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Today's Rural Caregiving: Managing
Mood
Without Medication
By Linda Lindsey Davis, RN, PhD
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Having coffee or tea with a friend
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Being complimented
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Exercising
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Going for a car ride
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Grooming (make-up, shaving)
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Recalling & discussing pleasant
events
Use the list above to help your elder
develop their own pleasurable activities that she or he
can enjoy alone such as listening to music, taking a
favorite walk or a watching familiar TV programs.
The following five strategies are
recommended for family caregivers who want to improve
mood in a elder:
Plan and organize additional pleasant
activities that the elder and other family members can
enjoy together regularly. This might include weekly
family dinners and short shopping trips.
Use memory aids to encourage the elder
to recall past pleasant events. For example, help him or
her to organize photo albums of family pictures. Put
together a memory book of photos of family members,
vacation trips or other pleasant events for the elder’s
purse or wallet. Encourage family members to sit with
the elder regularly and review the happy experiences
represented in the memory book. Add new photos to the
book regularly.
Utilize reminders to help the elder
anticipate upcoming pleasant events. For example, use a
large refrigerator calendar to list the schedule of
daily events for the next week (e.g., family viewing of
favorite TV shows, a plan for a walk or trip to the
store, anticipated visits from children and
grandchildren). Refer the elder to the schedule
frequently so he/she can anticipate upcoming pleasant
events each day.
Set realistic goals for mood management.
Encourage the elder to assume some planning
responsibility but do only those activities that can be
accomplished without causing you and the elder stress or
frustration.
Finally, become an expert on the elder’s
thinking style. Listen and look for signs of blue mood
thinking. Observe the elder’s behavior in stressful
situations and try to avoid or reduce the occurrence of
situations that cause blue mood thinking.
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