Power of EMOTIONS

My guess is that most caregivers have some sense of the power of emotion, especially when loved ones or clients face the challenges of forgotten memories. If you've worked with or are closely connected to someone with dementia, you're probably aware that emotions are readily recalled long after the ability to connect with memory is shaken.  But I am glad for anyone who needs a quantified confirmation that a University of Iowa study confirms the power & presence of emotion with Alzheimer patients.  

Am grateful for the study, but its findings are hardly news.  Hang around older folks with dementia for any amount of time & it's clear that emotions remain  when memories are elusive or gone altogether.

This past weekend is an excellent example of the staying power of emotion.  Starting with last Friday morning, the weekend was filled with special events designed to celebrate a grannie client's alma mater's homecoming.  She has wonderful emotional connections - over 70+ years! - to all the related celebrations.  

Five years ago, she was still up for going to Friday's special worship service & the gathering afterward of the school & all the reunion classes.  She went to the Friday night dance & attended Saturday's banquet.  When she thinks about Charter Day, she remembers all those special times, remembers all the special people who were part of them, most long gone from her life.

Homecoming could be a sad time, a reminder of all that is no more.  Which was why I made sure she did a lot of special things over those days, beginning with Friday morning breakfast.  Everything came with the repeated over & over tag line, "To celebrate Charter Day!"  So, while we went out for breakfast instead of church, to a college open house instead of the dance, for a drive instead of to the football game and out for dinner & dessert instead of the banquet, what she remembers is the feelings she had, the same sort of fun that she associates with her younger years.  

Even now, five days later, she remembers all the joy & sense of celebration.  She doesn't remember that we didn't go to all the usual events.  She only remembers having the same sort of delightful time she recalls from years past.  

It's nice to have the study to back up what is clear to most of us who work closely with the elderly - people experiencing dementia can have a lasting sense of both positive & negative emotions. Specifics of events or people might be elusive, but HOW they felt can linger for a long time.  

Although the article doesn't comment on it & in spite of the fact I'm not a sociologist or psychologist or any other -ologist, can say that stirring a person's positive emotions ~ perhaps particularly someone dealing with the challenges of dementia ~ with something as simple as a sunny smile & warm greeting can go a very long way.  As I walk through the halls of a senior residence, can feel a wave of happiness follow me.  How many times have I experienced going though the large "living room" on my way to meet a client, smiling at everyone, greeting those I know - being happy.  Sometimes, it feels like grey stretches out in front of me, while sunshine lights up the room behind.

It chills me when I see a caregiver sitting, clearly bored out of her mind, with a grannie or gramps.  I gringe when I hear a sharp voice or snippy tone.  

For me, the fun is finding a balance, to be upbeat without being falsely cheerful - elders distrust overly cheerful people.  Am blessed to genuinely enjoy being around older friends & acquaintances, to get a lot of pleasure over being in their company.

About the study.  As invaluable as it is, I find myself coming back over & over to a particular sentence - "Our findings should empower caregivers by showing them that their actions toward patients really do matter.  Frequent visits and social interactions, exercise, music, dance, jokes, and serving patients their favorite foods are all simple things that can have a lasting emotional impact on a patient’s quality of life and subjective well-being.”  (lead author Edmarie Guzmán-Vélez, a doctoral student in clinical psychology, a Dean’s Graduate Research Fellow, and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.)

How brash & bold of me to disagree with the statement.  And I do!  Our actions aren't what make the significant difference;  it's the emotions tied to the action.  Imagining someone reading the article, determining to spend more time with  Mom or Granddad - but then keeping an eye on the time or looking bored.  Or a caregiver making sure that a client gets down to a group exercise class or a music event but iwho's short when she dawdles in the bathroom or when he is slow getting dressed.  

In my totally unscientific opinion, it's our ATTITUDE, the emotions that we convey, that imprints a positive or negative emotional response to us.   

So here's my take on the power of emotions, particularly with older friends dealing with memory challenges ~ ~  take the time & care to discover what gives them joy.  Then milk those things for all their worth!  

Loves sports?  Don't just get a game on the television, watch it with him;  if he likes to talk about the action, learn enough to ask good questions, or if he likes to just enjoy it in silence, be sure to watch, too - with interest.  

One grannie client loved dogs, so we'd go to a nearby dog park - what fun we both had, as she identified the different breeds.  

And there's my jazz-loving friend - the last Wednesday of the month finds us down in the heart of Philadelphia, savoring dinner at a wonderful Chinese restaurant that features the best jazz in the city in an upstairs performance space.

None of those activities would leave a lasting, positive emotional response if I wasn't genuinely enjoying doing them with my dear older friends!  In my utterly uncredentialed opinion, that's the best, the most powerful sort of care any of us can give. 

It's the overlay of emotional connection that makes it possible to engage, energize & empower!