What to do if an elderly person What to do with elderly aggressive relatives and how to determine the nature of the changes. Symptoms characteristic of individual degrees of severity of dementia and prognosis

It is not so much the patient himself who suffers from the disease, but his relatives. There are frequent cases of depression and nervous breakdowns in relatives of a patient with dementia.

Proper organization of the patient's life, his living conditions can alleviate his condition and minimize the negative manifestations of the disease.

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My dad is 73, he has diabetes, his kidneys failed, I take him for dialysis, the dementia began to progress after the kidneys failed rather quickly. At first they thought it was a stroke, with difficulty they took him to the ambulance and did an MRI. I sincerely sympathize and understand everyone who has the same problems. A man with a partially amputated foot and severe osteomyelitis, which we slow down with antibiotics during attacks of aggression, runs without crutches, runs away from home, wants me to always sit with him. If I leave the house, he leaves to look for me on the street (fortunately, we live in our own house). He eats all the pills that he finds, I hide everything and give it out, so he drinks and after a minute says that he didn’t drink anything, asks for more, says we want to bring him to the next world. Glitches like a case are considered slippers, a cup is a cucumber norm. I can no longer carry myself to dialysis. I carry it on me 100 kg. The back no longer flexes. He forgets that he is sleeping, remembers nothing. For half a year, a person has degraded and every day is only worse.
What is the family choice? To live with the fact that you send your father to a hospital so as not to go crazy yourself and save the children's psyche. Or kill yourself completely. Relatives are asked to leave the house and be with him. Thanks to my mother who barely walks but helps a lot.

Listen, I have a mother with dementia, I read you and understand that I’m still lucky. I found out in social security that you can ask to call a commission that will identify the severity of the disease and you can, without the ability to determine the patient in the PND (psychiatric hospital). I’m not ready yet ,but ….

If the caregiver does not have anything that would please him, give him strength, then his life is really hell ... If there is something to switch to, you must urgently distance yourself from the patient. Even despite the fact that this is a native, close, beloved person. Mechanical maintenance. It’s good if you can get guardianship or just get a pension on a card for an elderly person. You can inspire yourself that you are at work, even unloved, but you must do it. If you don’t have your own family to switch to, you urgently need to start a hobby, a dog, a gym, read books - in general, dive somewhere with your head so that these diapers, poop on the walls and in pockets, verbal heresy are not perceived so sharply. It’s very hard, but you have to pull yourself together, you have to take care of yourself, take care of your salvation, in the end, you can’t help dementia patients in any way. Yes, and another great comfort is prayer. The temple becomes calmer. Very often people feel anger at a dementia patient, but this is not anger towards him, it is anger at the disease, at their powerlessness in front of it. Here prayer is very calming, it helps. Stay strong, don't give up, this will all pass.

Everything in the article is correct! Only those who have never encountered such a situation with their relatives are almost unable to understand it. Because it is difficult to imagine a situation when your parent (mother or father), whom you know from the first minutes of life, whom you always considered adequate (maybe strict, maybe even tough, rude, but still adequate), suddenly, or gradually, but imperceptibly for those who are nearby, they become sooooo strange. Inappropriate behavior, incomprehensible claims and resentments, spontaneous, unjustified aggression - sometimes they even fight, roam at night, and in the evening, when you come home from work, they say “good morning” to you, which means the next, endless sleepless night. Fear for the taps (so as not to flood the neighbors), for the stove (so everyone can fly into the air), knives, sharp objects - how to hide all this in an apartment, but then where to live? ... No, this is not understandable to a person who does not I saw my relatives like this .... Only specialized round-the-clock care of a professional can save the situation, otherwise it is completely unknown who will turn out to be “sicker” and who needs to be saved first of all, the one who is being looked after, or the one who is looking after ... Yes, that's another trick - such a person considers his relatives to be his “servants”, who, as he believes, are obliged to fulfill all his requirements ..., but with “non-native” people they behave more adequately (I noticed such a phenomenon, maybe this is just an isolated case?). The most humane approach: professional care in specialized institutions, where the entire environment is already prepared in advance, where you can not be afraid that a person with dementia will harm either himself or others. After all, providing proper care is the true care of a person suffering from dementia. In our society, it is not yet customary to talk loudly about such situations, so most often a person whose relative has dementia tries to somehow not talk about this problem, tries to somehow solve it on his own, and this almost always means poor quality and unprofessional... . And judging by the statistics that every 3 people are prone to this disease, it's time to talk about the problem on a national scale.

