My Mother’s Narcissism + Dementia = A Very Sad State
Narcissists do not age well. When you add dementia to the equation it causes a very ugly picture.
My narcissistic mother has suddenly taken a dive into severe dementia. I haven’t had contact with her for almost 4 years so I am not seeing the evidence in person. However, I am hearing from my siblings and have even seen some videos. She is having both delusions and hallucinations. Her reactions have become more extreme and her paranoia has increased dramatically. But she is still narcissistic. I have some thoughts about that so stay tuned.
My mother-in-law who is not narcissistic has had a slow descent into dementia for at least 10 years. She has been in skilled nursing since my father-in-law died a little over 2 years ago. She is not capable of walking or any personal care tasks. She probably doesn’t recognize any of her family by name although she seems to understand that she knows us and cares about us. She doesn’t talk much and cannot answer questions. But she likes to hold our hands and smiles a lot; her nickname among the staff at her facility is Smiley.
I share the situation of my mother-in-law because it is such a strong contrast between her last chapter of life and that of my narcissistic mother.
