I too am new here. My Mother has Dementia and visiting her yesterday I saw for the first time my mother keeping her eyes closed while awake. I asked her why she has her eyes closed and she just said that she likes it that way. Google search brought me here where I see this is a common symptom to dementia. I am happy to find this forum.
Eyes closed whilst still awake
- Thread starter JayG
- Start date
Hello JayG and welcome to Talking Point.
My husband spends long periods with his eyes closed whilst still awake. He is at the stage where he has to be fed and I can spend an hour feeding him his lunch and he never opens his eyes. He opens his mouth every time I touch his lips with the spoon. He also moves his arms about as if he is doing something and again his eyes are closed.
I am not sure why but I think sometimes he may struggle to understand what is going on around him so he shuts it out. Like your Mum he likes it better that way.
My husband spends long periods with his eyes closed whilst still awake. He is at the stage where he has to be fed and I can spend an hour feeding him his lunch and he never opens his eyes. He opens his mouth every time I touch his lips with the spoon. He also moves his arms about as if he is doing something and again his eyes are closed.
I am not sure why but I think sometimes he may struggle to understand what is going on around him so he shuts it out. Like your Mum he likes it better that way.
My mother doesn't keep her eyes closed all the time, but I've noticed that she is starting to do that while I'm talking to her, or when she is replying. I didn't realise it's a common habit for people with dementia.
Thanks for drawing this to my attention, JayG. I am new here myself but people do seem very helpful, & I'm learning all the time - so welcome to the site!
Thanks for drawing this to my attention, JayG. I am new here myself but people do seem very helpful, & I'm learning all the time - so welcome to the site!
Welcome Jay and Michelle - lots of support on here and always someone who gives a helping hand or a hug xx
I went on a course a while back and was told that this is quite common because it cuts out external stimuli which are sometimes just too difficult to cope with - you can't shut your ears off or move yourself away from touch but you can control whether or not you see things........just a theory but made sense to me and my Ma sometimes did it when there were lots of people around - just for a while to give herself a rest.
Take care xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I went on a course a while back and was told that this is quite common because it cuts out external stimuli which are sometimes just too difficult to cope with - you can't shut your ears off or move yourself away from touch but you can control whether or not you see things........just a theory but made sense to me and my Ma sometimes did it when there were lots of people around - just for a while to give herself a rest.
Take care xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sue used to have her eyes closed a lot. Since she had the first fit she dozes more, with her eyes closed of course, but now when she is awake her eyes are open more often. I've more or less given up trying to make sense of such things.
