Elderly holocaust survivors, coping with PTSD and dementia

invisigoth · Jan 16, 2008

I know of an elderly woman living with her very loving husband, who frequently hallucinates and becomes agitated because of the trauma she suffered in her childhood. Her husband is becoming overwhelmed with her care, they are up at all hours and both are exhausted. He is also becoming less sharp mentally, and sould use some very concrete ideas for dealing with her flashbacks.
They are a wonderful couple, joined at the hip for over fifty years, and do not want to be seperated...help please with ideas.

My mother used to be an aide in an apartment building with a lot of holocaust survivors. I remember her calling me and telling me how they were all trying to get into the apartment where she was working to be with her just so 'Hitler couldn't get them'

Jo Dirt · Jan 16, 2008

Poor things. A nursing home where they could room together is probably the best alternative.

CHATSDALE · Jan 16, 2008

my brother came back from korean war with a lot of issues but pts was unknown at that time..he is having problems now worse than ever

perhaps he was able to put this on back burner because he had to work and raise children, now he and his wife are retired and i know that she is having difficulty with him

they don't live close to any one so it is hard for family to intervene

**Elektra6, ASN, BSN, RN** · Jan 16, 2008

I know of an elderly woman living with her very loving husband, who frequently hallucinates and becomes agitated because of the trauma she suffered in her childhood. Her husband is becoming overwhelmed with her care, they are up at all hours and both are exhausted. He is also becoming less sharp mentally, and sould use some very concrete ideas for dealing with her flashbacks.
They are a wonderful couple, joined at the hip for over fifty years, and do not want to be seperated...help please with ideas.

My experience: I worked in a Jewish LTC and we had a few survivors. The best advice I can give is to get them involved in lots of activity. It was amazing to me but Yiddish singalongs could bring a smile to the most confused and demented resident and stop agitation EVERY TIME! They sell vhs tapes with these; our activity department had lots of them. They also loved music and musicals from around the time they were young. Family visits helped. Basically anything to get their mind in the present & focused on family, meals, entertainment and outings. This can be hard when the person lives a quiet life at home. Maybe taking her to an adult daycare or activities and meetings at a temple or JCC would be helpful. They don't have to understand everything to participate. I think being idle can make the problem worse. Hope this was a help. :redbeathe

queenjean · Jan 16, 2008

I *HIGHLY* recommend reading the book "The First and Final Nightmare of Sonia Reich," in which a son explores his mother's very late onset of PTSD. As a preteen girl she hid from the Nazis and Russians for several years, some of the time fending for herself in a forest. She appears to have a fairly normal life in the US, until her late 60s, when she begins to be very paranoid, hear voices, and start reliving some of her experiences during her time in hiding.

http://www.amazon.com/First-Final-Nightmare-Sonia-Reich/dp/1586483625

One conclusion the son comes to is that Holocaust survivors have PTSD because of how strong they are--that their strength held them through their adulthood, despite their trauma. Only in their old age, when their bodies (and in some cases their minds) start to fail them, can they not deal with the trauma, and the PTSD manifests itself. While he is sad about his mother's delusions, he is proud of her strength and will to live.

It made me wonder--we can only do so much for these people. I wonder if we need to step into their delusions and hallucinations. I wonder if we need to look at this differently. I know it doesn't apply to every one of these survivors; but we know that with people who have dementia, reorientation is useless. If they think you are their daughter, you aren't going to convince them otherwise, and they are going to be hurt and more confused and frightened if you insist upon reorientation. I have always simply played along as much as possible.

Maybe for some of these people, that is what we should do. Play along. "Hide" them. "Sneak" them food. Help them escape to a "safe house." I think for some people, that may be the only way to make them feel better. When meds and therapies fail, I wonder if "playing along" and supporting them, creating a safe place for them within their mental environment might be beneficial.

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Jan 16, 2008

If they think you are their daughter, you aren't going to convince them otherwise, and they are going to be hurt and more confused and frightened if you insist upon reorientation. I have always simply played along as much as possible.
Maybe for some of these people, that is what we should do. Play along. "Hide" them. "Sneak" them food. Help them escape to a "safe house." I think for some people, that may be the only way to make them feel better. When meds and therapies fail, I wonder if "playing along" and supporting them, creating a safe place for them within their mental environment might be beneficial.

That's what we do with my granddad who has Alzheimer's....he fought in WWII and pretty much lives in 1943. We play along. He's happier and so are we. I think you might be onto something, QJ.

Blee O'Myacin, BSN, RN · Jan 16, 2008

I know of an elderly woman living with her very loving husband, who frequently hallucinates and becomes agitated because of the trauma she suffered in her childhood. Her husband is becoming overwhelmed with her care, they are up at all hours and both are exhausted. He is also becoming less sharp mentally, and sould use some very concrete ideas for dealing with her flashbacks.
They are a wonderful couple, joined at the hip for over fifty years, and do not want to be seperated...help please with ideas.

Jewish Family Services in your area should be able to at least provide a social worker for this couple and have resources to help them. It may be worth a phone call.

This is an issue that is becoming more common as the survivor population ages. It's horrible to imagine these people who have survived so much only to be doomed to relive that part of their lives as they age.

Blee