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Alzheimer's: Mementos help preserve memories
Memories can be preserved in many ways, from scrapbooks to videotaped interviews. Here's help documenting your loved one's life story.
By Mayo Clinic staffLife is like a tapestry, woven from memories of people and events. Your individual tapestry reminds you of who you are, where you've been and what you've done. Sadly, Alzheimer's disease gradually steals the memories that make up a person's tapestry. If you're caring for a loved one who has Alzheimer's, you can help by creating a tangible repository of memories for your loved one.
Store memories externally
"Caregivers become the memory for a loved one who has Alzheimer's disease," says Glenn Smith, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. "By gathering memories, you can bring important events and experiences from your loved one's past into the present. You're the link to his or her life history."
Memories can be preserved in many ways. You can:
- Write stories in a journal
- Create a scrapbook with photos or other mementos, such as newspaper clippings, letters and postcards, greeting cards, sketches, poetry and musical verses
- Store mementos in a special box or chest
- Make a video or audio recording of personal stories
(1 of 2)
- Making a memory book. National Institutes of Health. http://nihseniorhealth.gov/alzheimerscare/dailyactivities/video/b5_transcript.html. Accessed June 17, 2009.
- Coach Broyles' playbook for Alzheimer's caregivers: A practical tips guide. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/national/documents/book_coachbroylesplaybook.pdf. Accessed June 17, 2009.
- Smith GE (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Aug. 13, 2009.
