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Impulsive

BikingOldMan
BikingOldMan Member Posts: 47
25 Care Reactions 25 Likes 10 Comments 5 Insightfuls Reactions
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in Caring For a Spouse or Partner

DW decided this morning that she "had" to be at church early this morning to tell the pastors something. I caught myself realizing that this was one of those situations where I knew there would be no reasoning with her broken reasoner so we went early and upon arrival I just dropped her off at the door and parked the car and walked in very slowly. As far as I know she never did get to talk to the pastors. The impulsive behavior is new for her, and she seems to be more and more drawn to it. Is this common? I just haven't seen that much mention of it in posts that I've read. I find it a bit scary.

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  • SDianeL
    SDianeL Member Posts: 3,266
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    Yes, impulsivity is common. People with dementia reverse in age. So she may be about teen age. People with dementia lose their ability to manage impulses. They also have anxiety caused by the dementia. Next time I would try redirection, distraction or fib if you must. Tell her you spoke with the church and the pastors aren’t going early. Or tell her since you know it’s important you made an appointment for her to see them after church. Hopefully she won’t remember the conversation. If she does remember, then create another fib or distraction like taking her for an ice cream after church.

  • easy23
    easy23 Member Posts: 368
    Fifth Anniversary 100 Likes 100 Care Reactions 100 Comments
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    https://alzconnected.org/discussion/74832/impulsive

    My DH is very impulsive. He will all of a sudden have to go to work (he's retired), take the train somewhere, go to his childhood home, see his parents (deceased). I redirect him as best as possible, but sometimes it leads to his wandering when I won't drive him somewhere. I had to call the police once since he wouldn't come back home in the middle of the night. This impulsivity led his psychiatrist and ER doctors to recommend I place him in MC to keep him safe.

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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