It’s certainly the case with my Mum. When she starts talking about memories, she has a stock set of anecdotes from her childhood and most are negative. She had an unhappy family life and this is what largely occupies her thoughts. We try to reassure her that she’s been wanted and loved for many more decades than she wasn’t, but she doesn’t appear to remember the family life that she created for herself with her husband and children. It’s so sad. Our family was no bed of roses, but we did have some happy times that I wish were more memorable to her.
We’ve also found that she has no short-term memory unless it’s for something she really needs to forget! She hasn’t had a driving licence for years (the DVLA withdrew it due to her dementia after asking her GP for information) and the family are desperate to sell her car in case she takes it into her head that she needs to drive somewhere. Dad has a blind spot - he won’t hide her keys and insists on maintaining it in a drivable condition. We’ve finally persuaded her to lend it to another family member, hoping that now it’s out of sight she’ll forget about it as she does everything else, and it can finally be sold. Needless to say, she remembers exactly who has it and constantly demands it back. We’re trying to wait it out, but it’s been ten days so far and no sign of that specific memory fading as every other one has done. The car seems to be emblematic of something for her, and that particular memory/need is deeply ingrained.
