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The bizarre way the dementia mind works!

This would have almost been funny if it hadn't been my DH talking to me! My DH has accused me of infidelity with a particular individual on more than one occasion. I have learned not to over-react after I got really angry the first time and then realized it made no difference. Last night he accused me again, but this time he asked me if my "lover" had died. I asked DH how this man might have died, and he told me that he was on the Baltimore Bridge when it collapsed because he was coming to get me! How did DH put all of these ideas together in such a convoluted story? How does their brain take such disparate information and weave it into a story that they believe? Is this delusional thinking? Just curious - each day is a new challenge waiting! Thanks so much!!!!

Comments

  • Palmetto Peg
    Palmetto Peg Member Posts: 203
    Third Anniversary 100 Care Reactions 100 Comments 25 Likes
    Member

    Confabulation - a new concept in our journey. That is exactly what he does at times. Thank you for helping me understand what is going on. He has done it before, but not quite to this degree. Another thing to learn to deal with………

  • annie51
    annie51 Member Posts: 179
    100 Likes 100 Comments 100 Care Reactions 25 Insightfuls Reactions
    Member

    I hear ya…beginning to see this with my DH also. We went away for a overnight trip to a place we've been many times. At one restaurant many years ago we sat at the window and there was a bullet hole near our feet. We made comments about it at that time and apparently nothing serious had happened. Anyway, fast forward about 5 years, we went back to that restaurant - he ALWAYS remembers the bullet hole, but this time he told the waitress that we were there at the window when someone across the street shot at the owner and killed him! The waitress just listened and acknowledged his story and I appreciated her reaction. You just never know what the brain will do!

Commonly Used Abbreviations


DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
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