Lying and Dementia
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Anonymous
| Can someone tell me more about how lying fits into a dementia diagnosis? All that pops up is therapeutic lying which is for the caregiver. I'm talking about lying as a symptom of beginning dementia. |
Anonymous
| Google "confabulating". |
Anonymous
| I thought dementia was just losing your memory. I was very surprised with the way dementia presented with my dad. My dad created a whole other reality. The stories he told were amazing and so detailed. |
Anonymous
| Yes, confabulation. Some types of dementia are especially prone to this...I knew someone with Korsakoff syndrome for example. |
Anonymous
| This has been happening more rapidly. Sometimes almost daily. What state of dementia is this? |
Anonymous
| If it's dementia they aren't lying. Their mind is not working right and confused. |
Anonymous
| What I'm wondering if if my family member should be tested and if there is any predictor of their health or anything they should be doing. It's obvious they are slowing down in other ways, but less obvious to the casual observer. No real balance issues or anything. |
Anonymous
Well there is a lot of blaming these days and made up stories to protect themselves. So while you are correct, it shows up as a lie. |
Anonymous
| As an example the previous day might be recounted in a way that makes someone at fault for something they didn't do. Stuff like this. |
Anonymous
Right, but it's confabulation because they don't have the actual intent to deceive anyone. They're trying to fill in gaps to make the world make sense to themselves. |
Anonymous
Well that isn't exactly true at least not in the case I'm talking about. What I've noticed is that rather than discussing something that is concerning to them or they don't understand the complexities of they just make something up. But it's always to prove they are right or are good. It's a blend of narcissistic behaviors and difficulty with conversation trying to shut down discussions to a couple of words. Sure they are making the world make sense to them but it's always to make themselves feel safe or make their worldview safe. Like a kid who makes up that there wasn't a cookie in the cookie jar because they don't want it revealed that they ate it. Yes, that makes their world safer, but it's hard to know whether or not they actually remember the cookie being eaten or not. It seems easy to trick their mind that they didn't eat the cookie or they get overly anxious that eating the cookie might be a problem so preemptively declare they didn't eat the cookie which is easy to prove was eaten. Just stupid stuff they lie about that they didn't usually do before or at least not as often in their lifetime. Very rigid thinking. And very childlike. |
Anonymous
| My mother lied in the earlier stages to try to hide her capacity. Overstating what she could do, blaming others for things to cover up her forgetfulness, etc. It was an effort to facilitate her own denial and stress and in some areas she believed her own lies (ie insisting my dad or I changed computer settings and passwords instead of admitting she could not remember how to use it). |
Anonymous
yes exactly |
Anonymous
| What happened after that? What were the following years like? What do you do once this is a regular pattern? |
Anonymous
|
Oh, it can definitely be purposeful lying. The person may do a lot of things to try to cover for their cognitive gaps and/or to prop up their own denial.
When I’m in a good place, I can remember that basically all you can do for dementia is help a person feel safe and like themselves as much of the time as you can. And denial/lying/avoiding/etc is a form of self-medication in that sense. It’s just that it’s really frustrating for caregivers and potentially dangerous to the patient, especially in the early stages. |