I treated a judge for forty years who had fronto-temporal dementia.

[ihaveaquestion]

21. My mother seems to be going through the early stages of this - with angry reactions to most any irritation.

She is 89 and we have never had a close relationship. It's worse now, with her living in a place she dislikes, even though it's the most well appointed independent living facility in our area. She is full of anger at living there and though she made the decision, it feels as though she blames me. She doesn't listen to any explanation I give her for anything unless it's confirmed by someone else and argues with me about most things. I've taken to avoiding contact with her unless absolutely necessary.

It's sad really, but probably expected. Looking back at our lives, it's apparent that she's always been a narcissist and looking to be dependent on others for everything. She even told me years ago that she "just wanted to be taken care of" ... by a man at that point, but now she expects me to do everything for her and to do it her way, of course. I'm 70 now and am not prepared for this caregiving role.

I don't think this will end well for us. I've told my husband and daughter to tell me if I start to go down the same path of anger and being difficult to deal with.