"It's beyond argument that 'habitat' influences every aspect of our well-being." Were this not true, many of the biggest retailers simply wouldn't exist.
The influence of the environment is magnified for someone living in care with a dementia and I hope by writing this blog I can encourage people to elevate care surroundings to a higher level of importance. I look forward to comments and conversation whilst I try to encourage more focus on the opportunities I think we're missing."
I want to raise awareness of a superb, Dementia Care podcast that is readily available here or from wherever you go for your podcasts. Created by the exceptional Lauren Mahakian, each podcast explores the spectrum of dementia and dementia care in practical, down-to-earth terms. The content is made very accessible in a way that will educate and support carers, friends and family, whatever their perspective may be. There’s a back-catalogue of thought provoking editions going back to 2019 which shares knowledge and demonstrates what is possible when you have the dedication and courage to think outside the box.
Unfortunately the answer is almost certainly 'yes'.
It surprises me to think I’ve been involved in professional
imaging for over 30 years, but at least that means I should know a thing or two
about Visual Imaging or ‘Pictures’ as we usually refer to them.
One thing I realised a long time ago is how quickly they can
become invisible. Not in the Harry Potter sense of course, but in the sense
that we can become oblivious to their presence and they effectively vanish.
Think
for a moment; you will have pictures in your daily surroundings that you simply
don’t notice any more. Pictures you see every day but no longer register their
presence.On the other hand you may also
have pictures you always notice, and these are the ones which are interesting
for some reason or another. Chances are they’ll always attract your attention
because you have a connection with them.
In the dementia care setting there is a colossal opportunity
we're missing where artwork is concerned because care homes are invariably filled with
off-the-shelf, meaningless tat! They’re generic, pretty-but-pointless. They’re
the images which quickly and permanently become invisible because they don’t
have any content to connect with and they probably have a shiny surface too. How wrong can we get it??? They’re little more than a decorative trinkets and there are a multitude of good reasons why this needs to change.
I apologise for trashing the wall art
in our care homes, but frankly it’s deserved :o)
So let's take our available wall spaces seriously and start
filling them with relevant, interesting, engaging content that evoke reliable
memories and reminiscence.
In the next few posts I'll demonstrate why I am convinced we should do this, how it works and the incredible far-reaching benefits.
What a wonderful insight about the art needed on walls for dementia patients. As someone who is starting on this road, I so appreciate your kindness and humanity in tackling such projects. After reading this, I realized - and not because of my dementia - that I haven't really been looking at many of my pictures for years. Most of them really do seem to disappear after awhile.
Thank you for your comments, they were lovely to receive. I know from personal experience how we quickly become blind to things around us if we don't have a connection to them . I also recognise how powerful certain images can be. Objects can be similarly important too. Memories are priceless to all of us yet we take them for granted for most of our lives. When our memories become less reliable, it makes absolute sense that we put more effort into surrounding ourselves with things that help us to hold onto them. I guess you can say it's a healthy thing to do.
What a wonderful insight about the art needed on walls for dementia patients. As someone who is starting on this road, I so appreciate your kindness and humanity in tackling such projects. After reading this, I realized - and not because of my dementia - that I haven't really been looking at many of my pictures for years. Most of them really do seem to disappear after awhile.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments, they were lovely to receive. I know from personal experience how we quickly become blind to things around us if we don't have a connection to them . I also recognise how powerful certain images can be. Objects can be similarly important too. Memories are priceless to all of us yet we take them for granted for most of our lives. When our memories become less reliable, it makes absolute sense that we put more effort into surrounding ourselves with things that help us to hold onto them. I guess you can say it's a healthy thing to do.
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