Hi,
Within the last year or so especially I've started to notice some significant changes to my mum's behaviour. Primarily, I've noticed she's been repeating her sentences, saying the same thing maybe 3 or 4 times to almost sooth herself. This tends to happen when she's anxious about something like cooking dinner on time or overanalysing something someone said on Facebook.
She's also been forgetting words, saying the wrong word in a similar catagory (ie. hoovering instead of washing) or saying words that sound similar but aren't the right one. Recently she's almost put things in odd places like almost putting the kettle in the fridge.
She's also prone to cutting us off mid conversation to talk about something else unrelated, especially when you are confiding in her and the conversation will be changed to her current problem or train of thought. There have been times where I have simply stopped talking mid sentence and she will not pick up on this or return to your topic. I'm not sure she's empathising as much with us, but will do with things she sees online.
Recently she's been angry that we aren't listening to her and that we are interrupting her or belittling her. The most recent one was my dad suggesting the birds must have eggs in the bird box after she said they were nesting. Or that I cannot communicate properly when I was cooking my own dinner, even though she saw me preparing it. She's also accused my dad of having dementia (often angrily) but he really is just forgetful sometimes, always has been. It's hard to tell if this is anxiousness and simply thinking people are against her or something more sinister.
She has a history of anxiety and depression and I'm fairly certain she has experienced a level of trauma in childhood which has lead to her being argumentative and explosive in the past. Since covid she has been significantly more anxious but still goes out to the pub every week but will only go with my dad as she thinks everyone is against her and often pushes friends away. She also has chronic pain which has affected her mood.
It's hard to tell what might be brain fog, anxiety or her past behaviours and what might be a cause of concern. She's not forgetful in the sense that she forgets where her keys are etc, and she has no problem remembering short or long term events as such. Nothing I'd be alarmed about but maybe she's good at hiding that? It's really her language and behaviour that's been worrying.
She had a memory test maybe 6+ years ago but nothing ever came of it, so she's had concern before but she is the kind of person to not seek help and bringing it up would certainly cause a lot of distress and most likely cause an argument. I'm not really sure what to make of it all because reading about some early signs of certain types of demetia, these things check out... but it could equally be an anxious coping behaviour.
Anyone experience similar or know what else I should look out for?
Thanks,
A (25yo)
Within the last year or so especially I've started to notice some significant changes to my mum's behaviour. Primarily, I've noticed she's been repeating her sentences, saying the same thing maybe 3 or 4 times to almost sooth herself. This tends to happen when she's anxious about something like cooking dinner on time or overanalysing something someone said on Facebook.
She's also been forgetting words, saying the wrong word in a similar catagory (ie. hoovering instead of washing) or saying words that sound similar but aren't the right one. Recently she's almost put things in odd places like almost putting the kettle in the fridge.
She's also prone to cutting us off mid conversation to talk about something else unrelated, especially when you are confiding in her and the conversation will be changed to her current problem or train of thought. There have been times where I have simply stopped talking mid sentence and she will not pick up on this or return to your topic. I'm not sure she's empathising as much with us, but will do with things she sees online.
Recently she's been angry that we aren't listening to her and that we are interrupting her or belittling her. The most recent one was my dad suggesting the birds must have eggs in the bird box after she said they were nesting. Or that I cannot communicate properly when I was cooking my own dinner, even though she saw me preparing it. She's also accused my dad of having dementia (often angrily) but he really is just forgetful sometimes, always has been. It's hard to tell if this is anxiousness and simply thinking people are against her or something more sinister.
She has a history of anxiety and depression and I'm fairly certain she has experienced a level of trauma in childhood which has lead to her being argumentative and explosive in the past. Since covid she has been significantly more anxious but still goes out to the pub every week but will only go with my dad as she thinks everyone is against her and often pushes friends away. She also has chronic pain which has affected her mood.
It's hard to tell what might be brain fog, anxiety or her past behaviours and what might be a cause of concern. She's not forgetful in the sense that she forgets where her keys are etc, and she has no problem remembering short or long term events as such. Nothing I'd be alarmed about but maybe she's good at hiding that? It's really her language and behaviour that's been worrying.
She had a memory test maybe 6+ years ago but nothing ever came of it, so she's had concern before but she is the kind of person to not seek help and bringing it up would certainly cause a lot of distress and most likely cause an argument. I'm not really sure what to make of it all because reading about some early signs of certain types of demetia, these things check out... but it could equally be an anxious coping behaviour.
Anyone experience similar or know what else I should look out for?
Thanks,
A (25yo)
