WOW! I never thought about that. My husband had a very rough childhood and I don't know what I would do if he started reliving some of those events. He does talk about his past but so far nothing awful. I get scared when he starts telling stories about his time in Vietnam. He would never talk about his service back in the day but now he talks about certain places where he served and gets a very distant look in his eyes when he starts remembering that time in his life. I ususally try to change the subject, but maybe I should just let him talk.

I believe it is certainly possible. Although I can’t say for sure exactly what my wife was reliving, it was evident that some events in her early years caused a great deal of pain and hurt. As she slid backwards in time, these events resurfaced and caused her hurt and pain as if it were happening that very day. Now these events weren’t reliving an “abuse,” but more about parents splitting, moving around, and raised by her grandmother, etc. It was very hard to witness and I thought at the time how cruel this disease was for making her suffer through this painful period in her life all over again.
It was a very difficult time for both of us on this journey but at the same time it was fascinating witnessing how the brain functions as it marched through her life ..... in reverse. She couldn’t remember something from 5 minutes before, but she relived conversations she had 50 years earlier.
Thankfully, or mercifully, that phase has come and gone....

My mom had a day or two a few weeks ago when she was saying how BAD she was. It sounded like she had just been beaten by her father and told what a looser she was. It broke my heart. I had her (on the phone due to COVID) write down a list of her friends and we talked about some of the things she had done for them and the hinges they had done for her. See you aren’t a BAD person. Many people love you I told her. She eventually got through it. I had to inform the facility what I thought was happening and they appreciated me sharing.

Thank you for your share. I hope you both get through these rough patches.

Just a thought, but do you think it is because possibly he suppressed it all those years and now with AD it just comes out? Kind of a way for them to deal with it? I’m asking because my mom is going through the same thing.I feel like they are so uninhibited and don’t have a filter to suppress it any longer? That’s my thought on it anyway. prayers to you.