“Don’t travel the same day you have to talk to people and be nice!”
Joanna Fix, a former Colorado Springs psychologist and professor living with Alzheimer's, is part of a cohort of people experiencing dementia that met in a webinar through the National Council of Dementia Minds to share tips for celebrating the holidays. For instance, prepare a plate with just one food item at a time.
“As soon as I start getting 2-3 things, I don’t know where to start and I’m going, I’m really hungry and something here looks good, but I don’t have any idea where to start.”
Most of the tips were about limiting choices and controlling environment.
Arnold Beresh lies down to meditate before a gathering and looks for an escape route once there.
“I try to figure out a safe place I can go to get away from it all. I take my hearing aids out so the noise isn’t quite as loud.”
Julie Moore stays at a hotel instead of with family when traveling for the holidays.
“I need that space. I need that downtime.“
Kelli Miller believes it’s important to scale back without robbing yourself or your loved ones of celebrating the holidays.
“Because this is not just our memories, it’s their memories too. I think the focus is just on: do it simply.”
Resources and more advice can be found on the website dementia minds dot org.
