Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Psychology
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 11-29-2017, 11:09 AM
 
7 posts, read 5,929 times
Reputation: 15

Advertisements

I'm trying to figure out the psychology behind what my mother does. She has a habit of making up new names for items or food (even people on occasion) then becomes extremely angry when no one can figure out what she's talking about.

Last week she yelled at my husband because "he bought Suddenly Susan and she thinks mayo is too fatty!". It took 2 hours to figure out that she was mad that he bought Suddenly Salad and that she doesnt like it. She doesnt live with us and doesnt have to eat it.

She cried because my dad didnt bring her "the honey bunch". She wanted cereal..

For the past couple days shes been talking about what "Norm" is up to. None of us know anyone named Norm and when she questioned her she just kept saying Norm! Turns out she'd been watch as show with Norman Reedus in it and thought all of us watch it and mentally refer to him as Norm

She's only 60, no dementia or mental illness aside from painfully bossy. What could be doing on?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 11-29-2017, 11:15 AM
 
6,278 posts, read 4,154,055 times
Reputation: 24736
It's called malapropisms, and they can be funny now and again BUT this sounds like there is a problem, frontotemporal dementia issues, that maybe a doctor or a neurologist needs to check out
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-29-2017, 11:19 AM
 
7 posts, read 5,929 times
Reputation: 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spuggy View Post
It's called malapropisms, and they can be funny now and again BUT this sounds like there is a problem, frontotemporal dementia issues, that maybe a doctor or a neurologist needs to check out
We've been trying to get her to go to a doctor but she only believes in Chinese medicine(we're not even Chinese, which makes it really strange).

You are right that it can be funny at times but its past that. The "Suddenly Salad" incident was disturbing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-29-2017, 01:28 PM
 
6,278 posts, read 4,154,055 times
Reputation: 24736
I can understand why you are disturbed alas denial is a tough armor to break through. is it possible your father could have a talk with the doctor about it because the doctor may give your father some strategies or tips on what to watch out for and how to deal with it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-29-2017, 01:46 PM
 
Location: Minnesota
2,600 posts, read 2,156,838 times
Reputation: 5003
If it's a sudden change it may be a stroke. Stroke can cause all different sort of problems not just slurred speech. Other problems such as, confusion, vision problems, having trouble finding the right words, higher level of frustration. My mom had what was deemed a mini stroke and lost some hearing in one ear and no other symptoms. Your mom needs to see a doctor. If stroke at least will be put on low dose aspirin.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-29-2017, 01:54 PM
 
Location: State of Denial
2,480 posts, read 1,852,117 times
Reputation: 13490
A relative who had Multi-Infarct Dementia did that, too. Except she'd say "that thing" or "that place" or "that person" and then would get upset when nobody knew what thing, place or person she was talking about. It came on slowly. Apparently every time she'd have a minor infarct, it would get worse.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-29-2017, 02:01 PM
 
16,715 posts, read 19,330,089 times
Reputation: 41481
Sounds like a mild stroke. She needs to get checked.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-29-2017, 03:07 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
20,263 posts, read 14,495,305 times
Reputation: 39144
I definitely think that there's a brain health problem going on here, especially if she has not ALWAYS done this, or has started doing it more.

My Great Aunt started doing the same thing, and she rapidly declined into dementia...they told us it was Pick's disease. She died of it. Just because your Mom is only in her 60's doesn't mean that there are no issues with her brain.

My Aunt referred to a mantle clock as a "tick tock thing" at one point, and she developed other odd quirks...a sudden obsession with sweet foods, and she got frustrated with first her computer, and then her TV. She cut the cords with a knife, while they were still plugged in, and carried these heavy machines out to the curb and put them out for the trash. Before all this? She was pretty much a genius. Very intelligent and sophisticated lady. When I went to go through her condo after she was put in a home, I found all these little index cards reminding her to do all kinds of mundane things, like turn off the stove or unload the dishwasher...as her mind started to go, she created all these ways to cope. She didn't want anyone to know. But eventually it became clear she wasn't safe to live alone anymore, and we had to put her into a facility. Sometimes she would get mad at people, because she didn't understand why she was there. She attacked another resident with a rolled up newspaper at one point.

Anyhow. Keep an eye on her. You might need to take the car keys from her. Things like that. Get her to a doctor if you can. Some forms of dementia can be managed with meds, though not generally cured.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-29-2017, 03:13 PM
 
7 posts, read 5,929 times
Reputation: 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by Izzie1213 View Post
If it's a sudden change it may be a stroke. Stroke can cause all different sort of problems not just slurred speech. Other problems such as, confusion, vision problems, having trouble finding the right words, higher level of frustration. My mom had what was deemed a mini stroke and lost some hearing in one ear and no other symptoms. Your mom needs to see a doctor. If stroke at least will be put on low dose aspirin.
She's been doing this for over 25 years. She knows and admits that those aren't the correct words but chooses to use them.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-29-2017, 03:14 PM
 
7 posts, read 5,929 times
Reputation: 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic_Spork View Post
I definitely think that there's a brain health problem going on here, especially if she has not ALWAYS done this, or has started doing it more.

My Great Aunt started doing the same thing, and she rapidly declined into dementia...they told us it was Pick's disease. She died of it. Just because your Mom is only in her 60's doesn't mean that there are no issues with her brain.

My Aunt referred to a mantle clock as a "tick tock thing" at one point, and she developed other odd quirks...a sudden obsession with sweet foods, and she got frustrated with first her computer, and then her TV. She cut the cords with a knife, while they were still plugged in, and carried these heavy machines out to the curb and put them out for the trash. Before all this? She was pretty much a genius. Very intelligent and sophisticated lady. When I went to go through her condo after she was put in a home, I found all these little index cards reminding her to do all kinds of mundane things, like turn off the stove or unload the dishwasher...as her mind started to go, she created all these ways to cope. She didn't want anyone to know. But eventually it became clear she wasn't safe to live alone anymore, and we had to put her into a facility. Sometimes she would get mad at people, because she didn't understand why she was there. She attacked another resident with a rolled up newspaper at one point.

Anyhow. Keep an eye on her. You might need to take the car keys from her. Things like that. Get her to a doctor if you can. Some forms of dementia can be managed with meds, though not generally cured.
She's always done some version of it as long as I've been alive. The strange part is that she chooses to use these words. She knows the real names she just says she doesnt like them
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Psychology
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top