Hello all,
Im feeling a bit isolated in caring for my Dad. He's 88 and had a couple of strokes 2 years ago. His behaviour and memory have become increasingly bizarre and vague since then, culminating in depression and suicide attempts. It finally dawned on me about a month ago that he possibly has vascular dementia and i'm in the process of making contact with Social services and the community mental health team.
I release its only the tip of an iceberg and im already exhausted by trying to balance the needs of my Dad, my kids and husband and various other commitments.
I had some issues with my dad before his illness became apparent and was not able to resolve them. Now i feel they're trapped forever inside me and its too late to sort them out. Ive only just stopped grieving for my Mum and it seems such ironic timing that now i'm grieving for a Dad that seems to have simply disappeared inside an old frightened man.
Feel split in two. To care for Dad I try to be as practical as possible and contain my emotions because if i let them out i turn to a useless blob! So much anger, guilt, sadness inside me that i fear will explode one day!
Its very comforting to find this forum and read some of the posts . Makes me feel less alone and that there is somewhere to come when i need to let my head pour out! xxx
Im feeling a bit isolated in caring for my Dad. He's 88 and had a couple of strokes 2 years ago. His behaviour and memory have become increasingly bizarre and vague since then, culminating in depression and suicide attempts. It finally dawned on me about a month ago that he possibly has vascular dementia and i'm in the process of making contact with Social services and the community mental health team.
I release its only the tip of an iceberg and im already exhausted by trying to balance the needs of my Dad, my kids and husband and various other commitments.
I had some issues with my dad before his illness became apparent and was not able to resolve them. Now i feel they're trapped forever inside me and its too late to sort them out. Ive only just stopped grieving for my Mum and it seems such ironic timing that now i'm grieving for a Dad that seems to have simply disappeared inside an old frightened man.
Feel split in two. To care for Dad I try to be as practical as possible and contain my emotions because if i let them out i turn to a useless blob! So much anger, guilt, sadness inside me that i fear will explode one day!
Its very comforting to find this forum and read some of the posts . Makes me feel less alone and that there is somewhere to come when i need to let my head pour out! xxx
Last edited: