Today wasn't a great day for Dad, particularly this morning. When I went to visit him at home he said "I know I'm getting worse. I don't know what I'm doing half the time".
What is the best way to respond to that? I just didn't know what to say. I guess it's a good thing that he knows he's getting worse but I don't think he understands why. Has anybody reading this experienced this?
Thank you
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I like what Sue J has suggested here and will try it in future. I do a version of that.
If my mother (in her late 90s, with a diagnosis of Alz made in 2009) gets upset, she tends to rub her head and look around. If I ask her if there is anything I can do to help her, she might say something like "O I just know I'm out of sorts and I don't know *what* to do about it. I feel so sorry for you." So I'll say something like "O, I'm sorry. It sounds like you're having a bad day. You know, we have Alzheimer's, and some days are good days and some just aren't as good, but you know, we are having a wonderful time with you here with us, and so we'll just try to have a good time together. Shall I bring you a cup of tea [ or shall we watch x now and have a few laughs, or something like this ]." My goal is to let my mother know she is so loved here with us and let her see that things might be bad, but we are here for her.
I notice that her caregiver cajoles her out of it by saying things like "O come on, you'll get better. Just look at what we did today [and she'll rattle off something]." Her approach is much more brusque than mine, but it seems to work.
I mostly want to assure my mother that she is loved, that we don't expect her to do things and she can relax and let us take a turn at caring for her because she cared for her children all those years . . . .