Re:How Much a Dementia Patient Needs to Know
by scott_s on Thursday February 28, 2019 @10:50AM
(#19272169)
Part of the dementia is that you lose the metacognition to understand that your short-term memory is hosed. We don't just become forgetful. We lose cognitive capacity. We're not ourselves minus the ability to remember things. We slowly become a different person.
Re:How Much a Dementia Patient Needs to Know
by mirimir on Thursday February 28, 2019 @06:42PM
(#19276570)
Maybe so. I guess that I'll find out.
Re:How Much a Dementia Patient Needs to Know
by scott_s on Thursday February 28, 2019 @06:54PM
(#19276654)
My point is that you will not.
Re:How Much a Dementia Patient Needs to Know
by mirimir on Friday March 01, 2019 @02:59AM
(#19278695)
Well, I already know that my short-term memory is somewhat hosed. So for stuff that matters to me, I leave myself notes. And for stuff that doesn't matter to me, I just forget. And that's actually better, in a way, because I'm more focused. And less distracted by guilt or whatever.
Many years ago, I turned a girlfriend on to LSD. She loved it, and wanted more the next day. I told her that she ought to wait a few days, for the tolerance to fade. But she was adamant.
So we did maybe 2-3 doses, and she was still unsatisfied with the peak. And -- dumbass that I was -- I suggested that we smoke some marijuana.
That was a serious mistake. Because our short-term memory dropped to 30 seconds or so. I was cool with that, staring at the patterns in everything. But she was not. So I spent perhaps 3-4 hours reminding her that she was just wasted on acid and dope, and that she'd be fine tomorrow.
And she was. Except that she was no longer my girlfriend.
But whatever. Maybe you could have just reminded your grandfather that his short-term memory was hosed. And then assured him that you'd be back next week.