This is the case for people with intellectual disabilities or neurological diseases such as dementia. This is understandable if we consider that these people can be easily overwhelmed by any event of daily life, as they do not have the self-regulation and inhibition resources of a healthy person. For this reason, seemingly trivial aspects of daily life can generate a great deal of stress in them, easily becoming frustrated. It must be made clear that these people do not act in this way to harm us, and they are frequently unaware of the emotional impact that their behavior has on their caregivers, which can also have physical repercussions.

Dementias or intellectual disabilities tell us about damaged and vulnerable brains. This makes it easier for poorly structured delusions to appear on occasion, in which the patient reports being robbed by their family member/caregiver or makes some other statement that makes us suspect that there may be certain losses of contact with reality; normally, these statements follow a theme of harm. For example: “the upstairs neighbor hits the floor with a cane at night to keep me from sleeping.” However, we must verify that there is NO real basis, since unfortunately there are always people willing to take advantage of the vulnerable.

It is necessary to administer treatment to these people, not only for the safety and well-being of the patient, but also for the safety of the primary caregivers, who must also be cared for, avoiding their burnout and deterioration of health.