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Alzheimer's: Mementos help preserve memories
Alzheimer's steals away memories, but tangible mementos can help people remember their past.
By Mayo Clinic staff
Your life is like a tapestry, woven from your memories of people and events. Some threads are dark, while others are bright. Your individual tapestry shines vividly in your mind, reminding you of who you are, where you've been and what you've done.
Alzheimer's disease gradually robs people of the memories that make up their tapestries. You can help mend these holes by creating a tangible repository of memories — in a scrapbook, videotape or audiotape.
"Caregivers become the memory for their loved one with Alzheimer's disease," says Glenn Smith, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. "By gathering memories, you can bring important events and experiences from your loved one's past into the present. You're the link to his or her life history."
Store memories externally
Memories can be preserved in many ways. You can:
- Write them in a journal
- Create a scrapbook with photos, newspaper clippings, letters and postcards, greeting cards, sketches, poetry and musical verses
- Store mementos in a special box or chest
- Create a video or audio recording of personal stories
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