Good afternoon, I understand you perfectly, I have been living in the same hell for 5 years, considering that I am 33, I have a small child and a husband, my mother has to shave to live with her grandmother alone, I have to go through all this, so everything lives together and we all go crazy , I’m especially sorry for my son, for him all this is already the norm .... but I can’t quit, I’m very sorry for my grandmother .... but my nerves are already at the limit, I already called an ambulance for myself, my hand began to go numb ... doctors at the grandmother’s expense say what do you want ... and in the meantime she already has hallucinations, she speaks with someone out loud at night, and during the day she cannot formulate a word ... only those who live in it can understand ... she herself is strong, she is 85, and the pressure is like that of a young one. so we don’t have to wait for anything, we just live in hell and that’s it ... the previous commentator hold on to the last of your strength, life is one, it means we are given to live like this, we don’t have to end because of this, when it all ends, and you can live in peace ...

• The article fully reflects what is happening ... For me, specifically, the situation is hopeless. I have to wait, or I will go crazy, or she will do something at home. Being with a patient (albeit a 78-year-old mother) who does not consider herself sick for days is simply unbearable. for some year, it took 20 years of my life from me. I became disabled by accident, 1gr while in a wheelchair (I can only move around the apartment, nothing is equipped for leaving, I’ve been riding like this for 3 years now (numerous leg fractures - for information - 7 years in total), (you need to do operations, but you can’t leave her unattended). Ask about social security ... - it’s not there, one name, don’t call. .It seems like this year, the year of a volunteer, I didn’t see any help from anyone at point-blank range. It’s just bragging and self-exaltation of our leader. hoped that they would help, the state would not leave ... No help ... We survived as best we could. I somehow got up from scratch, even though I earned an apartment so as not to live in the garbage). All the words are in our unshakable. in Vologda?). In short, digressing, patients with dementia should be immediately isolated from healthy people at the first signs of the disease, so that they do not spoil the life of healthy people. Living with them is HELL. God forbid anyone to live with this ... Well, I ... if in nothing will change for 2 months, I will create something with myself, there is no way out. it is surprising that not a single response was found to such an article, because everything is precisely said. This means that in our state everyone is healthy and living well. So our compliments in the “last long-suffering one” begs for compliments. Health to all.

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People often use the word "insanity" when communicating, without even implying that it is a synonym for a disease that manifests itself in old age - dementia. This disease most often occurs in women over 65 years of age. Men are at risk only if they have a predisposition that is created through the influence of third-party factors such as alcoholism, drug addiction and chronic diseases of the cardiovascular system. What is the peculiarity of the disease, what are its causes and manifestations, as well as methods of treatment and prognosis, we will find out further.

Senile dementia is characterized as a pathology of the nervous system, which develops against the background of the extinction of the processes of brain activity. The older a person becomes, the more difficult it is for brain cells to carry out regeneration processes, recovering from critical situations.

During the progression of insanity, various irreversible processes in the brain at the cellular level are noted, which affects a person’s behavior, his awareness of himself in society and the perception of the world around him. Older people with dementia can be unpredictable, confuse words, and not remember actions and facts from their own lives. They require constant monitoring and special care, since dementia can provoke a lot of undesirable manifestations.

Against the background of the development of insanity, a person is able to change for the worse, believing that such behavior is the most correct. In some cases, there is aggression towards everything around. All these manifestations can be accompanied by memory loss.

