delusions

BPS

I am wondering what peoples experiences have been with delusions. Do you think there is some bases in reality for where they come from or are they just random. In my case when my wife was younger her parents went through a very mess divorce because of an affair and my wife had an affair with an old boyfriend. Now she constantly thinks I am having an affair. is it just random or is it twisted memories. It seems like it is some twisted memories of something that happened earlier in life or that they though or feared might happen.

Carl46

It's hard to know what's in another person's head, but I don't think it's random. I don't hear about delusions that cattle fly, for example. I suspect you may have something about their fears, and those fears can be affected by past experiences. If your wife is afraid of losing you, she might fear an affair, and her mind takes that fear and makes a delusion of it.

Delusions are nasty. They are real to the deluded person and can be very distressing, and are a burden to you. Might an antipsychotic medication help?

annie51

With my DH, I have concluded that there is always some semblance of truth in his delusions. The idea of twisted memories or the delusions being affected by past experiences seem to ring true. He will constantly say “we’ve been here before” when we go to places I know we’ve never been, but I’m assuming there is something about the place that looks like something we’ve seen before.

fmb

My mother's delusions seem to be influenced by what she sees and hears on television or hears other people say. Even with parental control blocks on many of the available TV channels at her MCF, she still manages to see enough to upset her. I do think the delusions come from fear. She has always suffered from anxiety.

HangingIn

My DH also suffers from delusions, but I can’t think how they might be rooted in some past experiences or something he saw on TV.  For months he has been quite certain that people are getting into the house and moving his things.  That he thinks this is perfectly logical from his point of view.  He hides his stuff and frequently moves things to new hiding places.  But he doesn’t remember that he was the person who moved his belongings, so naturally his view is that someone from outside is playing tricks on him.  He does seem to realize that I’m not doing it, nor is our adult child who is staying with us.  Then he became convinced that the person or people doing these things was/were maybe living in the attic because he never actually saw them in the house. 

Finally, in desperation, I ordered and installed a home security system so nobody could get in without our being aware of the entry, and I completely blocked access to the attic.  Then before he went to bed for a few nights, we took a complete tour of the house, making sure there was only one point of access to the attic, which was blocked, and that every entrance into the house was locked and guarded by entry sensors.  At this point, he seems assured that he’s not the victim of mischief-makers.  I haven’t heard him complain about “someone” moving his stuff.  But this whole thing has been awfully tiring, and I'm sure this isn't the last issue we'll face.

Becky_101

> @BPS said:
> I am wondering what peoples experiences have been with delusions. Do you think there is some bases in reality for where they come from or are they just random. In my case when my wife was younger her parents went through a very mess divorce because of an affair and my wife had an affair with an old boyfriend. Now she constantly thinks I am having an affair. is it just random or is it twisted memories. It seems like it is some twisted memories of something that happened earlier in life or that they though or feared might happen.

Becky_101

Following!!

Becky_101

Something happening to me!

Nina Smith

My husband of 36 years keeps forgetting that we’re married. Je seems to know that I am in his life and that he loves me but is shocked when I tell him we’ve been married for 36 years. Has anyone else experienced anything like this ?

Nina Smith

How do people deal with a husband who constantly wants sex and won’t stop touching you? How do I set loving boundaries with someone so confused? His diagnosis is mild Alzheimer’s but he has bad sundowners. He is on meds.

HollyBerry

My mom's delusions were often blends of what she saw on tv and people who were in her life at the time. She once told me she had been asked to organize a baby shower for one of the staff at her AL. Another time she had an entire made-up history for a man who moved in down the hall - I don't know that she ever even spoke with him. Some amazing dreams - or night time delusions? - when she would call me and spin elaborate stories about going on vacation or being on a cruise, and when was I coming to breakfast and what were we going to do that day? I was always grateful that most of her delusions were neutral or even happy things, and rarely was she afraid and only sometimes angry.

White Crane

DH delusions have mostly ceased but when he had them, there was some basis in fact. He would get the memories mixed up and sometimes interchanged and also make up his own facts but still somewhat factual. It was very frustrating to listen to but eventually they would disaappear.

terei

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/229210#Comment_229210

There are meds that can tamp this down. I would talk to his MDs

Dio

The brain is such a complex "organism." There's the conscious and subconscious, childhood trauma (even if there was trauma while in the womb), past lives, etc. We will never know. IMHO, delusions/hallucinations are all part of this complex network of synaptics. It's futile to discern the source of causality. We can only face the current "what is." In my situation, only finding the right combination of meds helped.

