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They just keep saying they are smart and would not have lived 83 years, they make you feel like you have insulted them but all you are doing is describing a certain situation that has nothing to do with their age or capacity to understand.

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IreneH2025: Don't tolerate acrimony.
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Reply to Llamalover47
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What situation are you trying to explain? Are you trying to tell them they are not handling their lives well enough?
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Reply to RedVanAnnie
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Stop trying to explain.

What situation are you describing that is so important for them to understand?

They are not listening to you, and you can't make them. Just stop talking. You can only control your actions, not anyone else's.

If you need to take action on their behalf due to dementia, then take any action that is necessary. You don't need to explain it. Anyone with dementia who needs intervention is not going to understand it.
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Reply to CaringWifeAZ
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Why keep at it? If dementia is involved, never keep at it, there’s simply no use
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Reply to Daughterof1930
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Stop taking this so seriously. This is typical mother-daughter, carer and caree stuff. It is unimportant. Stop hoping for agreement. You won't get it. But do know that it takes two to argue, and if you are one of them then you own 50% of the squabble. AND if you are arguing with dementia? That is REALLY poor decision making, because you know at the beginning just where it will go--nowhere fast.

Stop right-fighting with someone who you already know isn't dealing with a full deck.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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Tip #1
Someone who is willing to listen, not take things personal and who truly wants to understand you and not be defensive or automatically assume you are trying to interfere with their life, is usually called a therapist … that you pay.

I agree with your parents that to live to an old age does mean that a person has navigated difficult situations before. That they know there are bumps in the road.

Tip #2
If you are saying that you are trying to tell the folks that their house is on fire and they need to run yet they refuse to hear your words then perhaps you should take this moment to escape yourself after calling for the proper authorities. you apparently are the wrong messenger.

Tip #3
There are many situations where we wish we could make a better decision. Sometimes because poor as it may be, it’s the winner of the ugly girl contest. There are no good solutions. None of us are getting out alive.

Tip#4
One conversation you may want to have is with yourself.
Pick up the book Boundaries and decide what your position is regarding how involved you wish to be with your parents lives. Establish your boundaries and remember they are your boundaries, not theirs. Theirs appear to be in place. Boundaries are necessary for good communication.

Bonus Tip.
On this forum boundaries are sometimes nudged as responders try to break through the “fog” new posters are sometimes trapped in.
FOG - Fear, Obligation and Guilt. Look that up and see if it resonates.
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Reply to 97yroldmom
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Stop having the conversation that's upsetting you. That's how to not get upset anymore.

You're welcome 😊
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Reply to lealonnie1
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if this person has dementia or Alzheimer’s, they will never understand because their brain is dying.
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Reply to southernwave
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Does the person you are speaking of have dementia?
Because of course there is no "normal" in dementia, and that person is losing the ability to compute. Thing is that they will not recognize this, and you cannot convince them, because denial is part of it. YOU are the rational one. YOU are the one who is well. So YOU are the one called upon to understand. NOT THEM!

As to, if they are WELL, the argument that they didn't get to 83 by being dumb? That's true enough. I got to 83. But much of that is good genes and good luck, right? Not being smart. And the sad thing is that now SMART is going into reverse. Much like shifting a car. We are, in fact, PROVEN by brain studies of our white matter and our grey matter by MRI, proven now to be LOSING our smarts. So your beloved SMART elder is starting to have a brain that looks a bit like swiss cheese. And so do I. So you can let your loved one know that an OLD RN on AC just his or her age told you so!

Best of luck. Negotiating age gaps through life is just a part of it all. A DIFFICULT part!
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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Absent yourself from the premises. Refuse to engage. However, I fear that there is some reason that you must be involved with this person and would not want to give up on them entirely. What is it?
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Reply to Fawnby
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There's not enough context to understand what is going on... are you trying to have a conversation with someone who is in need of care and is in denial? Are you this person's caregiver or PoA?

The way you not get upset is to not be vested in any outcome. Stop talking to them about it. If it's about some care decision they need to make or legal step they need to take, then all you can do is inform them of what will happen if necessary actions aren't taken -- then you say, "Don't call me when it does." You cannot force a resistant adult to do anything. You need to accept the outcome of their poor choices.
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Reply to Geaton777
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