Learning about and
accepting Confabulating and Confabulations is
essential and not easy to
accept.
In psychology,
confabulation (verb: confabulate) is a memory
disturbance, defined as
the production of fabricated, distorted or
misinterpreted memories
about oneself or the world, without the
conscious intention to
deceive.
Key factors in
confabulations are there is no intent to deceive,
second the person being
unaware that the information is blatantly
false. Confabulating is
distinct from lying because there is no intent
to deceive, and the person
being unaware that the information is
blatantly false. Carers
challenge: is what they say true?
Confabulations become a
far greater concern in the later stages,
because confabulations are
much more likely to be acted upon.
It is difficult for
everyone to accept a mind is damaged by
Alzheimer's Disease. Not
only is memory damaged their ability to
process thoughts and
conversations is impaired.
Confabulations are a major
annoyance and can be dangerous- when we take everything in a
discussion at face value. Confabulating is very frequently observed in
people with Alzheimer's.
We all Confabulate when we
make..verbal statements and/or actions that
inaccurately describe
history, background and present situations
unintentionally. We must
be aware of information that is blatantly
false yet are coherent,
internally consistent, and appear relatively
normal.
Understand the
similarities between confabulation and delusions; e.g.,
both involve the
production of unintentional false statements, both
are resistant to
contradictory evidence.
Recognize Sunrise Syndrome
delusions that are frequently observed in
Alzheimer's patients
include beliefs about theft, the patient's house
not being his home, a
spouse, is an impostor, belief an intruder is in
the house,abandonment,
spousal infidelity, and paranoia.
http://www.alzcompend.info/?p=293
It seems that Alzheimer's
world is fraught with confabulation speak.
The general public doesn't
understand Alzheimer's they certainly need
to be educated regarding
Confabulation.
{Quoting
http://tinyurl.com/qfutbn4 Nature Reviews Neuroscience }
"Most patients with
spontaneous confabulation eventually stop
confabulating."
"Confabulators may
occasionally act upon their confabulation."
("Occasionally"?
Later-stage Alzheimer's patients persistently and
repeatedly act upon the
belief their childhood memories are relevant
to their present
circumstances.)
"Confabulations are
usually limited in time; they relate to the recent
past, the present, and the
future."
{End Quoting
http://tinyurl.com/qfutbn4 Nature Reviews Neuroscience }
An aide/caregiver must
understand the individual has Alzheimer's
Disease, be aware of the
danger, and treat the person with patience.
Also, Confabulation is
common. Conversing with someone who has
Alzheimer's is often like
talking with your cat.
Acknowledge, respond, be
affectionate, develop boundless patience.
Forget about rational
responses. Show respect, your therapeutic
fictional responses are
allowed. ~{quoting}DLMifm}
To cope with spontaneous
confabulation, and ease the confusion,
frustration, and fear for
the loved one, use resources such as:
By far, the most serious
danger posed by Alzheimer's disease is when
the individual may decide
they want to go for a walk, go searching for
"home," or maybe
just walk outside to get the paper. In a restaurant
they may go to a
rest-room. When they turn around, the place they
expect to see is gone.
Their assurance they are Ok and can go on their
own ?. may be a example of
confabulation.
----
Alzheimer Society of
Canada, http://tinyurl.com/oujghvy Toronto,
Ontario, M4R 1K8
Hallucinations and
delusions are symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and
other dementias. With
hallucinations or delusions, people do not
experience things as they
really are.
Delusions are false
beliefs. Even if you give evidence about something
to the person with
dementia, she will not change her belief. For
example, a person with
dementia may have a delusion in which she
believes someone else is
living in her house when she actually lives
alone. Delusions can also
be experienced in the form of paranoid
beliefs, or accusing
others for things that have not happened. For
example, the person with
dementia may misplace an item and blame
others for stealing it.
Some people with dementia may have the
delusion that others are
"out to get them." For example, he
may believe that his food
is being poisoned.
Hallucinations are
incorrect perceptions of objects or events
involving the senses. They
seem real to the person experiencing them
but cannot be verified by
anyone else. Hallucinations are a false
perception that can result
in either positive or negative experiences.
Hallucinations experienced
by people with dementia can involve any of
the senses, but are most
often either visual (seeing something that
isn't really there) or
auditory (hearing noises or voices that do not
actually exist). For
example, a visual hallucination could be seeing
bugs crawling over the bed
that aren't actually there. Of course,
people also make “visual
mistakes,� mistaking a housecoat hanging
up for a person, for
example, because they can’t see the object
clearly. This can happen
to anyone, and is not considered a
hallucination.
-----
Definition of Alzheimer's
Sunrise Syndrome
Internet description:
cognitive instability on arising from sleep.
Sunrise Syndrome,(sun?riz)
a condition in which a person with
Alzheimer's wakes up
rising in the morning and their mind is filled
with delusions which
include include beliefs about theft, the
patient's house not being
their home, a spouse is an impostor, belief
an intruder is in the
house, abandonment, spousal and paranoia, people
eavesdropping. Sometimes
the person may carry over content of a dream.
One observation is that
Sunrise Syndrome is different from Sundowning
because the person may
wake up in a confabulation mind set. During a
Sunrise Syndrome
conversation with the content may filled with
confabulations; verbal
statements and/or actions that inaccurately
describe history,
background and present situations.
Sundowning in contrast
displays as confusion, disorientation,
wandering, searching,
escape behaviors, tapping or banging,
vocalization,
combativeness; the demons of anxiety, anger, fear,
hallucinations and
paranoia come out.
===
When I became a caregiver
for my wife with Alzheimer's I had no
clue to the tasks ahead. I
started to read and search the Internet for
information.
Now retired I enjoy
blogging and networking. I am an Aggregator to
Ishmael's Knowledge
Network, I frequently collect content from various
Internet sources and
consolidate it on Ish's Knowledge Network
http://tinyurl.com/4qqekc6
Knowledge networking is a
pastime / hobby. BTW I have no
commercial ties to the
linked information.
Suggested reading Jennifer
Ghent-Fuller's article,
"Understanding the
Dementia Experience"
http://tinyurl.com/pzof7an
--
I really need to say this: The blog is for informational purposes only. I assume no responsibility for its accuracy. The information is subject to change without notice. Any actions you take based on information from the podcast or from this website are entirely at your own risk. Products and services are mentioned for informational purposes only and their various trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. Fair Use: is not an infringement of copyright
Brett Frankenberg 2nd Founder at The Institute for Quality in Senior
