Dementia Hallucination/Delusion: Intruder or Someone out to get them

1- Activities Ideas
2- What to say/do for specific Challenging Behaviors

Thanks for watching!

[Space_Lion_Cosplays]

Man, i have thrown hands with air to help soothe one of my residents. I look stupid, but they know theyre safe with me around

[bigtittiegang]

I remember hearing a story about a man who had Alzheimer's and was bed bound. He kept saying someone was in his room, every night, until he died. Then his son I think went to clean out his house. In the attic, there apparently was evidence that someone was squatting in the house. According to the story, that squatter was what the man was seeing. The squatter would come in and steal clothes and necessities, and no one believed the man until he passed. I can't imagine how scared that poor guy was

[TulipWife]

There was a resident who believed a cat was stuck inside her body. So I reached inside her shirt and pretend to pull it out. She did this slow scream and when I told her I got it she felt relief. It's amazing how the mind works. Just gotta go with it.

[KcMagicGirl]

This happened to my grandmother when she had dementia I was a teenager. I was playing on the PS two in my room. She came in to get me to tell me there’s a man in black in the living room, so I went to check it out where she pointed there was nobody there, so I pretended that he was my friend that was over to play lord of the rings on PS2. I said excitedly, there you are, and I introduced him to my grandmother, and took him by the hand and brought him into my room. She completely believed me in five minutes later she forgot all about it.

[but_heres_the_homestuck]

I ALMOST FREAKED OUT FROM SEEING THE SIMULATED HALLUCINATION

[Oboendband]

I love that you included the hallucination. It was freaky as all get out and reminds us that the dementia patient is seeing something even if the caregiver isn’t

[Zero-dead-]

One of my residents woke up in the middle of the night and screamed that there were giant spiders on the wall, I grabbed a book and went in ready to kill those “spiders”. She went to sleep peacefully again for the whole night.

[tiff]

Not dementia but when my dad was delirious in icu he complained about a man standing in the hallway watching him. He was very distressed about it.
When I finally got down to his level I saw there was a coat rack with a black hoddie on it in the hallway. Getting him his glasses and getting the hoddie removed was an easy fix and he felt so much better.
My tip, look from their perspective, maybe even squint your eyes or take your glasses off. Sometimes it’s just the brain misinterpreting what the eyes see.

[mrsmack]

My grandma either hallucinated about or dreamt about bees attacking her. I told her she was probably dreaming and reassured her that there were no bees. I also told her I understand how scary that would be and that I knew it would be hard for her to fall back asleep. She got up for awhile and so I didn't really get any rest but eventually she calmed down enough to lay back down. She said she was itchy from all the stingsbso I acknowledged her discomfort, told her maybe a few mosquitoes got in earlier and gave her some ointment. Eventually she went back to sleep.

[TimeToSlashZoom]

As a carer of someone who has visual hallucinations, getting the person to help you “remove” the shadow/intruder can help too. It gives them some power over the situation, or well at least in my case it did.

[flames]

I’m so grateful my mawmaws delusions were peaceful. She often believed we were in a cabin in the woods camping and not a hospital bed. She’d describe the cabin in such detail you’d wonder what all she was seeing. And if she ever ‘saw’ or heard something I’d just tell her it was the cabin next door throwing a party and she’d scoff about them needing to get to bed or make a joke about how many hikers there were and go back to being extremely happy and grateful that we were finally hiking together. It was always her dream to take me to the mountains but something always happened to prevent it, cars dying, broken legs, a pandemic. It was nice in a way we finally achieved our dream in that ER.

[juliamundt]

My husband sometimes sees things like bug. I acknowledge it distresses him and say we can call the exterminator to spray the house if he likes. I even gave him a spray bottle of water to spray in the interim if it made him feel better.

[teresaellis]

I was helping out at a day camp when a boy came in with a touch of heat stroke. He was bothered by the "spiders" crawling over him (a symptom of dehydration) and he tried to scratch them off. I suggested he brush them off instead and had him drink in the shade until he felt better.
It is more effective to work within the logic of the hallucination than to try to explain a reality they don't perceive.

[JackiesGirl]

Mom would have these hallucinations before she was diagnosed with dementia at the rehab facility she was at (recovering from broken leg). Always in the middle of the night. The nurses would call me. I'd have to go over to calm her down. When you don't know what's going on, its frustrating, cause you "can't help her." After a couple of nights I decided to go along with her. I'd have her stay in the hallway or the day room and I'd go get the "baby" off her bed or the "cats" from under her bed and let them outside. Even pretended to be holding the baby and to take it away so she could sleep. What made things worse is that the nurses and CNAs at this facility did not seem to know how to deal with any of the patients that had dementia. And there were some who lived there in their long-term wards. After Mom's diagnosis, and trying to find a book that did not read like a college level psych book, I finally found "Creating Moments of Joy." That book taught me exactly the things you are teaching through your short videos. You are a God-send. You are very appreciated. Mom and I had a completely different relationship after I read the stories in that book. They were written by people who had already been through what I was just starting. While the disease is horrible and robs your loved one of a full final few years, knowing tactics like what you teach actually made the process of living and helping the, live fully, so much easier. I miss her so. Thank you for what you are doing with these videos.

[caidalee]

Sometimes you just gotta “Yes, and”. You see an intruder and I don’t? You must have some great eyes, point him out and I’ll grab him! Someone poisoned the cookies we just made? Putting them back in the oven will destroy the poison, and I’ll taste one first to make sure it’s all safe to eat. The little kids playing outside are spying on you? Actually, they’re the neighborhood watch looking out for any suspicious people, so they’re making sure there’s no bad guys in the house, just you and me. Isn’t that so kind of them? As a signal to show them you’re safe, you can smile and wave to them!

[coferre]

With my grandma, we tend to say something like “that sounds so scary, but he’s gone now, and I’m here so you’re not on your own and you’re safe now” That usually calms her down. Definitely found that if we denied there was anything, she’d get more upset. Must be so horrible to feel like no one believes you 💔

[amelialee]

I dealt with this much differently. I was a patient at a neurology clinic for my multiple sclerosis but I had to share a room with an elderly woman who had dementia among other things. She kept waking up startled- I found it just like what a little kid does when they are in the dark and scared.

One day the woman, Mrs. Stempel said she saw a dog in the corner of our hospital room.

I just told her-“ Oh sorry, Mrs.Stempel, I actually ordered a guard dog for our room tonight and forgot to tell you. He’s very highly rated and recommended and has a reputation for being extremely friendly towards the people in the room. He can smell this is our room.”

Mrs. Stempel immediately calmed down, bunched up her blanket and pet the blanket until she fell asleep.

She told me at breakfast the dog fell asleep in her bed last night. ❤

[thegoldendodothatcher]

I had one patient where every night i fought an imaginary dude. I would even insult the "person" and tell them to never come back lol

[sannasu]

It’s similar to how parents should treat their kids when they see “monsters”

[spiceweasel]

A friend of mine enlisted the help of her local priest. The priest blessed water which my friend then put in a spray bottle. Whenever her mother saw spirits or intruders, my friend would spray them with the holy water and her mother would calm down.