My mom's hallucinations are intense and when she's in a state of confusion, whatever is on television becomes my mom's reality.
I can't watch court TV shows in the afternoon anymore, my mom watched with me and began talking to the TV and believing that she was going to be arrested or worse... go to jail.
News gives the same result, Soap Operas? Forget about it... the people become real, the story line becomes her life.
For years she watched soap's and talked about the people as though they were real "friends", I had no idea that she could have had mild dementia. I traveled for work and was not aware of her trouble; I didn't stop long enough to observe her behaviors. She was on her own all week long.
This week, I started an experiment which appears to be helping alleviate my mom's scary hallucinations; limit TV to shows that make her laugh, nothing heavy. I replaced her TV watching with music. Pandora radio tunes in easily on the computer, playing music by artists who's lyrics are happy and upbeat.
Jack Johnson's, "Better Together" is her new favorite song, she begins by tapping her feet to the music and then she will jump up and start dancing. The video above shows my mom dancing to this song while she watches for my dead father and brother through the windows.
My mom's got rhythm, she loves to dance. Dancing was her favorite past time in her younger years, it's how she met my dad; they danced at the Oceanview in Revere, Massachusetts.
Dancing brings her back to a happy time in her life, it makes her laugh and smile when she dances. She believes all of her "friends" watch her, she performs for her hallucinations.
Music instead of TV is helping my mom stay more present with fewer upsets because of a TV commercial or TV show that she believes is real. Today, she has discovered a natural and easy way to bring joy back into her life... dancing.
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