"I can't do this"

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My 83 yo Mom has alzheimers. She often repeats the phrase "I can't do this" when she gets frustrated or confused. Sometimes she says "I can't do this anymore", over and over. Does anyone else's loved one say this? Does it mean she is giving up?

rhondatiger

My mom does the same. I'm still new to this. I am wondering the same thing. Is this her realizing soemtimes what is happening and just expressing how stressful it is?

jfkoc

Could be either...A possible response "how can I help"

fiveofnine

My mother also has a phrase that she tends to repeat over and over when she becomes upset or anxious. In her case she says "I don't know" or "Oh I don't know!" in a troubled tone. We try to assure her that everything is fine, and she seems grateful to hear that, but in a minute or two she is again saying "I don't know". We give her lorazepam on a regular basis to try and alleviate her anxiety, but it regularly breaks through. We understand from hospice care providers that anxiety is very common in dementia and often manifests in repetition of a phrase. One of the hospice RN's told us once about one of her other patients, whose anxiety routinely manifested itself by her screaming "Oh my God!" at the top of her lungs! That story certainly made the repetition of "I don't know" more tolerable, haha!