Nostalgia & Dementia

[Lon]

I have been reading a lot this week about studies showing that NOSTALGIA is good for forestalling DEMENTIA. They have re-created sets with 1950 Themes etc. So DREAM ON SENIORS--it won't hurt a bit.

 

[Marie5656]

I agree, Lon. When I worked in an assisted living center, family members were encouraged to bring in family pictures, and other items to trigger memories. They were put into a memory box for each resident and used to help them just talk about old times. I had an elderly relative who had Alzheimers. I brought a small box of photos to her in her nursing home. I wrote everyone's identity on the back of each picture to help the nursing home staff when they looked at them. One picture was of her and her ex husband. They had been divorced for many years. When I showed her the picture her response was comical. She looked at me and said "Who is that pretty lady". I told her that is you and Frank. She then said, "Oh he was a bum." LOL.

 

[Camper6]

I have been reading a lot this week about studies showing that NOSTALGIA is good for forestalling DEMENTIA. They have re-created sets with 1950 Themes etc. So DREAM ON SENIORS--it won't hurt a bit.

I thnk that just going on the internet and communicating is forestalling dementia.

It takes quite a bit of brain power to communicate.

 

[RadishRose]

Sounds good Lon.

 

[JaniceM]

I have been reading a lot this week about studies showing that NOSTALGIA is good for forestalling DEMENTIA. They have re-created sets with 1950 Themes etc. So DREAM ON SENIORS--it won't hurt a bit.

Thank you for this interesting topic, Lon!

Might you or someone else have a POV on a related, dopey expression that's been making its way around it recent years? I'm referring to 'past-comma- living in the.'
Seems something that started out as some kind of legitimate psychological dilemma- individuals who were 'stuck' in some previous point in their lives, to the extent of not being able to function well in the present day- turned into a 'there's something wrong with you' if you mention or prefer something from a previous point in time. And it can make some people question/doubt themselves.

One example was a forum I belonged to a few years ago. Two members posted, one saying they liked old retro shows and the other liked old black-and-white movies; they were actually concerned about their mental health because friends/relatives were telling them these preferences meant they were 'living in the past.' I got clobbered with the expression once, also- when I remarked that mothers taking care of their own kids was a good thing, the reply was 'Why do you want to live in the past?!'
Nuttier yet: a young-adult local was talking about his favorite music- classic rock; then he gasped 'Oh my God I'm living in the past!' (I tried to lighten it up by saying 'But it isn't your past!' as he hadn't been born when classic rock was popular, but he didn't get it).

 

[Meanderer]