BPS

I agree Dio it doesn't change anything so in that sense it is futile, but I wonder about things even if I can't change them. I have thought I would like to live inside my wifes head for 5 minutes just to better understand what she is really feeling. I have always wondered why people do the things they do. I think you are right about childhood trauma The thing you said about "even if there was trauma while in the womb" struck me because we adopted a baby that was only 5 months old when her mother lost rights, but during those 5 months she was malnourished. She has always been very food oriented (mostly junk food) and as an adult has gained a lot of weight and I have wondered if even from that young age it affected her views toward food. it can be a big part of why all of us do and react the way we do. I wish I understood it all better, but I guess not enough to study phycology (which wouldn't help with any dementias anyway).

SDianeL

very difficult to determine if delusions and hallucinations are caused by something in their past. Some are extremely terrifying. As long as they aren’t upsetting them I would just listen. No need to try to correct them. It’s their reality. There are medications that help hallucinations.

Carl46

I saw a movie many years ago about alcoholism. The protagonist had terrifying visual hallucinations, called delirium tremens. Those hallucinations are caused by prolonged alcohol intoxication that prevents dreaming. Since the brain has to dream, it begins to dream while awake, thus the hallucinations. Researchers have found that prolonged sleep deprivation can cause hallucinations as well, for the same reason.

One of the reasons I don't drink is nightmares. If I go to sleep intoxicated, I don't dream until the alcohol wears off. Then my dream world comes back and takes revenge on me.

I have no idea if hallucinations and delusions in dementia are at all related to inability of the PWD to dream. It is just a thought.

frankay

When the Ukraine war was first on TV, my DH would watch and tell me the most incredible war stories he was involved in. I had no idea if they were true or not because he had never talked about his time in service. He was in Vietnam after the Tet Offensive and it was pretty bad. Some of his stories had mentions of Vietnam so I don't know if he was getting the 2 mixed up, telling me about Vietnam or just trying to tell me what he was seeing on TV. This phase didn't last long because I wouldn't let him watch the news any more. He never was delusional about anything else, only the war.

Dio

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/229331#Comment_229331

Early on in our journey I kept asking why, needing answers. But the reality of the horrors took over my every waking (and sleeping) moment and I was simply in survival mode. Knowing why this-or-that didn't help at all because he was not to be reasoned with. Fearing he might hurt me took center stage. Figuring out how to stay safe became priority and main focus. I still don't know how I survived the dark times. This disease, especially Lewy Body, is pure evil.

cdgbdr

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/229209#Comment_229209

Yes!

While on a trip in August, I mentioned being married and DH was shocked. It's bizarre. We've been married 31 years. He doesn't remember getting married or our early times together. He wonders why no one told him he was married. It sort of comes and goes with some parts missing and some others intact. We bought our current home prior to our marriage and have lived here 32 years. Somehow, he doesn't recall living here all these years. All that being said, he loves me and trusts me, and knows I'm his wife but he just learned about it.

cavenson

I think delusions and confabulation in PWD are closely related as they both involve false memories. Confabulation is a false memory of things that never happened or altered memories. It can be a very common early symptom of Alzheimer's. While there may be little or no basis in reality, the person with AD believes it. The experts tell us that the best response is to join the person in their reality. Arguing and reasoning don't help. That works fine when my DH says he has a master's degree in engineering (which he doesn't) or embellishes the work he did in the military. But for over six years my DH has been accusing me of having affairs with his friends. Some of the stories he has confabulated are so outlandish they're laughable—but it's no laughing matter. I'm not going to join him in his reality, but I know from experience that trying to reason with him does no good. As a result of his delusions/confabulation, he feels tormented, he's lost most of his friends, and it's very hurtful for me. There are so many aspects of AD that are hard to deal with. It's not that misery loves company, but it can be helpful to know that all of us on this discussion board understand and are trying to cope with difficult situations. I wish you all strength and grace during this difficult journey.