Our experiences and social bonds are what build us into the human beings we are. What we go through, think and feel cause us to be the way we are. We stick to memories that shape us into behaving in certain ways; they partly provide form to the personalities we have.
But what happens when we start losing these memories we so strongly cling to? We lose sight of previous experience, and even entire periods of our lives. We forget the faces and names of people we love, and in the end, we even forget about ourselves.
Alzheimer’s disease
This is what happens if you suffer from the medical condition called Alzheimer’s. The disease mostly affects the elderly, but it is not necessarily so. Almost 44 million people worldwide suffer from this dreaded condition, and numbers seem to be rising every year.
Therapies
There are numerous therapies that aim to cure, or at least palliate the disease. Such therapies go from musical therapies to building entire villages for people suffering from Alzheimer’s.
Doll therapy against Alzheimer’s
The latest ongoing therapy has been carried out in Spain: non-pharmacological therapies that involve patient-doll interactions. The aim of this therapy is awakening feelings inside the patient that would palliate symptoms caused by Alzheimer’s.
Patients enjoying doll therapy on elliot ward today?.. Recent studies show doll therapy can provide comfort & positive stimulation for those living with dementia & alzheimer's. Bringing peace and calm when someone is in state of confusion or feeling delirious. #welovebabycuddles pic.twitter.com/rxnT3qg3vq
— Activity Facilitators (@ActivityFacili1) 15 de mayo de 2019
What the interaction between patients and dolls turns into, is the patient treating them like real life babies: they sing lullabies to them or even give them kisses. The interactions, in turn, cause a shift from the patient being the person who has to be taken care of, to actually being the care-giver.
An emotional memory stimulator
The therapy aims to stimulate emotional memory, because this is the last type of memory people lose. By stimulating emotional memory, patients are able to recall and keep certain memories and behaviours. The dolls are provided to the patients, for a short period of time, by experts who know how and when to provide them.
A helpful, non-drug way to calm and soothe agitated seniors with Alzheimer’s or dementia is to give them a soft, lifelike baby doll to cuddle.
— BillysDollsofComfort (@BillysDolls) 1 de mayo de 2019
These therapy dolls can even be effective in calming older adults with severe agitation or other significant behavioral challenges. pic.twitter.com/3PvkjogmRM
The early stages
However, this doll therapy is still in it’s early stages. The therapy is not to be considered a game, but people also have to realise the many positive effects it might have. There are people against it because they feel it infantilizes the patients. But positive results are what really matter, and this is something the therapy is certainly achieving.
A professional guide coming soon
Maribel González, the director of the Spanish “Centro de Referencia Estatal de Atención a Personas con Azhéimer y otras Demencias ” (a medical centre for people suffering from Alzheimer’s and similar), has claimed that as soon as they obtain valid conclusions, they will be publishing a professional guide for both professionals and family. The therapy is certainly a step in the right direction.
Photos: Unsplash and Twitter