Hallucinations That Are Cruel

1. 

   "Visual hallucinations are one of three defining symptoms for diagnosing Lewy Bodies Dementia -in addition to signs of dementia."  Mayo Clinic literature
   
   

   It is hard to listen to the extremely difficult hallucinations that my loved one continues to have.  Yesterday he told me about an employer (it is often a principal because he seems to be back in the days of teaching high school) who held him prisoner inside a snow blower over night.  He described in detail how painful it was, how contorted his body had to be to fit into the snow blower.  Perhaps not everyone with LBD has such cruel hallucinations, but it is so hard to hear him tell of things he is certain really happened that are so cruel and painful.  Of course it would be fruitless to try to convince him this was not real, when it is as real to him as my sitting there -- perhaps even more real.  What I do do is listen, and then I try to draw him toward more positive topics, so that he is less agitated.