Dementia and Delusions, Hallucinations, & Illusions

Welcome to the place where I share dementia tips, strategies, and information for family members caring for a loved one with any type of dementia (such as Alzheimer's disease, Lewy Body dementia, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, etc.)
In this video, I talk about common symptoms in dementia that are really confusing and hard to understand- delusions, hallucinations, and illusions. I hope this video can clear up some questions about this topic
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In case you haven’t met me, my name is Natali Edmonds and I am a board certified geropsychologist. That means that I am a clinical psychologist who specializes in working with older adults. One day, while hiking a trail, I came up with the idea for Careblazers and I decided to see if posting videos online could provide help to the many other Careblazers in the world who don’t get to have help come directly to them in their homes. I hope that this work helps you in some way on your caregiving journey.
#careblazer #dementia #dementiacare

[@carolcollins]

Thank you for your helpful video, particularly regarding hallucinations. My husband suffers them two or three times a day, lasting from about 10 minutes to 2/3 hours. Reassuring and changing the subject helps a lot, but the best help for my husband and myself is for me to enter his world and thanking the visitors (between 2 or 15 at a time) for coming and explaining to them that we are having a meal now or going to sleep etc and firmly saying goodbye and waving. My husband also says goodbye and waves; and they immediately disappear.

[@ricardosajor2817]

Lately my partner has started to have a recurring hallucination - It starts off with him asking me, "What are we going to do about the people on the ship?" The first time I asked "What ship?" and he pointed to the ceiling. Luckily I had watched a few of your videos and answered, "The ship doesn't operate of the weekend. I'll make sure to talk to the captain about it on Monday." This was fine for him - said, "okay", turned over and went back to sleep. This re-directing or diverting tactic has come in very handy. I'm still relatively new to the group and watching videos when I can and have to thank you for providing such a wealth of practical information. I only wish that when my partner had been diagnosed with Alzheimers that someone would have recommended watching Dementia Careblazers videos on KZbin. I've already mentioned Dementia Careblazers to a few people.

[@camprisenson8341]

Something that has worked well in our situation is a blend of this, with a twist. Here is an example of what we often do, that has worked very well for us: My father in law was very upset because "men" were in his bedroom. I didn't tell him they weren't there, but I did ask if it might be possible that he had been dreaming, since I was in the room outside and never saw anyone go in. He immediately took to that idea, especially when I said that sometimes my dreams seem very real, too. Once he thought it had been a dream, he said, "What a relief!".

[@bobbolin8919]

That has worked for me also caring for my WWVD&LB.

[@missy67]

Thank you for the video! My mom told everyone that I was on the cover of a magazine. The lady had the same hair color as I do, but I don't think she resembled me at all. I tried to reason with her, and tell it wasn't me, but she would forget. I finally threw the magazine away! I'm glad to be able to label it as an "illusion"!

[@robinwindsorrobin6320]

Thank you so much for taking the time to do these videos, they have been a tremendous help to me and others. You have helped me a lot in understanding and how to cope with my spouse dementia.

[@magalicapi8124]

Thank you so much for your videos, suggestions and recommendations on the "wording" to use. My mother has Lewy body dementia, she was diagnosed a year ago. She has had visual hallucinations (people coming in her apartment, baby that she had to change and take him to the crib to sleep and animals crawling on the wall). Those disappeared. Now she has delusions : that someone she had a relationship with 43 years ago when I was a teenager is going out with me. This man is 85 and married, lives overseas. She calls him several times a day and calls me non stop to know what I'm doing and very paranoid that we are seeing each other! Whenever I'm with her she wants me to call him for her. Wherever I take her (restaurants, stores, community gardens, parks) she asks everybody if they know him, if they have seen him that day and she tells me she knows he is coming, or she is sure she saw him or that he told her he is coming to that event. I don't know what to do. Before watching your videos I was trying to reason with her and repeat over and over that I don't even know this man, that he lives in Uruguay and I'm in New York, that he is 85 as she is, that he is married and his wife is upset that she calls so much. I erased him from her WhatsApp contacts and facebook friend list. She calls her friends, the porter, the super and asks her home attendants to put the number back and whenever I grab her phone his number is active again on her phone. How do I deal with this obsession? I already accepted the fact that there is nothing I can do to change her mind about this, that arguing or trying to reason is no use and even worse because she gets upset. She doesn't get easily distracted, when she is obsessive about calling him and we try to disuade her she starts screaming or crying or calling us names. I so appreciate your guidance, it's clicking, it's helping me a lot. Thank you!

