These new technologies are the latest developments to give seniors, family members, and caregivers tools to help improve the mental, emotional, and physical health of older adults. The site guides anyone through the process of capturing, sharing and preserving the life stories of previous or current generations before they are lost forever.
FAMILY SHARE VISIBLE BODY APP FREE
After nearly a year of development and testing, he launched a free online service called.
So Gibson began to create a new, easy-to-use website to collect senior and family stories. “In conversations, it was clear that none of us had prepared for losing that valuable connection to our histories and these very important people in our lives.” “I was at dinner with a group of business friends and was startled by the fact that every one of us had experienced a major life-changing event with one of our parents or in-laws in the last three months,” Gibson said. Shortly after this conversation with his in-laws, Gibson, 48, made another unexpected discovery. “My mother-in-law told me she wished there was a bulletin board attached to her friend’s bed that could display her poems, stories and artwork so people could realize the zest this woman had had when she was younger.” “People didn’t recognize how vibrant this woman had been,” Gibson recalls. She was disappointed that the woman had faded so much. In the summer of 2006, Gibson’s mother-in-law mentioned that she had recently visited a friend in a rest home. He was just having a dinnertime conversation. Phil Gibson didn’t set out to revolutionize how seniors record their life stories. New Methods for Recording a Senior’s Stories These building blocks highlight their purpose in life as well as legacies to leave to younger generations. In Levy’s group activities, members are encouraged to prepare information in advance about their family relationships, life accomplishments, school, work and major life events. Life writing activities may be done individually or in structured groups. “Writing out your thoughts has so many more benefits than simply sitting down and thinking them.” “It’s never too early or too late to begin,” says Levy. “She did it without anybody else, just the writing and her own feedback.” “When she finished the assignment, she walked out on cloud nine,” Levy recalls. Then she wrote a letter from her younger self to her present self. Levy assigned her the exercise of writing a letter to herself as a young child. Levy cites the example of one of her clients, a woman in her late seventies who felt depressed and anxious over her own perceived lack of accomplishments in life. “Writing one’s story not only boosts self-esteem and reduces stress and anxiety, it is also a powerful tool for a senior-or anyone-to visualize and create their future,” Levy says. “Writing shakes people out of their same old stories and makes them think differently about their lives,” says Hope Levy of There’s Always Hope, a San Francisco-based Geriatric Consulting firm. Research shows that writing on or reminiscing about family history improves self-esteem, enhances feelings of control and mastery over life, and often results in a new or expanded vision of one’s life.įor seniors, the chance to tell their stories improves cognition, lessens depression, and improves behavioral functioning. While not a formally recognized therapy, it is a powerful medicine for all who are involved in the process. There is a growing body of scientific and anecdotal evidence that sharing and recording stories is beneficial for seniors. The Benefits of Putting Family History in Writing
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