The features of dementia are as follows:

1. It can occur at an early age, which provokes strong emotional upheavals and early aging of the body.
2. Women suffer from insanity 2 times more often than men, which is explained by the peculiarity of the nervous and psychosomatic reactions that occur in the body in women more intensely.
3. It is progressive in nature, in the absence of early diagnosis and appropriate correction, the disease can make a person dangerous to society.
4. The disease can manifest itself at a working age, when there is dependence: drug addiction, alcoholism, drug addiction.
5. The rate of dementia depends on the structural features of the nervous system and the influence of external factors. People suffering from this disease, who are in the family circle and are surrounded by care, attention and love, are less aggressive.
6. The disease can be transmitted to descendants, so if there is a patient in the family, there are high chances that this disease will also manifest itself in children and grandchildren in old age.

WHO claims that the number of patients is increasing every year, and the disease itself is “getting younger”, that is, it is more common at the age of 50-55 years, while a couple of decades ago dementia was considered exclusively a pathology of the elderly.

The reasons

The main reason for the onset of the disease lies in the violation of immune processes, as a result of which autoimmune diseases are formed that precede the destructive processes in the brain cells. There are primary and secondary causes of the development of marasmus in the elderly, the factors of which determine the intensity and speed of the course of the disease. The primary ones include destructive processes of the cerebral cortex that occur against the background of the progression of concomitant diseases, such as:

• Alzheimer's disease or senile dementia;
• Pick's disease.

Primary causes provoke an acute course of dementia, which requires constant monitoring.

Secondary brain damage is observed against the background of the progression of infectious and viral diseases, pathogenic microorganisms of which can depress the central nervous system, as well as weaken the immune system. These include:

• severe intoxication with harmful chemicals;
• chronic infectious diseases;
• arterial hypertension of a chronic nature;
• HIV infection;
• oncological neoplasms in the brain;
• autoimmune disorders;
• the presence in the body of inflammatory foci of viral etiology;
• atherosclerosis of cerebral vessels;
• endocrine disorders.

All these diseases form a risk factor for the development of senile dementia.

Symptoms

There are a number of features that help distinguish dementia from mental retardation, although the two conditions can show many similar symptoms. The primary signs of dementia are usually mild, but their detection should be the reason for contacting a specialist. Conventionally, all the symptoms of the disease can be divided into primary, that is, those that appear at the very beginning of brain dysfunction, and secondary, manifested with a progressive disease.

Attention! Early diagnosis will avoid the rapid progression of the disease, and also contributes to a more successful correction of the patient's condition.

Memory disorders

With dementia, an elderly person does not remember his past life well, as well as facts from his personal biography. It is difficult for him to remember exact dates and specific events. Disorders of memory functions are associated with damage to the nerve cells of the part of the brain that is responsible for storing information (sections of the cortex). It is memory problems that are the first signs that dementia is approaching.

Memory loss can manifest itself in two forms:

1. Short-term - a person cannot remember events and facts for a certain period of time, after which the memories return.
2. Long-term - unable to remember anything for a long time.

Symptoms of violations of memory processes are as follows:

• a person remembers the events of today well, but cannot remember himself in childhood;
• in memory there are only separate events from life that cannot be connected with each other;
• the patient does not remember what he was doing a few minutes ago, where he was going and what he was thinking about, but he remembers well the events of 40-50 years ago;
• there are problems with remembering numbers and dates, as well as the appearance of the surrounding people;
• family ties are lost when it is difficult for a person to remember who in his family belongs to whom;
• taste memory problems may occur when the patient does not remember how the fruit smells or which sour lemon.

Memory problems are a dangerous manifestation of dementia, since a person can leave the house for bread at the nearest store and never return home, forgetting his address, first and last name, and relatives.

Attention! If relatives have memory problems, in no case should they be allowed to walk on their own. This can lead to undesirable consequences, as well as to the loss of a person.

Spatial disturbances of perception

This sign is manifested in changes in the sense of oneself in the world and space. It seems to a person that time is going too fast, or, on the contrary, is slowing down. It is difficult to distinguish the time of day and the season of the year by comparing the external picture with your personal feelings.