[@sharonbender880]

You're absolutely right on not arguing or telling a patient that they are not seeing something not there. Also don't correct them if they think you are a friend or another relative. Redirection works so well. Somehow without training I was able to do these things as a CNA. I started to be given just the dementia/Alzheimers patients daily to care for. I really enjoyed them and learned so much

[@jozeflak1868]

Dr Natalie thank you so much for your time and for this great video , I told our daughter it's a must see video so she could understand , when my wife tell her she is seeing some one in the patio is really true in our LO mind .

[@PrasanthiNandivada]

Thank you for talking about these 3 main symptoms. Lesson learnt for me is "do not reason when they are hallucinating"

[@RaechelleBennett782]

In my own experience with my mom, when she sees kids that really are not there, I've tried both ways: accepting what she sees and reassuring her there's NO KIDS. If I accept that she is actually seeing kids, she begins to see kids all the time. When I tell her I don't see any kids and assure her no one is there, she doesn't have as many hallucinations. I believe, for my mom, not encouraging her that it's okay that she's seeing kids more or less puts it out if her mind. So her hallucinations do not happen as frequently as they once did. It is difficult sometimes knowing what is best for our loved ones.

[@bobbolin8919]

I totally agree with your comment "It is difficult sometimes knowing what is best for our loved ones."

[@RaechelleBennett782]

@@bobbolin8919 Yes, so true. Now that I look back, my mom now passed on, I can see there is no right or wrong. You act in the moment. Sometimes, what they see is short lived and other times, it becomes quite apparent that you need to find a reliable solution to prevent a lot of future grief. I mean that in a good way. Her dementia was brought on by a series of strokes. In the beginning all she saw was bugs--lots of them! I had to continually reassure her that there were no bugs or she would never sleep. I went to great lengths at times to show her that the black dot(s) she was seeing was just a nail hole, a shadow, or whatever it really was. When strokes damage the brain, everything they see is REAL TO THEM. Please keep that in mind and show your love in times where you know the hallucinations are not threatening. For my mom, seeing kids or bunnies or whatever were not threatening and I would just pass over her hallucination with new rhoughts to divert her attention to something new, like asking her if she was hungry, what would she like for dinner, or was she warm enough, etc. I guess in short, keep the question "is this harmful and can it cause more grief?" in the back of your mind, and that can be your guide on how to work with hallucinations and illusions. 🌹

[@gen1678]

Thank you for all of your videos. I earned my cna license while in nursing school this past summer. This is so helpful because I am currently working in a memory care facility. In class I did learn a lot however you do such a great job explaining everything! I am a new subscriber and looking forward to more videos! Thank you so much!

[@timlonggone]

I’m happy you’re back, safe. You and your help,, helped me get through caregiving. Thank you.🙏🏼☮️

[@DianneQuan]

So helpful. ❤

[@Every_Day_islike_Sunday]

Great video, thank you! My mom is in the advanced phase of dementia and no longer speaks, but she had many of the symptoms you speak of in your videos that i didn't know how to deal with, like blaming my friends for stealing her jewelry, etc. This is off-topic, but i wonder how much my mom understands when i speak to her. She rarely responds or smiles so it's weird for me. Thanks for everything!

[@sarahcrain8083]

God bless you and your mom.

[@Every_Day_islike_Sunday]

@@sarahcrain8083 thank you so much!

[@SurferDudeUSA]

I want to Thank You for your videos, and helping others. I am taking care of my Grandma, working full-time, taking care of others too.. my Mom and little brothers try to help.. and my aunt and uncles just don't want to deal with her.. and of course is more worried about the property.. etc. It is so hard to try to balance all of this, and luckily we do have a care-giver, that only can be here 3 days/wk for about 4hrs ea day, and of course, I pay for that too. Constantly getting criticized from my aunt and uncles, of course.. not believing how hard and things that go on with my Grandma. If they could.. they would just place her in a home.. and if it was not for my Mom and I .. my Grandma would have passed away last year.. and now they seem to be upset with my Mom and I for getting my Grandma back to "normal", as much as we can. She went from about a 2 to now an 8.. struggles every day for us.. if it was not for my Faith.. I am not sure where I would be. It saddens me how in America.. our families do not seem to take care of each other.. when almost the rest of the World takes care of their families.. again.. thank you for all your information.. and I really hope we will find a "cure", or something for this horrible disease that just seems to be getting worse.. I can already tell.. my Mom is starting to be early in this.. and she is almost 60.. this is very sad. Thank you again.

