Week 3: Fall 2015
Social Interaction as a Boost to Memories
This week’s theme is how to boost our memories by giving ourselves every chance we can. What can that mean?
Consider how our world has changed. More people used to live close to their extended families. Did you have a grandparent at home with you? How about aunts and uncles in the same town? Perhaps your answer is “yes, we did and still do”. Some families are able to relocate to be nearer to each other, while for others their ‘family’ are their friends and community connections.
Our country is large, young people travel and explore. Families have always moved for jobs or new opportunities, that’s not new. Yet now we live in a society of obvious mobility physically, and yet also boundary-less, enabled by technological advances for communication and connection to the ‘larger world’ and with each other no matter where we live.
Seniors may not have as many opportunities to play a role in their families such as the opportunity to bake cookies or share their gardens with their children and grandchildren directly, yet we have other opportunities if we take the time to look around and consider options and help one another take advantage of them.
With new technology, families and friends stay in touch via mobile phones, tablets and iPads and then there’s Skype and Facebook to name a few. These things are actually bridging a gap for many folks who’ve been able to adapt to this world of communication as a way of supporting each other. Yet, barriers of all kinds may not help the ones unable to access or make use of connecting in this way.
In our area with our high population (33%) of seniors, we are fortunate to have many resources for learning, clubs to participate in, support groups for specific needs and a community that is welcoming. Our public library, recreational complex, seniors groups: New Horizons for Seniors and BC Seniors Association, Therapeutic Activation Program for Seniors, Community Halls, church communities, and arts and culture groups are just some of the ways that seniors can connect and build relationships.
We easily recognize that physiological changes happen as we age; yet do we likewise recognize the effects of emotional and social changes especially if feeling disconnected or isolated. Life deals us all different challenges, and when one is feeling out of touch for whatever reason, our memory as well as our wellbeing can be affected.
So, along with our physical needs for nourishment, being in contact with loved ones, friends or in community feeds and fuels our wellbeing. Our memory is affected by how we feel about ourselves and the world. So ‘giving ourselves a chance to boost our memory” might mean considering and acting on how you can participate, reach out, and communicate in some new ways. If you are a caregiver or family member of someone with memory changes, consider these things and how you can help your loved ones build connections. Resources: www.link2creston, our local papers, and the library in addition to those mentioned above, are ways to find out about opportunities and support in our back yard.
“To be seventy years young is sometimes far more cheerful than being forty years old.” Sir Wendell Holmes,
Social Interaction as a Boost to Memories
This week’s theme is how to boost our memories by giving ourselves every chance we can. What can that mean?
Consider how our world has changed. More people used to live close to their extended families. Did you have a grandparent at home with you? How about aunts and uncles in the same town? Perhaps your answer is “yes, we did and still do”. Some families are able to relocate to be nearer to each other, while for others their ‘family’ are their friends and community connections.
Our country is large, young people travel and explore. Families have always moved for jobs or new opportunities, that’s not new. Yet now we live in a society of obvious mobility physically, and yet also boundary-less, enabled by technological advances for communication and connection to the ‘larger world’ and with each other no matter where we live.
Seniors may not have as many opportunities to play a role in their families such as the opportunity to bake cookies or share their gardens with their children and grandchildren directly, yet we have other opportunities if we take the time to look around and consider options and help one another take advantage of them.
With new technology, families and friends stay in touch via mobile phones, tablets and iPads and then there’s Skype and Facebook to name a few. These things are actually bridging a gap for many folks who’ve been able to adapt to this world of communication as a way of supporting each other. Yet, barriers of all kinds may not help the ones unable to access or make use of connecting in this way.
In our area with our high population (33%) of seniors, we are fortunate to have many resources for learning, clubs to participate in, support groups for specific needs and a community that is welcoming. Our public library, recreational complex, seniors groups: New Horizons for Seniors and BC Seniors Association, Therapeutic Activation Program for Seniors, Community Halls, church communities, and arts and culture groups are just some of the ways that seniors can connect and build relationships.
We easily recognize that physiological changes happen as we age; yet do we likewise recognize the effects of emotional and social changes especially if feeling disconnected or isolated. Life deals us all different challenges, and when one is feeling out of touch for whatever reason, our memory as well as our wellbeing can be affected.
So, along with our physical needs for nourishment, being in contact with loved ones, friends or in community feeds and fuels our wellbeing. Our memory is affected by how we feel about ourselves and the world. So ‘giving ourselves a chance to boost our memory” might mean considering and acting on how you can participate, reach out, and communicate in some new ways. If you are a caregiver or family member of someone with memory changes, consider these things and how you can help your loved ones build connections. Resources: www.link2creston, our local papers, and the library in addition to those mentioned above, are ways to find out about opportunities and support in our back yard.
“To be seventy years young is sometimes far more cheerful than being forty years old.” Sir Wendell Holmes,
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