“It is a game in order to survive”: Godot syndrome in dementia

Dementias are neurodegenerative disorders that lead, in their advanced stages, to experiencing existential distress. Behavioral acting out is to be considered here as a way for the individual to resolve this distress. This article focuses more specifically on Godot syndrome, very poorly developed in the gerontological literature, which could be a demonstration of the temporality failure that causes repetition. This syndrome is named after the famous play by Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot, in which he wrote “it is a game in order to survive.” From theoretical, clinical, and literary considerations leading to a problematization of the issues of this syndrome, the author invites the reader to think about the ethics of psychological care.