This process is aggravated when he finds himself in a critical situation that requires increased brain activity. Against the background of an emotional outburst and increased excitability, neurohumoral processes are activated, as a result of which a person is lost in space, not remembering and not realizing himself as a person.

One of the signs of dementia is changes in the sense of oneself in the world and space.

At home, when the patient is surrounded by relatives who show kindness, affection, respect, care and patience, there are practically no spatial disturbances. They can have only a partial manifestation when a person is emotionally stressed or upset about something.

A person is able to describe an object, name its properties, but it is not possible to correctly indicate what kind of object it is. Such violations are explained by the inadequacy of the perception of nerve impulses by the cerebral cortex, although the impulses themselves arise and are transmitted correctly. An incorrect interpretation of reality leads to the fact that a person does not recognize the faces of others, but remembers generalized facts.

Features of speech

Dementia, which causes disturbances in brain activity, causes slow speech. It is extremely difficult for the patient to build full-fledged sequential sentences. His usual communication is reduced to a couple of words combined into one template sentence. In addition, the pattern of phrases repeated in every conversation is the second sign of early dementia, which indicates the presence of problems with the cerebral cortex.

A person, against the background of the progression of short-term memory loss, can repeat the same phrase several times per minute, not counting it as a repetition. In the process of conversation, facial expressions and emotionality are gradually lost. All phrases expressing various feelings and experiences are pronounced and perceived with the same emotionality, devoid of vivid manifestations. The gesticulation that accompanies disputes or a violent showdown disappears. Each phrase is pronounced evenly and monotonously.

Speech problems are most often compared with the aging of the body, although in fact, early signs of dementia appear this way. The lack of early diagnosis leads to the fact that the disease progresses, more actively manifesting external symptoms. Often, dementia is discovered by accident, when, against the background of speech problems, a person is accidentally asked questions about a date, time, and facts from life that he is not able to remember. A person remembers the name of an object well, understands its color, parameters, but cannot name it.

Aphasia (speech degradation) may also be accompanied by the use of 5-7 words in the vocabulary that the patient uses most often. All other phrases and turns of speech completely disappear due to lack of necessity. Aphasia is often accompanied by a loss of short-term memory, when a person does not remember what he was told 2 minutes ago, as well as who said it.

Deterioration of thinking

It becomes difficult for the patient to solve elementary problems and tasks that he faced earlier on a daily basis. The construction of the following mechanism is violated: problem - solutions - consequences. The patient is not able to bear responsibility for his own actions, because he commits them in the absence of awareness.

It is also difficult for the patient to reason, to think about possible ways to solve an elementary daily task. It can take a lot of time to brush your teeth or make tea, even though the process itself will eventually be done correctly.

Concentration of attention

Dementia is accompanied by a violation of concentration, in which attention stops on one object, although it is possible to move the head and diversify the field of view. Prolonged concentration of attention on a certain subject may not mean thinking and attention to this subject at all. Often, such selective concentration is explained by the inhibition of reactions, in which time is needed to understand and comprehend the object, to remember its functions and purpose.

Attention! The primary signs mentioned above can appear separately, and their intensity depends entirely on the progression of the disease. If you notice at least one of the symptoms, you should seek help from specialists. Early diagnosis will make the course of dementia less problematic for a person.

When dementia has a rapid course, all of the above factors and symptoms can lead to the development of three final indicators that indicate a progressive disease.

Personality and behavior changes

It is human nature to develop opposite qualities. For example, a clean person turns into a slob, not wanting to follow the basic rules of personal hygiene, and a thrifty one, who counts every penny, spends the last on thoughtless, meaningless purchases. Changes in behavior happen gradually. Stress and any other external factors that take the patient out of the comfort zone can affect the intensification of reactions.

Selfishness appears. The patient puts himself in the first place, not wanting to delve into the problems of other people and share pain and sadness with them. The feeling of compassion, as well as support, is dulled. Self-centeredness leads to estrangement from society and people. A person becomes more closed, lives in his own world according to his own rules and laws.

