EP108: Emotions, Memory, and Alzheimer's Disease

You may recall that Maya Angelou said something along the lines of "people will forget what you say, they will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel". Well, there's a reason for that and that's what I'm going to talk about today. We can all use the concept of emotional memories to make new memories or to recall old ones. We can create moments that last a lifetime around positive feelings and boost our overall mental health – and if you are a caregiver for a person living with Alzheimer's disease, understanding how emotions can impact your interactions is key. Take a deeper dive at how emotions, memory and Alzheimer's disease are interlinked in this another valuable of This Is Getting Old: Moving Towards An Age-Friendly World. Tune in to Episode 108: Emotions, Memory, and Alzheimer's Disease, and together let's strive to make this world a better place for older adults. Key points covered in this episode:  ✔️ Memories Attached to Emotions are Stronger Emotions are tied to memories. In fact, memories tied to strong feelings, whether positive or negative, tend to last longer and don't fade as fast or disappear as quickly.  ✔️ A Person with Advanced Alzheimer's Disease may Mimic the Emotions Of Those Around Them In Alzheimer's disease, emotions remain intact. Hence, they will lose the ability to use and understand language, but our nonverbal behavior often communicates how we're feeling. As a result, even a person with very advanced Alzheimer's disease will be able to pick up on our emotional state. So whatever we feel as caregivers can be still be sensed by a person with advanced Alzheimer's disease, whether we wanted them to or not.  ✔️ Maintain a Positive And Happy Emotional State When Caring For Older Adults Whatever our emotional state is will be mirrored back to us by the person we're caring for. So as a caregiver, make sure that your emotional state is more on the positive side to having more positive interactions with the person you're caring for. ✔️ The Link Between Emotions and Memories How you feel at any given moment impacts what you think about and vice versa. If you're in a positive mood, you're more likely to think about and recall positive memories. If we are in a negative mindset, we tend to recall and think about more negative things, and either of these tendencies can be self-perpetuating.  The good news is that you can control what you think about. If you find yourself in a bad mood, try thinking about fun or positive experience until your mood improves. Moreover, by focusing on feelings, you will have an easier time finding your way back to that memory later. ✔️Learn How to Tap into Music to Improve Your Emotional State  Music impacts our emotional state, and it has a powerful way of altering anybody's mood. Playing a person's favorite song is a great way to lighten their mood, and it also gives you another chance to interact positively. Who knows, maybe both of you will get up and dance! If you have questions, comments, or need help, please feel free to drop a one-minute audio or video clip and email it to me at [email protected], and I will get back to you by recording an answer to your question.  About Melissa Batchelor, PhD, RN, FNP, FGSA, FAAN: I earned my Bachelor of Science in Nursing ('96) and Master of Science in Nursing ('00) as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) from the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) School of Nursing (SON). I genuinely enjoy working with the complex medical needs of older adults. I worked full-time for five years as FNP in geriatric primary care across many long-term care settings (skilled nursing homes, assisted living, home, and office visits), then transitioned into academic nursing in 2005, joining the faculty at UNCW SON as a lecturer. I obtained my Ph.D. in Nursing and a post-master's Certificate in Nursing Education from the Medical University of South Carolina College of Nursing ('11). I then joined the faculty at Duke University School of Nursing as an Assistant Professor. My family moved to northern Virginia in 2015 which led to me joining the George Washington University (GW) School of Nursing faculty in 2018 as a (tenured) Associate Professor. I am also the Director of the GW Center for Aging, Health, and Humanities. Please find out more about her work at https://melissabphd.com/.