My mother has dementia and part of her condition is that she obsesses about things. Lately she has been obsessing about her jewelry. Because her assisted living facility has a policy preventing guests with dementia from keeping valuable jewelry in their rooms, I put my mother’s jewelry in a bank safe. In a rational moment, she thought this was a good idea. Now, however, she wants it in her room and says she doesn’t care if it gets lost or stolen. She called and left an angry message saying she didn’t want to see me if I didn’t bring it to her.
I know this is just her dementia talking. She used to have such good judgment. She obsesses about other things too. She called a friend about a ride to bridge three or four times and me just as often. But it didn’t hurt my feelings when she was worried about her ride: she wasn’t angry at me over the ride.
I spend so much of my time taking care of my mother that I have become the boss in her eyes. She knows I am in charge of her life now, and she doesn’t like it much. (Neither do I but who is going to tell her that.) When she gets angry over her loss of control, she lashes out, sometimes at me.
It really hurts. I need to separate myself for a few days when she does this because I feel sorry for myself and that can translate into lashing out right back at her. I do a little self talk where I remind myself that this is her disease talking, not my mother. I get some exercise. Eat some chocolate. Remind myself how loving and appreciative she can be. Reread Lori’s Lessons. Whatever it takes to get my equilibrium back.
Lesson number 20 resonates with me now. The biggest challenge for your caregiver is: to hate the disease, really loathe it, but not resent the person who has it. He or she may know intellectually that it is not your fault, but every caregiver has moments of thinking: “Why me? What did I do to deserve this?” They have to set that aside and move on, for themselves as much as for you. Still, to underestimate the challenge of dealing with their emotions would be not only naïve but potentially destructive.
Carol Shepley 