It seems to the patient that all around people are opposed to him, wishing him harm and a speedy death. Tearfulness appears, as well as the habit of complaining and criticizing any action of the surrounding people. The severe stage of dementia is accompanied by the loss of all interest in the outside world, as well as loss of memory for the implementation of elementary processes.

Restriction of motor activity

A person does not remember how to dress properly and in what order this process is carried out. It is difficult for him to determine the right and left sides, as well as to perform movements on command. Increased muscle tone leads to the fact that movements are constrained, and facial muscles are not able to reproduce emotions.

Complete social degradation

The key symptom that determines the complete absence of deliberate conscious actions and actions of a person that identifies him as a person. Any interpersonal connections are lost, a person withdraws into himself, ignoring the world around him with its rules and laws. It seems to the patient that his actions are the most correct, just and true, although in fact they contradict the laws of society.

Symptoms characteristic of individual degrees of severity of dementia and prognosis

Scientists argue that dementia of the same degree of flow in different people can manifest itself with different symptoms, which depends on the individual characteristics of the organism. However, isolated symptoms are distinguished that are characteristic of each stage of the disease, which is displayed in the table.

Treatment

The patient requires complex treatment, consisting of two factors:

1. Drug therapy - allows you to slow down the destructive processes in the brain, reducing the intensity of the symptoms of the disease.
2. Psycho-emotional support - the family and the microclimate play an important role for the patient. You should be patient with such patients, do not punish or scold them, showing care, respect and love, as well as a sense of support.

Remember! People with dementia, surrounded by family care, live longer, are less aggressive, and are also not able to show aggression. The family is able to maintain mental health, which is extremely important for the patient.

Thus, dementia, which manifests itself in old age, can have a lot of symptoms and manifestations that are characteristic of each individual case. Early diagnosis, as well as family support, slows down the processes of brain destruction, giving the patient a chance for a bright old age.

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Old age is a natural process that is accompanied by hormonal, physiological and mental changes. Older people develop wrinkles and new diseases, it becomes harder for them to do their usual work and remain socially active. A person after retirement can keep himself in shape, play sports and eat right, but even in this case, he is not immune from neuropsychiatric disorders and hallucinations.

Varieties of hallucinations

Illusions that are born in the imagination are so plausible that older people do not doubt their realism. They can talk about seeing the ghost of a dead friend, complain about too noisy neighbors, or a daughter-in-law who decided to poison her mother-in-law with a tasteless soup. Psychologists distinguish two types of hallucinations: true and pseudo, which are also called false.

In the first case, visions haunt patients in real life: the spots on the floor seem to be cockroaches, the air smells of gas with which the evil neighbors decided to poison the unfortunate pensioner, ghosts or monsters come to the old man at night. False hallucinations occur only in the head of an elderly person. It seems to him that a second voice is talking to him mentally, but his ears do not hear it. Such patients often claim to have communicated with aliens or God. False hallucinations do not affect the senses. The patient simply plunges into the world of his own illusions, gradually shutting himself off from the outside world and relatives.

Hallucinations in the elderly are spontaneous, functional or reflex. The first arise without apparent external causes. Chemical processes take place in the head that affect certain organs, and a person sees bright spots or hears strange sounds. Functional varieties arise if the stimulus acts directly on the analyzer. Reflex hallucinations appear when another organ is stimulated. For example, a patient with a cataract hears loud music, while an old man with deafness sees silhouettes.

Symptoms of hallucinations vary depending on the organ that the brain uses to create illusions.

Categories of hallucinations and signs

Auditory illusions are the most common. Patients wake up at night from a strange noise, hear individual words or phrases. It seems to them that the neighbors behind the wall are constantly talking or swearing, although they are actually at work or at a party. Some older patients begin to hear several voices discussing their actions and condemning past mistakes. Sometimes such hallucinations end in a suicide attempt.

In other situations, an invisible interlocutor orders the patient to cripple himself or his relatives, warns that they want to poison or hack a person in a dream, castrate or take away an apartment and put him out on the street. Usually such illusions are diagnosed in older people with mental disorders or paranoia.

