What is reminiscence?
Reminiscing is a loving way to engage elders in conversations about the "good old days." Reminiscing is a healthy activity that psychologists say encourages positive emotions and promotes self-awareness. Recalling the past can also help younger family members understand their elders better and know more about the family history.
Why dig up the past?
Studies say that talking to elders about recalled events improves their self-esteem and can provide mental links to the past. According to one pioneer of reminiscence therapy (sometimes referred to as "life review"), it is a healthy psychological behavior in which past events are re-evaluated, and can bring about improvements in physical as well as mental and social activities. Since past memories are clearer for many elders, the ability to discuss past events might help resolve old family questions and perhaps even old conflicts. Finally, recalling pleasant events is one way to help some elders cope with sadness about the absence of loved ones during holiday time.
Elders who suffer from dementia are not too good at remembering current events, and are typically better at remembering past events from childhood and earlier parts of their lives. Medical studies show that recalling the past can actually help elders who are affected by dementia improve brain activity.
How to begin
Here are some ideas about how to stimulate a positive memory-recall discussion:
Use open-ended questions to begin with.
Offer scenarios; cite a historical event and ask your loved one where he was during that time.
Share a story of your own from a life interaction with the elder.
Create settings, activities and games that can build on previous interests.
Use photos or home videos to stimulate memory and conversations.
Dealing with Difficult Subjects
Positive reminiscing means going back over an elder's life and remembering pleasant events. However, a review of life stories can also stir up sad memories or unresolved problems that are negative. If you believe there is a risk of serious or painful subjects surfacing, seek the help of a professional who can structure a life-review discussion so that the outcome has a therapeutic and long-term positive impact on the entire family.
Holidays present the perfect opportunity to explore positive reminiscing. The results might even lead to creative ideas for memoirs and a new interest in documenting family histories. With a little advance preparation and forethought, you can give a no-cost, very valuable gift to your loved ones, both old and young.
