Educating Children About Alzheimer's Nurture's Gratitude
Story: Thanksgiving is always a favorite holiday in our homes. As Alder’s mom sank deeper into Alzheimer’s, the family wondered how to make the holidays meaningful. Alder and the grandchildren sat down with her mom and went over the menu of favorites. Her mom was able to give them pointers on how to make the cornbread stuffing and the asparagus casserole. She also insisted we make pumpkin and mincemeat pie. She gave us tips on ensuring the turkey remained moist and didn’t dry out in the oven.
We made sure we documented the entire day through pictures. Alder used the photos and recipes to create a memory book of Thanksgiving, using a popular photo book platform. This book was distributed among the family members.
As her mom declined and eventually became bedbound and non-verbal, we pulled out the book and shared it with her. Sometimes you could see the ghost of a smile on her face as she listened to the wonderful family memories.
Download the Educating Children About Alzheimer's Helps Them Learn Gratitude PDF here.
Information:
Gratitude is an amazing tool because it causes your brain to release ‘feel-good’ chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin. It can help you feel better without taking a pill. The only side effect of practicing gratitude is that it may lead to increased happiness. :-)
Why practice gratitude? Science has shown that practicing gratitude can:
Improve health
Build positive relationships
Positively affect the brain by releasing the ‘feel good’ chemicals of dopamine and serotonin, and building neural pathways that create good feelings more often.
Release toxic emotions
Reduce pain
Improve sleep
Regulate stress
Reduce anxiety and depression
Help cope with grief
Build resilience
See entire article here https://positivepsychology.com/neuroscience-of-gratitude/#:~:text=When%20we%20express%20gratitude%20and%20receive%20the%20same%2C,immediately%2C%20making%20us%20feel%20happy%20from%20the%20inside .
Activities:
We’ve created a downloadable PDF, Educating Children About Alzheimer's Helps Them Learn Gratitude. It contains 10 Activities to Practice Gratitude, so you can have the information at your fingertips. Download the PDF here.
Tips:
Set aside time every day to practice gratitude, such as when you wake up in the morning, at mealtime, or before bedtime.
When you or someone in your family starts to feel cranky and perhaps can’t say why, acknowledge the cranky feeling and redirect the person's attention to something for which they feel grateful. Consider the gratitude jar in your home for inspiration.
If anyone needs a time-out, suggest they write down some gratitude statements while they’re alone.
Download the PDF and use the suggested activities to reinforce staying in gratitude throughout each day.
Conclusion:
Gratitude is so important that we have a national holiday dedicated to it, called Thanksgiving. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1623, because the rain came after a long drought and their crops finally grew. They were able to harvest the food and share a wonderful meal. Then, in 1863, Abraham Lincoln declared the fourth Thursday of November as a day of “general blessings.”
We suggest making gratitude a part of your daily life as a coping mechanism to elevate your mood and stay positive.
