ours in 1998, at age 26. Although it will never be OK, I can tell you that it will get to the point where it is not as painful as it is now. It will be gradual, but much better.

Crushed

I feel the love and pain in your post.  My mother lost a son as an infant.  I was born exactly two years after  the day he died.  I was given his name as a middle name . I was reminded of it every single birthday.  As a child I bitterly resented feeling like a "replacement part". 
(recall Sid in Officer and a Gentleman )
but as I grew older I simply accepted it as a sign of how much love my mother had for all her seven children. When I became a father  I resolutely decided to make both of my children feel equally loved and wanted.  As my mother descended into dementia she forgot my first name, but I remember her saying to me "we lost your brother but we were so happy when you arrived"  Children are simply so special.  DW no longer recognizes me or her children  but she loved them totally, just like my mother.  Tomorrow would have been my mother's 100th birthday  

Hang in there   Lots of Hugs