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7/23/2014

Music brings you "Alive Inside"

I have written much on this site about the power of music to unlock the memories of those with dementia, about my own experiences using live music with Alzheimer's patients and how music can improve the quality of life for the elderly (and their caregivers!). Refer to the iPod Project and Music and Memory posts on this site. Now, the long-awaited release of the documentary film about this exciting subject is happening across the country. I hope you have the opportunity to see the film in theaters, but if not, it will be available in October on DVD.

If you are a caregiver for someone who might benefit from the inclusion of personalized music, please visit the website www.musicandmemory.org for information about setting up an iPod or other MP3 player with music for your care recipient. You could make an incredible difference in their life and your own with this simple action. Take a look at the video trailer below and consider how good it would feel to bring one you love "alive inside" again with music!

Dr. Bill Thomas, creator of the Eden Alternative and ChangingAging.org website, blogs about his part in the Alive Inside documentary. You'll find his article in the DailyBeast Op-Ed: Treat Dementia With Music, Not Drugs is excellent.

Here is the trailer for the Alive Inside documentary (winner of the Audience Award at 2014 Sundance Festival): or visit the website for times and dates of showings at www.aliveinside.us

7/26/2012

Elders and Loneliness: Solutions

One of the most recurrent themes in eldercare is the highly detrimental effects of boredom & loneliness. This is something experienced by most elders, whether living alone or in an assisted living or nursing home situation. It can even be a problem for elders living with family, depending on the family dynamics.

For family caregivers, this translates into a very difficult issue, creating conflict and emotional upheaval, and, of course, guilt, if their loved one is afflicted by loneliness. Yet there are some bright spots on the horizon.

One pioneer in innovative long term care reform is physician William H. Thomas. He is a self-described "nursing home abolitionist" and has been an advocate for eldercare reform for decades, creating the Green House Project nursing home concept, the Eden Alternative philosophy and training to "deinstituionalize" eldercare facilities by alleviating the "three plagues" of boredom, helplessness and loneliness. The Eden Alternative, which incorporates pets, gardens and children into the culture of nursing home care has an international following and is actively revolutionizing elder care. In addition, this Harvard-trained physician has written numerous books, one of which he turned into a one-man play which he performed to raise further funds for his visionary goals. He is a passionate speaker who champions honoring and valuing elders and aging with dignity, love & joy. He is truly an inspirational, enthusiastic powerhouse of a man! Click here view a video of Dr. Thomas and catch a bit of his spirit and commitment. And here's another recent video with Dr. Thomas visiting a woman in a nursing home and bringing such joy and delight to her with some beloved opera played through headphones for her. OK, hanky-alert on this one. I melted into tears because she reminded me so much of my own mother.

Dr. Thomas and his wife have also developed and built an entire village in Shelburne, NY centered around these concepts, called ElderShire: Creating Well-Being through Living in Community. The need for this kind of revolution is most apparent to anyone who has experienced the soul-less bleakness that is prevalent in the current culture of nursing homes as "storage" for the elderly. Dr. Thomas' lifework offers hope and vision, along with well-designed and researched programs and materials for creating healthier, happier aging in our world. Given the graying of our populations (in particular the baby boomer generation in the US) these are ideas whose time has come and we must implement these changes now to create a better life for both elders and the ones who care for them!

If you should need further evidence of the importance of banishing the "three plagues" of nursing homes, the article which appeared in Science Daily this week supplies it -- titled: Mindfulness Meditation Reduces Loneliness in Older Adults, Study Shows. The study offers verifiable data that the meditation known as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) reduced both loneliness and also markers in the blood for inflamation response, which are indicated in a host of physcial and neurological diseases, including heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer's.

Won't you join me in supporting this vision and important culture shift in whatever way is possible? I cannot imagine a more worthy goal than to turn our reality of aging (and let's face it -- no one has found the fountain of youth!) into one of health and well-being and joy!

Photos used under Creative Commons from Beverly & Pack, ☺ Lee J Haywood, kev-shine, B4bees, MPD01605, limaoscarjuliet, Thirteen Of Clubs, Darren Shilson, erix!

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Music brings you "Alive Inside"

Elders and Loneliness: Solutions

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