[@laurielaville5326]

I'm so sorry that you are going through this. I am one of 7 children. Some of siblings act as if Mom has already died and don't ask about her or help in anyway. BUT, I found that when I dwell on what they are not doing (easy to do!) I get more and more resentful (also understandable) so...I have had to just LET IT GO and focus on what I am doing. I have to tell myself that this is my calling and my opportunity to love and care for the best mom ever and to make this journey brighter for her. I know that I'll stand before God one day and feel like this is what He asked of me and that I tried my best. We can't control others, only ourselves, so I have had to just quit hoping or expecting anything. I can only imagine that your experience is harder because of their criticism and lack of financial support. So, my comments are probably not applicable, but maybe it can help a tiny bit. (I know that this might come off as whacky, but I believe that resentment is a tool of the devil. That statement probably has some rolling their eyes and thinking of me as a whacko fanatic, but just this little thought has made me recognize and reject resentment and it actually helps me move from a negative thought to a positive action and self affirmation so no matter what one's belief or faith is this may help). One thing that has helped me is that we established POA . I am signed on to her accounts and can pay for her needs with her money. I know that this too is a blessing for us that she even has savings and social security income to help us with her care. We have been able to rotate Mom from her home with caregivers to my home and my sister's home allowing us to only pay for 1/2 of a month of caregivers. Anyway, I commend you as a grandchild stepping up to care. I hope you can IGNORE their criticism as best as possible and to know that you are doing the best and right thing for your grandmother. Hang in there, you are doing the RIGHT thing for your grandmother.

[@SurferDudeUSA]

@@laurielaville5326 Thank you.. I appreciate that. I know that if it was not my Faith in God.. I am not sure where I would be. We all have so many struggles, especially with this disease, and it does take special people who take care of them. I look back, over my life, and know that there was no way that I could have done so much in my life, without my Faith, and Guidance. Good luck to us all :)

[@bernadettekavanagh4745]

Well done you are doing a gret job people have to experience this to really understand keep your chin up .

[@TallulahBelle3276]

Thank you for all of your knowledge and help. 💝✨👍🏼💯👏🏼🌞

[@fishfingers3024]

It was depressing that my doctor told me nothing, you have Alzheimer’s. Sorry. I was 48 with three teenagers. Hearing thr possible symptoms make them less scary. Thanks.

[@drewmckinney7843]

I've had the opportunity to work with some elderly who suffer some of these symptoms, it's sad but you have to treat the situation with calm, patience and respectfulness. Sometimes they will think they're in another time and place, begin speaking about things you don't understand and you just have to be polite and sweet :>

[@mjones5448]

With my mom it’s like she has a dream when sleeping about a situation that happened in this dream or was said to her is her reality when she wakes up. It’s horrible. Because most of these situations she dreams about are negative and bad dreams. Reality is something she forgets and her dreams are the truth to her.

[@starcluster1377]

Waking from dreams and being in another reality is a most challenging behavior. I find it interesting that my mom can remember the details and primarily THE EMOTIONS of her reality that she has dreamed for several days. Dreaming about her car being stolen is indicative of a time she wants to return to that literally has been taken from her. It's a "I want to go home" type of desire, that time when life was safe and enjoyable. In her own way she's mourning that time and mourning the loss of that car that represented the loss of her freedom to drive it.

[@alexandersutherland516]

Thank you very much this was really helpful!

[@rayannaspradlin55]

Thank you so much.

[@buffyglen]

We put my husband on Quetiapine Fumerate 25 mg at bedtime. He now is able to sleep the whole night & he is much calmer during the day. He is sensitive to medications but has no side effects from this. It’s been a miracle. His delusions are very much like smoking marijuana with lots of imaginations. I am helping him to enjoy them, & he does. I am helping him not to panic over them, & he is much calmer.

