Socialization

Focus point 3: People with dementia can live safely and be as independent as possible in settings that promote physical, mental/intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual wellness.

Wow. What an ironic time to discuss how important socialization is for people with dementia!

As the Alzheimer’s Association on Alz.org points out: “Socialization proves to enhance the lives of those with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia and their care partners. We’ve known for some time that being social is an essential part of one’s brain health with healthy diet and exercise.” Here are 4 key reasons that experts encourage consistent socialization for individuals with dementia:  

1.      Gain a greater sense of inclusiveness and belonging: The process of interacting with others, even when passive, can stimulate a sense of personal worth; a feeling of belonging, rather than isolation.

2.      Improve brain health: We won’t get into all the science here, but studies show that those people with a broader network of social experience in earlier stages of Alzheimer’s are able to slow down the progression of memory loss more so than those whose network is very small.

3.      Strengthen the connection to time and place: Socialization provides a sense of normal structure and order to the life of an individual with memory loss. It helps stimulates that part of the brain that connects us to time and place, rather than experiencing a disconnected continuum with no start and end points.

4.      Enhance and maintain focus: Older individuals have more difficulty transitioning between daydreaming and focused states of mind. So the more time the aging brain spends mentally active and socially engaged, the easier that transition becomes, which helps them perform the daily tasks necessary for independent living.

But socializing with dementia is often uncomfortable, primarily due to the stigmas. People with dementia prefer isolation because they understand their health conditions are "unusual". They may repeat themselves more often, forget things, become easily irritated. And the lack of patients and understanding from others leads to discrimination.