One of the best things for elderly people to do for their health is reminiscing. It can help people who have a neurological degenerative disorder. Even if your elderly loved one has memory loss, reminiscing can help them to think about the good times in their life. They can relive the memories in their mind and enjoy what experiences they have had. Bringing up the happy times your elderly loved one has had can be great for their health is so many ways.
Improved Cognition
If you want to help improve your elderly loved one’s cognition, reminiscing can help them with this. While showing them pictures of the old days might not bring back their memories, their brain is still working to remember these things. It is still causing their mind to be stimulated and improving their cognition at the same time. This doesn’t mean their condition will get better, but it could help to maintain or slow down the progression of their disease.
Improving Mood and Behaviors
If you want to help improve your elderly loved one’s mood and behaviors, reminiscing with them could do that. By talking about things that have happened in your loved one’s past or showing them pictures of things they have done, this can help them to be happier. It can also reduce their stress levels which can help to reduce negative behaviors.
Expectations with Reminiscing
If you reminisce with your elderly loved one, there are some expectations that you might want to have. First, your loved one might tell you about the same story over and over again. This is very common in those who have degenerative neurological conditions. The main reason they might share the same story over and over is that they enjoyed that time in their life. However, other times, they might share a sad story with you. This might be because they have unresolved issues regarding that time in their life. If they aren’t extremely distraught over telling this story, you should let them do it.
Helping your elderly loved one to reminisce about the good times or even the sad times in their life can be beneficial to them in many ways. It could make them happier, improve their moods and behaviors, and help them work through things. It can improve their cognition and potentially help slow down the progression of their disease. You can start reminiscing with your elderly loved one with pictures, videos, and stories from the past. You can encourage your loved one’s home care services providers to have your loved one share stories, as well.
Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4216871/