The second position among the most common hallucinations is occupied by visual varieties. Old people see flashes of light, it seems to them that the house is full of smoke or fog. Some see animals or human silhouettes, at night devils or other mythological creatures from the other world come to them. Sometimes retirees are harassed by aliens or their own doppelgangers. Entire scenes can play out before the patient's eyes, and he will never suspect that these are all just hallucinations.

Visual and auditory illusions are often supplemented by olfactory or gustatory varieties. In the first case, an elderly person constantly smells unpleasant odors, like carbon monoxide or rotting waste, or aromas that cause him pleasant associations. For example, it seems to the grandmother that the room smells like the favorite perfume of her grandfather, who died ten years ago, and she believes that his ghost really decided to visit her. In the second case, the patient refuses to eat because of the strange taste. Too salty, bitter, with a taste of chemistry. The patient can knock over a bowl of soup, because it seemed to him that his daughter or son-in-law poured poison into it. Sometimes hallucinations cause panic attacks or bouts of paranoia.

Other categories of hallucinations and their symptoms

Often, patients have disturbed sleep: at night they toss and turn in bed for a long time or look at the ceiling until dawn, and try to take a nap during the day. Elderly people become apathetic or, conversely, aggressive. Some hide the visions but complain of constant pain or loss of appetite. A patient with hallucinations can sit, staring at one point, talking to himself, constantly afraid of something or someone. Some pensioners quarrel with neighbors, accuse their children of wanting to poison their father or mother in order to get an apartment or other material benefits.

Psychologists say that it is impossible to completely cure hallucinations in the elderly, because some senile diseases are an irreversible and, unfortunately, natural phenomenon. But it is possible to alleviate the condition of aged patients. It is necessary to find the cause of illusions and fight it with medication and psychotherapeutic methods.

Causes of hallucinations in the elderly

Infectious diseases can cause hallucinations in pensioners, for example, encephalitis, the causative agent of which is the herpes virus, or cerebral syphilis. Malignant or benign tumors in the frontal or parietal part of the head provoke senile visions. The cause of the problem may be atherosclerosis of the cerebral vessels.

Visions haunt retirees who abuse alcohol or drugs. Sometimes hallucinations are a side effect of certain medications:

• antihistamines;
• tranquilizers;
• antibacterial or antiviral;
• to treat tuberculosis or seizures;
• sulfonamides or psychostimulants.

With the help of hallucinations, the brain tries to "have fun" during social isolation, when old people are locked in four walls alone with themselves. They are deprived of the company of friends and relatives, they do not have books and TV, so auditory or visual illusions appear. Sometimes this problem appears in patients who are bedridden due to a stroke or paralysis.

Psychologists suggest that olfactory and gustatory hallucinations are more likely to develop in people prone to paranoia. They are afraid of death, they are haunted by pessimistic thoughts and symptoms of depression. Visions appear in old people who cannot sleep at night, so their mechanism of rest and wakefulness goes astray. Sometimes hallucinations are the result of severe intoxication, a symptom of schizophrenia, infectious psychosis or delirium, Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

Hallucinations in the elderly: what to do and how to choose treatment

Is there a home treatment for illusions and visions? No, patients should be immediately referred to a psychiatrist, psychologist or neurologist. Even if patients seem quiet and harmless, they are capable of exploding at any moment and harming themselves or others. Relatives are advised to first go to the doctor on their own, so that he will tell you how to behave and talk with a person who has hallucinations.

The specialist cannot prescribe treatment in absentia until he sees the patient, but he will teach how to persuade the patient to visit a psychiatrist. What to do with violent pensioners who rush at people with fists or edged weapons? Call the police and doctors so that they can calm the elderly person together and take him to the hospital, where he will be diagnosed and receive appropriate treatment.

It is recommended not only to talk to a psychiatrist or psychologist, but also to fully examine the patient in order to exclude infection, poisoning and tumors. You should not refuse CT or MRI of the brain, blood tests and other procedures, thanks to which doctors can find the cause of hallucinations.

