My mother is 80 and I believe suffering from dementia. We recently went to her (new) GP and she was referred to a memory clinic for the future. For the past 3 weeks she has received guests at weekends that have kept her up late as she does not want to be rude. They make her annoyed as they do not reply to her. They are actually the front covers of newspapers or magazines. I visited this morning and had to ask one of these guests to leave as they had stayed in the sofa overnight. She can’t tell the difference between one of these magazine guests or a real person other than they won’t reply to her. She blames herself for not asking them the right questions. On occasion has prepared food for them and left lights on.
The closet thing I have seen in the forum is believing the TV is real, which she also used to do, but since the programmes changes the guests don’t overstay their welcome.
I currently deal with it by asking about the guest and if they inconvenienced her before taking them out and discreetly disposing of the magazine. I reassure her that it’s just a change in her behaviours and she shouldn’t be scared or embarrassed. At no point has she ever accepted or reflected on these guests as being magazines or not real, despite some being celebrities.
Thoughts and opinions on the severity of this and any possible consequences welcome.
The closet thing I have seen in the forum is believing the TV is real, which she also used to do, but since the programmes changes the guests don’t overstay their welcome.
I currently deal with it by asking about the guest and if they inconvenienced her before taking them out and discreetly disposing of the magazine. I reassure her that it’s just a change in her behaviours and she shouldn’t be scared or embarrassed. At no point has she ever accepted or reflected on these guests as being magazines or not real, despite some being celebrities.
Thoughts and opinions on the severity of this and any possible consequences welcome.