“ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WHATSOEVER, YOU NINCOMPOOP!” you may be right now screaming at this blog, especially if you are caring for a loved one with dementia. “Stress is CAUSED by dementia, not reduced by it!” you may be continuing to rant. I hear you (really). But bear with me a moment and let me draw some threads together to make this point.

Dementia patients often have a diminished sense of time.  A minute, a day, an hour, a year — or a decade — may all seem to flow by at the same pace.  As the disease progresses, they have difficulty remembering things over increasingly short spans of time.  And they can get anxious and depressed anticipating things in the unknown of the future. To me, this boils down to this truth:  people with dementia do their best being in the moment. Helping them stay in the “now” with pleasant and purposeful activities calms their moods and brightens their lives. And anything that accomplishes both of those things can improve their functioning. (more…)