To prescribe effective treatment, specialists must be aware of all the diseases that have been diagnosed in a patient. Relatives should closely monitor an elderly person, because the sooner they notice suspicious symptoms and begin to deal with them, the more chances a pensioner has for recovery and a full life.

What can be offered to an elderly patient

People around will never be able to explain to the patient that his visions are fiction. Hallucinations are so addictive that a person refuses to believe in their implausibility. Elderly patients are helped by drug treatment, consisting of tranquilizers, sedatives and antipsychotics. Visual, auditory and other types of hallucinations that have arisen under the influence of alcoholic or narcotic substances are removed with the help of cleansing procedures. Substances that have caused intoxication are removed from the body, and then an individual treatment is selected.

Acute attacks stop in a hospital, then relatives should take care of an elderly person. What should be done to prevent seizures from recurring? Protect the pensioner from stress, make sure that he takes his pills on time and visits a psychotherapist. Cognitive behavioral and psychosocial therapy can help prolong remission.

Sometimes hallucinations in the elderly disappear if certain drugs are canceled or replaced with analogues. So that visual, olfactory, auditory and tactile hallucinations do not haunt an elderly person, you should seek medical help in a timely manner and follow all the instructions of doctors. And then the treatment will quickly give positive results, and the pensioner will become a full-fledged member of society.

Such metamorphoses do indeed happen: character traits that were previously almost invisible become sharper with age and begin to dominate. For example, a person used to be thrifty, but in old age he became stingy. He used to be unsociable, but became gloomy. He used to be caring, but now he endlessly interferes in other people's affairs, controls everyone. In short, it has changed. And obviously not for the better.

Soul wound?

Naturally, this annoys those close to him: “Now it’s not just living together with him, it’s even impossible to talk!” Someone even believes that an elderly relative is deliberately plotting: “He didn’t like me before, but now he decided to hunt me down.”

However, psychologists believe that the cause of the old man's resentment, isolation, irritability is mental discomfort. Most likely, a person feels unhappy, unnecessary, old, sick. Internal discord generates negative emotions that splash out on others. It also happens the other way around: an elderly person falls upon himself, engaging in endless self-discipline.

Physical illness?

It happens that the character deteriorates due to illness. Indeed, if a person suffers from a serious illness, it is extremely difficult to remain cheerful, active and cheerful. Many, of course, struggle with pain and a negative attitude, but at times it “rolls” on them too - they cry, get offended, act up, withdraw into themselves.

Excessive emotionality can appear against the background of dementia - senile dementia. In this case, other symptoms usually occur, such as forgetfulness and absent-mindedness. For example, a person can begin to scatter his things anywhere, which infuriates relatives - they say, grandfather specially puts his socks in the kitchen for us! And the violator of the order is not able to comprehend what is happening or even just remember where to put these very socks.

Conservatism and categorical rejection of the new also do not always indicate a "spoiled" character. The fact is that by the age of 75-80, 30-40% of neurons in the brain are destroyed in a person. The speed of perception and processing of information is reduced. Therefore, old people are not capricious when they refuse to master the microwave oven they have been given - it is really difficult for them to do this.

So stop getting angry and offended by an elderly relative: if he gets you and it’s definitely not on purpose. Try to surround him with care and attention. It is possible that the character will improve!

Understand. Forgive. To accept

Call more often, come to visit, make small gifts (not necessarily expensive ones). Find time to talk heart to heart, look through the family album together.

If something in the behavior of a loved one alarms you - for example, he was going to the store, but, having reached the front door, forgot where he was going, or he cannot perform his usual household functions, - persuade him to see a doctor. Senile dementia cannot be cured, but it is possible to stop the process of destruction of brain cells. The earlier treatment is started, the higher the effectiveness.

Decided to give the old man a gift, for example, a new phone? Buy the simplest model and patiently explain (perhaps more than once) how to use it.

Give the elderly person feasible assignments: buy bread, wash dishes, walk the dog. This will raise his self-esteem and self-confidence - which means he is still needed! In addition, active activity is the best training for the brain. It is especially useful to alternate between different activities. This will allow you to stay in your right mind and solid memory until old age.