RECENT POSTS
5 Tips for Using Reminiscence in Health Care and Hospice September 08, 2021
Right on Time March 24, 2021
How to Save Family Stories March 17, 2021
Glimmers of Hope March 10, 2021
5 Tips for Using Reminiscence in Health Care and Hospice
Consider starting a life stories program in health care settings or hospice care for a number of reasons.
1) Reminiscence impacts all dimensions of wellness -- especially the emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and social aspects. Even the physical dimension is touched with reports of lowered pain and increased brain activity.
Right on Time
One moment time flies, while another moment takes its good old time. We can be in a time crunch, hoping to accomplish something just in the nick of time. It may feel like there just isn’t enough time to do everything, so it may be high time we start something. Other days we have too much time on our hands, so we kill time. Sometimes we can take our time or even waste time. Other days, time is of the essence or we contemplate if we can buy ourselves some extra time. Some people equate that time is money, and there is no time to lose. We may look for ways to save time. We may set a time to do certain things. We like to be in the right place at the right time. Sometimes we wish we could turn back time. We question if things will stand the test of time. Only time will tell. Time after time…
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How to Save Family Stories
If you're concerned about saving and sharing family stories, you are not alone. The growth of the photo book industry, scrapbooking, and Ancestry.com are all signs that many people care about capturing what matters most from their own life experiences, their parents' lives, and their grandparents lives too. Photos don't tell the whole story. Genealogy is so incredibly interesting---keep in mind there is a whole life story behind every person in that family tree (and most of it wasn't recorded in the past). So there is a better way.
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Glimmers of Hope
It has been a year, and what a year it has been. Since late 2019, COVID-19 has existed in our world. It was just about a year ago in 2020, that this coronavirus strain started spreading rapidly and causing a global pandemic. Many places were closed or had to take other actions for social distancing. People were encouraged to wear face masks and stay distanced or to even stay at home. People were encouraged to wash hands and clean more frequently and thoroughly. Routines were forced to change. Former norms were no longer normal.
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Don't Just Take Our Word for It
Word is out that reminiscing and sharing life stories with a loved one can improve a person's mental, psychological and emotional health. It also aides caregivers in personalizing care and better connecting and communicating with their loved one. LifeBio supports using reminiscence to share life stories, but you don't just have to take our word for it. See what Julie Hayes, the Editorial Assistant at Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, had to say in this Guideposts article. 4 Methods for Collecting and Preserving Your Loved One’s Life Stories | Guideposts
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Lasting Legacies
This past week I had the privilege to read a book about a woman in her 90s. As was common for many people during that time, she grew up in a home with no electricity or indoor plumbing. Her mother cooked on a wood stove, and her family used coal oil lamps for light. In the evenings they played games like “I Spy” to pass the time. With time, she saw the first telephone, then the first car, and eventually the first television come to her community.
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Recording Biographies for People with Alzheimer's
Recording the biographies of people living with Alzheimer's or another form of dementia is an incredibly important process. Some of these memories will be lost forever, and someday your recordings will be all that is left. Here are some helpful tips to make the biography of your loved one as special as possible.
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"They Know Me. They Remember Who I Am. "
“They know me,” she says proudly when we sit down to talk. “They remember who I am.”
As I meet and visit with people with memory loss, it is apparent that there is great comfort in being deeply known. We all want to be known and remembered by the people around us each day. We want to be reminded that our lives have significance and meaning. We have things to contribute.
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Why to Start a Life Story Program in Senior Living, Hospice, Hospitals, or Health Care
A good life story program helps people ask the right questions to bring out the best stories and to create a strong connection with family and other loved ones. When people are reaching old age or facing a life-threatening illness, this is the ideal time to be offering a life story program.
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Fun at Work
There is much to be celebrated in our world, despite (or perhaps necessary because of) the challenges that exist all around us. It seems that just about everything under the sun has a day to commemorate it. Some days are based on actual events, such as Independence Day. There are days to honor great heroes and historical figures, like Presidents Day and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. For math lovers, Pi Day is celebrated based on the date (3.14) coinciding with the number pi. There are days for food lovers, such as National Donut Day. There are days for remembering endless interests and hobbies, including World-Wide Knit in Public Day, National Pet Day, Make Music Day, and World Book Day. Other days honor things such as Drinking Straws Day, World Motorcycle Day, or National Yo-Yo Day. There is even a Talk Like a Pirate Day!
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