The Frightened, Angry, Anxious, Mean Dementia Patient

Don’t get angry at the actions of someone that is living with dementia. Instead remind yourself – it is not their fault.

Don't get angry at the actions of someone that is living with dementia. Instead remind yourself - it is not their fault.

by Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer’s Reading Room

Bored, frightened, bewildered, apprehensive, anxious and angry. I can say that everyone of those words applied to Dotty when I first arrived in Delray Beach to care for her.

It just amazed me how easy it was for Dotty to get out of balance. To get mean.

How simple? Consider this.


Dotty would be standing there with the door wide open on the refrigerator and making a sandwich. She didn’t do it the way most of us do it. We usually take all of the component parts out of the refrigerator, close the door, put every thing on the counter, then make the sandwich.

In our home when you keep the door on our refrigerator open too long, or if the door is ajar, the refrigerator starts beeping. It has an alarm system to alert you that the…

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