Dad's mental state

[grp_believes_in_God]

Just wanted to share my situation with others to see if you have had similar experiences. Dad is having ALS for almost a year now and his speech is now barely understandable. He gets quite angry because we cannot understand him. He screams the second time when we cannot understand the first time which only causes him more discomfort like cough. Now he was never a person with good positive attitude. Even in his healthy days he was a man of low self esteem and it was a habbit for him to take out his frustrations on people close to him like mom or his children for quite flimsy reasons. He had a habbit of talking a lot (mostly negative). We are quite used to those idiosyncrasies of his. But now because of this disease he is getting increasingly upset with himself and others. He is obviously depressed which only causes him more discomfort.
We try to be as patient as possible with him but it is saddening to see his go down physically and psychologically. But what can we do other than just bite the bullet and try to love him even if he says something that hurts us.

[hope]

What sometimes may seem like low self-esteem may not be. Sometimes depression or hurt feelings can make one seem angry all the time. It may be possible that your father was not able to express is inner feelings and lashed out to try and deal with pain deep within. I would say keep showing him lots of love and understanding. He is not angry with you, he is angry with the illness and feeling helpless. We as family or friends can walk away for briefs periods and cope with the frustration, like go for a walk, talk to a friend, do things but when someone is ill it is hard, they cannot walk away from the horrible disease and pain it makes them feel. My words of advice would be to just say to your loved one, I know you are angry and upset but I love you and I am here for you. I will not walk away from you. Just love them.

hope.