The Lasting Power of Feelings

The Hippocampus is the part of the brain responsible for factual short term memory. This is the part that is often first affected by dementia. The Amygdala holds your emotional memory and is often not affected by dementia at all. This means that even if someone can’t remember what activity they took part in, the feeling of well-being and the emotional feeling can remain with them for a long time.

It’s tempting to think it’s not worth going to the effort of taking someone with dementia outside because they will just forget it has happened. However, research shows it becomes much more about how something makes us feel. If we can’t remember the activity, the ‘feel good factor’ may continue to make a person feel content well after the event. (adapted from Dementia Adventure) Here at Primrose, Spring is blooming beautifully! Now that the weather is warming up, we are able to enjoy being outside. Clients are taking walks, caregivers are taking folks in wheelchairs out to enjoy the sunshine. We want to encourage families to take advantage of the gardens with your loved one. Bring a picnic or a special treat and enjoy the Spring sunshine, all the trees leafing out and the flowers that are blooming.