[@EricStanley-jv3ke]

Thank you so much for discussion regarding hallucinations. Our son is 17 and has a disease called Juvenile Batten Disease. It is also known as childhood dementia. I have listened to several of your videos and they are great as so much goes along with what we are experiencing. Batten is a rare, fatal brain disease. We really need more help with the right words to say to comfort our son at night to help him relax and be able to get back to sleep as he says there is someone or something in his room. He is scared, He says things like it’s behind you, look, he’s beside me, is he going to hurt us, I am just so scared, he’s in the hall. I am there to comfort him, hold him and I know telling him nothing is there does not help as I understand he can’t reason. I need the right words to say if you can please help. I have also wondered if you have experience with childhood dementia and/or brain diseases like our son has? Thank you

[@harrietbp430]

Thank you for this VERY HELPFUL video! I have a question. How do I convince my loved one to take medication prescribed specifically to help with the hallucinations and delusions?

[@bessielobo5169]

Thank you for all your help

[@DeLaDank]

I'm a caregiver to my mom that has dementia. At night time she would have hallucinations that her sister was at the house and she would get out of bed and walk to the living room, into the kitchen and walk out to the garage looking for her sister. I spoke to her primary care doctor about this and he prescribed her Quetiapine to help her relax at night and get a good night sleep. He first started her out on 25 mg, but it wasn't strong enough. So I gave her two pills (50 mg), and it lasted for a couple months until we had to increase the dosage to 75 mg because she was starting to get up in the middle of the night and roam through the house. The 75 mg seems to be working good now. Time will tell though. Her doctor told me that it may not work well with all dementia patients. I'm just glad it's working pretty good for my mom.

[@DementiaCareblazers]

I'm glad it's working well for your mom and even more thrilled you have a doctor working with you through this difficult disease. Best wishes to you!

[@HowardS185]

Welcome back! Glad that you are safe. My wife has Alzheimer's disease, and exhibits a peculiar delusion. She believes that there are multiple men, all of which look like me, sound like me and say the same things as me, and all of them are trying to pass themselves off as her husband. I have suggested that she considers that maybe all these mean actually *are* me, her husband; that doesn't work. I've shown her pictures of us taken at our wedding, and taken a few years ago, but she refuses to believe that all these men are really me. Sometimes she cries thinking the she's "cheating" with all these men. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Any suggestions how to handle this? TIA.

[@mib20000]

my mom does the same thing. There are multiple ED'S . The disease is a soul killer

[@nixipixi8945]

My grandmother is going through a very hard time right now. She is absolutely in her right mind during the daytime. She can take care of herself properly etc. But at night when she goes to bed she see terrible things like snakes wrapping around her feet she thinks they are biting her. It started with her seeing bugs and then turned to snakes and now has escalated to big snakes or "demons." We are beside ourselves trying to help her. We dont want to take her to a nursing home because other than at night, she is perfectly fine and knows what's going on. But she is being tormented SO severely at night that often times she doesn't sleep u till the sun comes up. I love her so much and we dont know what to do.

[@anneshaver1905]

This is very helpful. Thank you

[@wesclev1]

Great information Thank you your videos are very helpful.

[@dovie127]

My loved one has delusions. The first symptoms we noticed were delusions and they have gotten worse with time. At first, others couldn’t see what was happening. The nurse even told my husband and I... ‘She only does that when y’all are here!’ NOT! We tried to explain they weren’t aware because the delusions were so real to her. The nurse was very adamant ‘Never. It never happens unless y’all are here.’ 🙄 I complained. She was removed from that floor and I never see her anymore... so she was fired or works night shift. My Loved One sees family members at the home. Aunts, cousins, her dad, some of these family members have been dead for years. She sees my children and grandchildren on Hallmark movies. The commercial with the emu and Said he man selling insurance??? That’s her first cousin, Rhett. Delusions galore now. Impossible for the nurses to miss what’s happening now!

[@Rev.handisichinhumadzima]

Hello there happy new year and compliments of the season ! Where are you located?

[@adzoutnabout888]

I would rather my father in law have hallucinations than constant panic attacks. Thank you Natali for the clip 👌

[@quasimobius]

How is one worse than the other? What happens when he gets both symptoms? I think a hallucination could be more frightening.

[@adzoutnabout888]

quasimobius ok, look at it this way..... My father in law also has Asbestosis of the lungs and Atrial Flutter. He can't breath properly at the best of times. His panic attacks can last 12hrs, so hyperventilation is a problem. He Sundowners means these panic attacks generally happen from 6pm to 6am, so I needed to be awake to comfort him all night and provide oxygen. I would rather him Hallucinate and be rid of the panic attacks. I accept it's very case specific and different people act differently during the stages of dementia.

