Imaginary People in Our House

My DH used to deal with that. His neurologist asked him if he was bothered by them. He always answered, no. She said if they ever do she’d recommend a medication to help. We never found out what that medication was as he never needed it. He still asks me to look at things he sees, thankfully he’s never been disturbed by them. He used to tell his dr that he thought the people he saw in the house were angels watching over him.

My DW has 3 people she talks to regularly. A man and two women. I’ve asked her if they’re bothering her or scaring her. She says no. I’ve offered to get rid of them for her if they’re bothering her, she laughs and says no. When I don’t pay her enough attention and she’s mad at me (paying bills, cooking, etc) sometimes “they” tell her she can “go down there” meaning to leave and go stay with her brother in Florida (we’re in California), so she will create piles of her clothes in preparation for packing. When I see the piles I let her know how sad I’d be if she left and she then says she won’t go anywhere, and we have a bonding moment. I’ve told her she’s in charge and doesn’t have to do anything she doesn’t want to do. She says she knows. But it didn’t start out this way. When they first started appearing I believe it really scared her and caused quite a bit of anxiety. I’ve learned it’s important to acknowledge what my DW is seeing, determine if they’re harmful to her in some way, and I’ve tried to make her comfortable telling me about them so I can monitor how it’s affecting her. Luckily so far it seems like they are friendly enough and they’re becoming part of the family. There was a period of time I was planning on testing her for uti, but since she’s able to share her interactions with them (and our caregiver) she’s much less anxious about them.

May I ask: What would you say/do when he asked you to look at the things he sees? This is exactly where I'm trying to develop a better path if possible. Thanks much.