DEMENTIA CARE: Eight Ways to care for your loved ones’ memories

DEMENTIA CARE: Eight Ways to care for your loved ones’ memories

They say “things end, but memories last forever.” However, in the case of people living with dementia, memories fade and treasured moments become nothing.

So if you’re wondering how you can make sure that you preserve your loved ones’ memories, here are a few ideas that you can take note of.

1. Get a professional in-home caregiver – All your plans in making sure that your elderly loved ones will be able to reminisce hinge on providing them a constant companion. This will be an assurance that they always have someone with them who can record moments.

2. Keep a memento box – This can be anything – from heirlooms, recipes, keepsakes, stored in a box that are meant to be the physical representation of their memories. Allow them to touch these mementoes as a remembrance for all those memories. To make sure that these mementoes remain safe and cared for, an in-home caregiver should be there to assist your loved ones as they try to reuser.

3. Play their favorite songs – Music is a universal reminder for all the things and feelings we hope to never forget.

If you know the songs and the kind of music that your elderly loved ones used to listen to, play it in the house. Music also helps with “cognitive skills, stress reduction, and socialization. Familiar melodies and lyrics can sometimes trigger memories deep in the brain.

4. Indulge their senses – From smells to tastes, the senses are important in preserving old memories. Whether it’s the bread grandma used to make back when you were eight or the perfume she used to wear every time you go out for dinner, indulging the senses are important in allowing them to be back to those good times.

5. Retell old stories – If you still reuser the story of how grandpa used to carry you on his shoulders after you get off the bus from school, or the way he hugged you that time when you lost your doll, then make use of these memories in preserving theirs.

Stories always make for an excellent way in triggering memories. Besides, this can also be a form of bonding with your loved ones.

6. Create routines – Since people living with dementia face difficulties in crafting plans, then a routine will be extremely helpful in creating a sense of familiarity. With routines, distractions can be avoided as their bodies are the ones that remind them of what they’re supposed to be doing.

7. Take photos – Through your hired in-home caregiver, you should let your loved ones have the habit of visiting and revisiting old photos. Visual stimulation helps in triggering memories. A personalized scrapbook is even better. Whether the photo is the highlight of their year or it is a mundane activity, it is important that they have that visual reminder of what happened before.

8. Be present – Indeed, a professional caregiver takes the load off of you in allocating your entire day to taking care of your loved ones, but nothing beats your presence in the lives of the elderly users of your family.

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