[@quasimobius]

wow, where do you get the energy to deal with marathon panic attacks? I had no clue they could last so long. I had one like 30 years ago and it only lasted about four minutes.

[@adzoutnabout888]

quasimobius it was the worst 6 months of my life. It was affecting my wife's and my health badly, so unfortunately we had to make a tough decision......4 weeks ago we placed him in a dementia specific aged care facility. The feelings of guilt are constant, but our health is more important. Also his health was in question because of my total exhaustion. He has had 3 falls in his first month in the facility, but they have 24hr care there and the falls were minor. He used to ring me twice daily crying to get him out, but now he has almost forgotten how to use his mobile phone. It's for the best. Thank you for giving me a platform to tell my story. Best wishes to you and your family for the festive season.

[@quasimobius]

@@adzoutnabout888- Believe me, your father-in-law would understand "if" he was capable understanding, and would not want you and your wife to sacrifice your own health just to share his fate. Peace and Love, to youand yours.

[@alexplus3]

Thank you for sharing your information

[@bathshebatodd7643]

Information helpful

[@tedluehring5373]

😢Dads 91’ with Parkinson’s and mom’s almost 90’ with Alzheimer’s! Unfortunately I understand!

[@wendytaylor4368]

So very helpful and clarifying between all three symptoms. Is there any med. Or drop in reg. Meds. It can be caused by meds?

[@DefundTheFringes]

Dual distraction ends at 1:32.

[@kevinfalcao8657]

Say the bikes in very poor shape. The tyres have rotted out and the repair shop will try and locate out of production tyres when they get them they will let you know. This excuse can be used indefinitely. You could include another part like a chain or wheels or pedals ..... Hope this helps.

[@mib20000]

my mom has Hallucinations, & Illusions. sees kids crawling through the windows. see them in the house. always sees me as someone else. worst one is she wants to go home as she doesn't live at this house. I tried to redirect and it doesn't work. she sees firefighters outside the windows. cops outside the windows. I close the curtains to stop it. she still tells me the people coming through the windows break the glass.

[@ashleyl4841]

Ed, I am sorry you are going through this. Are there things she finds comforting that you may be able to use to help in these situations?

[@mib20000]

@@ashleyl4841 usually watching tv would keep her busy but recently the delusions have taken over and she will spend her waking time talking to the invisible people. She gets really mad cause I can't see them. If I go along with her it makes matters worse. my only rest is when she falls asleep. I can't take her anywhere cause when we get back she is 100% sure I took her to an old lady's house and we are gonna go to jail. now I deal with the invisible people trying to steal stuff and she has to stop them. of course, I know she really believes they are real people. I have no other family help and from what I read this is going to get worse.

[@melaniemiller3351]

@@mib20000 you gotta take care of yourself too. Most important

[@joybaal4393]

Thx You Kindly

[@lisaperkins9597]

Put coconut oil in your loves one diet..there is a dr on KZbin that talks about her husband’s dementia at 51 yrs old and she started giving him coconut oil in his diet, etc…video is about 8-10 yrs old. I’ve been giving my mom coconut oil and she seems to be doing better.

[@margofriesen2175]

From 1-4 times a day my husband thinks he doesn't have any money. I'll explain our money is in the bank, etc in as simple terms as possible. We go in circles for often 2 hr stretches, where he thinks I'm taking all his money, etc. I try everything to distract but nothing works. I'll even text a sister to call him once I reach a breaking point. Sometimes he'll continue arguing with her about it.

[@francesbernard2445]

The world has changed a lot in the last 100 years. Since I was priviledged to do home care home making for old people with no mental decline I got to hear about some of their adventures when young. Including being good at running while only weighing 160 pounds at 6 ft tall during the second world war. He trusted me to believe him instead of assuming it was a lie. He admitted to me that it took him up until age 81 to trust anyone with stories about what he went through during that war. Do you know why?

[@syreetaw.4201]

What can you do if they hide things, medication, everything because of thinking the neighbor comes in the house to steal things? I’ve tried saying to keep the items in one place in a drawer. It doesn’t work and so many costly medication items are hidden all over the house. Sometimes, I run into the missing items by chance. She is so convinced that she sees the neighbor, police have been called plenty of times. I have heard her arguing with them (to herself). it’s disturbing , very hard to redirect. I have hired a caregiver and she doesn’t allow her to do much.

