www.linkedin.com/pulse/all-you-have-do-ask-us-josine-engels

“When does, the violence start” !

On a forum just lately this was a question. How on earth do you answer that !
This is one of those stigma’s, an urban myth of sorts.
Anger and violence when somebody has an illness does not come from the illness,
It comes from being worried,misunderstood, not being able to communicate. It comes from pain and suffering !
It is not a part of dementia ! Just as it is not a part of Cancer or any other illness that, probably, one is dying from.
Other people in a bad place, if they lash out verbally or otherwise, are given understanding,
so why is it that everyone puts mood swings, outbursts etc as a symptom when it comes to dementia !
Wouldn’t you be touchy, prone to depression, mood swings and out bursts
if your brain was slowly killing everything you used to be !
I relate to dementia like going backwards, undoing everything you’ve ever learnt bit by bit, going backwards in time. So eventually you reach the antagonistic teenager, then even the terrible two’s. Not all children were a handful, neither will all dementia patients !
Think a little before you speak, speak a little before you think .
If you have a bad day, one should be more understanding, if I have a bad day, it “must” be the Alzheimer’s !!
A violent, argumentative or confrontational person will always be one, regardless of their illness.
Having an illness doesn’t always turn a good person bad !