After my father-in-law died, my mother-in-law (age 80, but diagnosed with early onset dementia at 55) I began to spend more time with her and noticed what I called panic attacks, wondering where her husband/mother/grandmother were or what was happening. Prior to his death, my FIL would speak harshly to her and try to tell her that her grandmother/mother had been dead for 40 years and she needed to remember! The look on her face would tear your heart out, so I devised a plan . . we could be sitting quietly, me reading and her doing her beautiful needlework, when she would suddenly startle and ask, "Where's Ben???" (her husband who had died a year ago ) I learned the tactic of diversion . . . I would calmly tell her, "let me go see what he's up to," leave the room and come back shortly and announce, "oh, he's busy fooling around with that piece of woodwork (whatever) ," and she would nod her head and relax. She just needed to be reassured he was nearby and honestly, many times when I returned she would look at me and ask, "Are you okay? You left so suddenly." I realized then that these "panic attacks" were fleeting, as if a moment passed quickly in her thought process and was gone just as quickly. She also spoke of her grandmother and the good times they enjoyed together. Many times I would come to visit and she would tell me that she and her grandmother had spent the day together and had she had just gotten back into her room, at which time I would ask, "So what trouble did you two get into?" She would giggle and begin to tell me the adventure they had just shared. She seemed very content and I like to think she enjoyed reliving those wonderful times with her grandmother so who was I to tell her, "No! Your grandmother died years ago. Get it together!" The "diversionary tactic" worked until the day she died, and although I felt guilty at times lying to her, at least it calmed her, soothed her and allowed her to enjoy the peace and comfort her memories brought her. Hope this helps.