[@lindabell6316]

Many thanks. Very informative. Currently my father’s fixation is that he wants me to take him home -from care home - to his home to get his bike. When I come up with excuses such as “I don’t have a tow bar” he says “That’s okay I will ride it back”. He uses a walking frame to walk very slowly and wouldn’t even be able to get on the bike let alone ride it. I am running out of excuses! Any advice please.

[@laurielaville5326]

Can you tell him that you think that is a great idea and that you'll do it tomorrow? Repeat, repeat, repeat.... sometimes when I have the same question or request being presented and distraction isn't working, I keep trying to come up with more inventive responses that include stories of my own to convey why I can't do the thing right at that moment but give fake details about when I plan to do it and how enthused I am to do it. It might not work, but if you join the crazy thought it at least let's them feel heard and momentarily less anxious. SOmetimes they get distracted into your story...like "" Oh, I do want to bring you to get the bike, but guess what is going on with my car...when I drive it it makes this strange sound and jerks to the right so I had to hold the steering wheel like this the whole time I drove over here! I'm telling you it was scary! Do you know what happened when I got to a red light and had to take off again... it did this..." or maybe " there was this guy walking his dog and then here I came with the car pulling me that way, you should have seen his face /insert shocked face here/ and then you should have seen the poor dog /insert scared dog face or actions/ So..now I have to get my car fixed!" See how inventive you can be... some may backfire, but the one good thing is that things that backfire are quickly forgotten. Maybe an enthusiastic, " Your bike! I forgot about your bike! Oh that would be fun to have with you! I can get mine too and we can ride around. I want to do that tomorrow because I have an appointment today." Idk, maybe this kind of thing might work?

[@shaikhaalbuainain6606]

I have a problem; my mom has Alzheimer's and she keeps seeing things that aren't there and believing stuff that isn't true. She always thinks there are people in the house with us, or that someone sneaked into her room to steal her stuff. I used to calm her down by telling her that we're always around, me and my siblings, and that we'll lock the doors properly. I'd try to change the subject and distract her, which used to work. But lately, she's been really scared because of these visions. She always thinks there are people in her room trying to harm her or my siblings. She gets extremely panicked even though we're right there with her. The old tricks don't work anymore. What should I do?

[@jeanorr4575]

My mother is pretty much bed bound when she hallucinates it's mostly in her bed she says her bed is always moving and she shakes the bed rails on her bed consistently.

[@patricialandrum9340]

How do you effectively respond to being told you don’t live in your home, that you moved in on the person with dementia and yet you actually own the home. This happens frequently.

[@Maggs-2248]

My mom has delusions? She has a stuffed animal and he is a real, very well behaved dog. She is in a memory care home and “Toby” is her companion. I don’t try to discourage this because I don’t feel it is harmful. She sees little children. She has had nightly visits from my father over the last couple of years. He died in 1976. I try to reassure her that he is watching out for her. Lately, he hasn’t been showing up and now she is mad at him. She remembers what she was wearing when she was riding her bike at 8 years old. She is 97 years old and in good shape other than the dementia. She knows who I am and as long as she does, I’m happy about that. She was diagnosed in 2014. I usually try to get her talking about her years as a youngster. She has said she doesn’t remember much from age 30 on. She has had a very active full life. It’s heartbreaking to hear stories of early onset cases. Thanks for your videos.

[@JackCasablanca-painter]

Why are most people with dementia not shocked by their hallucinations? My dementia mom sees and talks to her deceased great grandmother who would be 160 years old. Just seeing your long-dead great grandmother alive at age 160 would freak you out. But for someone with dementia, there's nothing strange happening. Never mind that grandma's 160 years old. They don't see the impossibility of the hallucination. Sure, mom may be living in an earlier time period, but why doesn't she think modern TVs and cell phones are weird? They believe the hallucination (and delusions) so firmly that no amount of evidence could convince them otherwise.

[@pentatonya1778]

My dad thinks we have another house exactly like the one he’s been in for 30yrs. Same address in neighboring town. At one point he was loading vehicles to move to “the other house”. I just keep repeating “Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. There’s only one house & we are in it. Remember your mind is playing tricks with you.” If he continues I offer to show him on google maps... that there is no address like ours in that city. This usually will hold him over for 3-4months. So he has Some retention still. Repeat.

[@melaniemiller3351]

The lady I work with had this too. She constantly wants to go home.

[@pentatonya1778]

Melanie Wilson I actually had to take my dad on a drive one time to try & prove to him that it was same house. We left ourselves a note before we left (date/time/signed). If topic comes up I just reminded him of the drive & the note... seemed to help.

[@barbmills2756]

I’m trying to find a dementia specialist in the Phoenix area. Do you or anyone know of some?

[@et4036]

Nice explanation of moms madness 👻

[@carolynwilliams450]

What meds is good

[@darci1410]

When someone believes you took stuff that has no value except to them. Like photos, remote controls, or signs, or Christmas ornaments. What category does that fall under?

[@bessielobo5169]

Will it effect there hearing

[@iriscrotts6350]

My Mom is blind and it’s more difficult at times. She needs something to do with her hands. Any suggestions?

[@S2daUZ]

When auditory hallucinations happen should I be truthful and say "no that didn't happen" or act like it did happen? Which response is best?? PS thanks so much!

[@DementiaCareblazers]

The "best" way to respond is the way that doesn't aggravate your loved one. If you say it didn't happen and they are fine with it, then that tells you it's a good approach. Many times, telling someone with dementia they are wrong or it didn't happen makes them upset. If that's the case, then you'll want to comfort them and avoid telling them it didn't happen. You'll know which way is best to respond based on how your loved one responds to you. I hope that helps!

[@S2daUZ]

Careblazers: dementia care heroes, yes. Thanks so much❣️

[@kimberlybrenner6331]

@@DementiaCareblazers my mother is hearing things (which I don't hear) in her condo and believes it is the neighbors below her. She bangs on the walls all night and stomps her feet to get "them" to stop. She also has very poor hearing and I wasn't sure if this is auditory hallucinations or hearing loss or a combo? What do I do to explain to the neighbors her situation. My mother hasn't received an official diagnosis but her doctor did a mini mental test in her office years ago and thought mom had FTD. Now her scary dreams of people in her house I think may now be coming into her waking time. I just don't know what to do. Where do I start? She doesn't want me saying anything to her PCP. She doesn't want to go to the doctor because they will "think I'm crazy"

[@morganpeck]

What if they believe that you are poisoning them? They wander off in the middle of the night in their pjs. He walked two miles away from home to the hospital before the police found him. He hates me!

[@angelocarreca8190]

My wife wakes up in the middle of the night punching me and saying she hates me because my girlfriend was here again last night. how should I handle this?

[@jrob8764]

My mother is hearing something in her room as she goes to bed a loud screaching noise it's only happened twice and just in the last couple of weeks when I went to check I didn't here a noise and she said it stopped before I got there, I am not sure if it's real noise maybe the Ac outside the house time will tell I guess. I told her it was the crazy rooster something must have scared him, she sent me out into the night to check on him.

[@kimberlybrenner6331]

My mother too. I finally was there one day and realized i couldn't hear what she says she has been hearing for a long time. I have asked her to call me when she he hears these noises when I am not there, so I can go to her home and listen again. The first time I told her I didn't hear what she was hearing and she became very upset with me. Now I just tell her that must be so hard and disruptive to sleep when she is hearing these terrible noises. this has been so hard. My mother will not go to the doctor. My heart goes out to all of us

[@jenniferyates8100]

My husband in a care home 2years, thinks another female resident is his wife, but calls her by my name. He has done so for the last 2 years. Is this considered an illusion. Her name is nothing like mine. The cares don't correct him.

[@quasimobius]

So when referring to an illusion you mean like an "optical" illusion?

[@lidialopez1432]

What stage do you think is this??? I am very close to my Mother I am the only daughter and I have 3 brothers so I stared noticing since August 2015 and all she worries about my younger brother she always wondering where her Baby is....

[@ashleyl4841]

Hi Lidia, Dr. Natali did a video on the stages of dementia that you may find helpful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXjNpotujK19gs0

[@whitneysawyer483]

The Hallucinations and Delusions happen in Schizophrenia to...

[@anjachan]

I think I know hallucinations from my epilepsy.

[@kathyjames9796]

My LO's delusion is that I am not the person my husband married...so he must be having an affair with me.

[@sarahpressler4592]

How do u make my grandma to stop stealing

[@albertscott1915]

How does one handle frequent time jumps doc? Spending less and less time in eras of their life. Expecting you to know people and things you don’t and couldn’t possibly know?

[@okomojelepo]

Yes,I have something to say.With my mother's delusions,for me, only help is weed 🍀