Discussing a Painful Situation

I‘m a teenage daughter of a loving mother. I’ve noticed my mom frequently talks to herself as though she’s engaging in a conversation. I did some research and found this could be dementia. Do I overstep my boundaries and hurt my mother by suggesting she suffers from some sort of dementia, or bite my tongue and hope it’s nothing?  —Name Withheld

There’s no overstepping of boundaries when you express loving concern for a close relative, and it sounds, as you fear, like a symptom of a serious illness. I’m assuming there’s no other adult around, so I think you are the person to raise the issue. But I would talk it through with your family doctor first. 

—Adapted from The Ethicist in The New York Times