Reminiscence Therapy

I am gratefull to :

Holly Schmid
holly@bestalzheimersproducts.com

Best Alzheimer's Products

https://www.best-alzheimers-products.com/index.html

who said I could use this article

Memory, Reminiscence, and Alzheimer's Disease

It is a funny thing about Alzheimer's that memories are lost in reverse order; memories formed recently are more fleeting than those from many years ago. Alzheimer's disease starts in the hypothalamus, the region of the brain responsible for putting experiences into memory. When the hypothalamus is damaged, recent experiences never have a chance to become memories. Not until much later in the disease's progression does it affect the regions in the brain in which older memories are stored, and so those memories are available even into later stages of the disease. This phenomenon is responsible for much of the behavior and the symptoms commonly associated with Alzheimer's, and we need to consider its effects when communicating with and selecting activities for people affected by the disease.

As caregivers, we need to learn new communication skills; otherwise our attempts at conversation might be a cause of frustration rather than comfort. Steer clear of talking about recent events, those things that rely on short-term memory. (Read more about communicating with people affected by dementia.)

Many people with progressive memory disorders are much more comfortable talking about earlier memories. Because the area of the brain that stores memories long term is affected later in the disease's progression, the affected person will know more about her life when she was 40 years younger than she knows about what has happened this week. A person with Alzheimer's disease, for example, might have a detailed and lucid conversation about something that happened after the war (World War II or the Korean War) than what he or she had for breakfast, or experienced at the theater the night before.

Reminiscence Therapy

Reminiscing and reminiscence therapy involve reaching the memories that reside in these still viable regions of the brain. There are many ways to encourage these memories, and you should. They can be comforting, even therapeutic. A study published in the June 2007 issue of Geriatrics and Gerontology International concluded that a reminiscence group program was an effective way to enhance the cognitive capacity of people with Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia as well as their ability to participate in normal activities of daily living. A summary of existing data, including studies published in professional journals, and interviews with specialists, concluded that the general mood and cognition improved in subjects with dementia who participated in some form of reminiscence therapy.

In a strict sense, reminiscence therapy involves discussing and sharing memories, reviewing and evaluating those memories, and re-capturing the emotions and feelings that are an integral part of those memories. This can be done in a one-to-one situation, or in groups. However, when reminiscing with someone with dementia it is better to take a less formal approach, and one-to-one is preferable to group reminiscence. The evaluation and review can be eliminated, and focus should be on the emotions inherent in the memories. The activity should be enjoyable and unthreatening, and talking and sharing is not even a strict requirement. Never try to force the conversation, but you may have to lead it by making suggestions, like, "Do you remember what you were doing when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon?" Props or aids are also a good way to initiate and sustain the process.

Prompts and Aids for Reminiscing

Music is one of the most popular stimulations used while reminiscing. Music can be used in two ways. A song might trigger memories of things a person was doing forty, fifty, or even sixty years ago. He might re-live a date that he was having with the girl that would later become his wife, or remember high school days and school dances. That is the essence of reminiscing. It not only exercises the brain's memory mechanism, reminiscing also provides positive emotional feedback, which improves the quality of life. Petr Janata at the University of California, Davis, has found a direct neurological connection between music and the memories that the music triggers. Music causes activity in the same part of the brain in which the corresponding memory is processed.

The HBO documentary The Alzheimer's Project, quite literally follows Woody as he wanders from place to place around the community in which he lives. Never content to stay put, he finds a place to sit, and before he has had a chance to settle in is wondering where he should go next. Told the basic rules of baseball, Woody cannot name the game, yet he whistles and sings incessantly. In fact, he occasionally sings with an acapella group, The Grunions, that he belonged to for many years, and will even sing fairly complicated solos. He never flubs the lyric, and it is quite obvious that he is enjoying himself immensely while performing.

The more familiar the music is, the stronger the emotional response; but even unfamiliar music seems to aid reminiscence. As reported in The Epoch Times; Mar 19, 2008 Singer-songwriter Jason Soudah was asked to provide music to accompany personal films made specifically to trigger reminiscences. He played music to fit the scenes on the film, music that was "soothing and dreamy". The combination of music with the personal memorabilia increases the effectiveness of the visual reminders. This is part of the reason that our nature and ambient DVDs are so effective and well liked. Most are accompanied by music similar to what Soudah composes for the films and we offer a broad variety: there is a setting or a subject that almost everyone will find memorable including forests, oceans, flowers, butterflies, beaches, and many more.

Pictures that bring back memories are another excellent aid to the reminiscence process. Photographs of family and friends and anything else in one's personal history are obvious choices, but any picture that elicits a memory of something in the past is beneficial. The picture at the top of this page shows Bernice enjoying a photo album of our family, which is her family, for all intents and purposes. She recognizes and loves asking questions about our children. "How's Jackie?" she'll ask, taking them in chronological order. "She's fine," Holly will answer. "And she is expecting a baby," she'll add. "She IS?!" is always her response to that. Then, "Is she old enough?" "Yes, Holly will tell her. "She's 27." "She IS?!" once again. After her surprise settles down she will ask about Abby and Christy, and we'll get her up to date on them. Invariably she will then ask, "And how's Jackie?" and the whole conversation will be repeated, almost verbatim.

Photographs are not the only pictures that interest Bernice. She loves to look at her reprints of old Sears Roebuck Catalogs. Bernice worked for Sears when she was younger, teaching women all over the country to sew. She loves to point out the dresses and suits that she designed. We, of course, don't challenge that. It doesn't hurt her to think so. She also loves her picture books of babies and animals. Rachael Hale has several very fun books that show animals in different poses and settings, and Ann Geddes has become somewhat famous posing babies in colorful and interesting clothes. Some of the coffee table books have beautiful pictures of things past: old cars or airplanes, art and architecture, nature and geography, cities and countries, and countless other subjects. These can often be found deeply discounted at the larger bookstores.

All sorts of sensory stimulation can prompt reminiscences. This is especially true of smells. We have all been transported to a time in our past by the smell of a certain food wafting from the kitchen, or the scent of a certain flower. The fact that smells have a particular ability to transport us into our past is well known by literary figures like Poe and Hesse, as seen in their respective works Marginalia and The Glass Bead Game. Our new game, Follow Your Nose inspires reminiscences through smell as it stimulates cognitive processes. See details in the right column of this page and follow a link to the store. If your mother was a cook or baker, use spices to inspire memories. If your dad enjoyed woodworking, the smell of different woods will remind him of that, though these smells might be more difficult to collect.

Create a Memory Book

A memory book is simply a way to organize memories and mementos — photographs, stories, genealogy, significant documents, etc. Creating and completing such a book can be an invaluable life review, especially as an activity for people in earlier stages of any progressive cognitive disorder. Later it can be used over and over again to stimulate reminiscences. There are several good books that have been designed to prompt and contain memories of one's life. They generally have questions about genealogy, friends, marriage and all of those things that make up personal history, and provide space to write answers as well as post photographs and other memorabilia.

Blank journal books come with a large variety of decorative covers and are available at most book stores. Use one of these to create your own memory book, or use a loose-leaf binder that will allow you to add and re-arrange pages. Connie Lucas, Program Specialist at the Alzheimer's Association, Greater Iowa Chapter, offers guidelines for creating such a book. Use Connie's suggestions, then follow your own creativity and intuition to create a truly unique and personalized book of memories that will be enjoyed by the entire family.