How a nursing home is treating dementia patients by 'sending' them back to the GDR

[Daneman]

Margit Hikisch, 88, is a resident at the Alexa nursing home in the eastern city of Dresden where pockets of German history are being brought to life to help treat dementia patients.

Using an innovative approach, the private facility has set up "memory rooms" with the decor, meals and music of East Germany of the 1960s and 1970s which, it says, help revive old memories and, with them, the residents' sense of self.

Hikisch survived the war's devastation in Dresden and spent what she calls her "best years" under the communist regime of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) working as a bank clerk.

"Hitler was a madman and we suffered during the war, and afterwards. But in the GDR it got better little by little - we had enough to eat again," said Hikisch, who, like many her age, has a firmer grasp on decades-old recollections than current events.

As she sat with eight other residents around a long table making a favourite post-war chocolate biscuit cake, Hikisch said she liked visiting the home's custom-made time machine.

"We were always satisfied with what we had (under communism), maybe because we didn't know what we didn't have because of the border," said Hikisch, referring to Germany's four-decade-long division.

https://www.thelocal.de/20170622/how...tia-by-sending

What the actual fuck? Yeah, let's just reimplement it again for old times sake!

[lonely zergling]

Why not. If it helps treating dementia patients. Its not like they reenact the wall shootings in the nursing home (I hope).

[Tackhisis]

DDR was great.

[Mihalik]

What the actual fuck? Yeah, let's just reimplement it again for old times sake!

Look...even you can't be this dense.

It's not being "re-implemented", it's just a treatment method. Like listening to old songs. They create a small environment that triggers day to day memories in patients who would benefit from this.

It's not like the Stasi being revived.

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DDR was great.

No. No it wasn't.

[medievalman1]

You posted the article. Do you have any concept about what happens with a person that has dementia?

[Miyagie]

You posted the article. Do you have any concept about what happens with a person that has dementia?

Stage 3 dementia is a fucking nightmare, i worked some years with dementia patients and with MS its the worst thing that can happen to a human.

[medievalman1]

Stage 3 dementia is a fucking nightmare, i worked some years with dementia patients and with MS its the worst thing that can happen to a human.

Indeed, dementia scares the hell out of me.

[Noomz]

Margit Hikisch, 88, is a resident at the Alexa nursing home in the eastern city of Dresden where pockets of German history are being brought to life to help treat dementia patients.

Using an innovative approach, the private facility has set up "memory rooms" with the decor, meals and music of East Germany of the 1960s and 1970s which, it says, help revive old memories and, with them, the residents' sense of self.

Hikisch survived the war's devastation in Dresden and spent what she calls her "best years" under the communist regime of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) working as a bank clerk.

"Hitler was a madman and we suffered during the war, and afterwards. But in the GDR it got better little by little - we had enough to eat again," said Hikisch, who, like many her age, has a firmer grasp on decades-old recollections than current events.

As she sat with eight other residents around a long table making a favourite post-war chocolate biscuit cake, Hikisch said she liked visiting the home's custom-made time machine.

"We were always satisfied with what we had (under communism), maybe because we didn't know what we didn't have because of the border," said Hikisch, referring to Germany's four-decade-long division.

https://www.thelocal.de/20170622/how...tia-by-sending

What the actual fuck? Yeah, let's just reimplement it again for old times sake!

How long was the last ban, Daneman? Did you move away from your usual posts to misinterpret other things to be upset about? There's nothing wrong about what they're doing. It is proven that locations, smells, similar situations and other sensory impressions are a great impact in how you remember things.

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Do you read the articles you post?

Most likely he didn't. OR he did and he saw just what he wanted to see so he could get angry about it.
The OP has done much worse than this before and been banned more than once for it.

[Miyagie]

Most likely he didn't. OR he did and he saw just what he wanted to see so he could get angry about it.
The OP has done much worse than this before and been banned more than once for it.

The memory room concept is also very old and a commen practice to treat dementia patients and here in germany you can find that in near every nursery home with dementia patients.

[Protean]

Can we just have this thread closed already?

It should be a bannable offense to post something you haven't read yourself.

[Masark]

No different than Hogeway or any similar memory care facility.

The only difference is the environment the patients remember, and thus what the facility would need to aim to recreate.

[DylanGillo]

I feel very sorry for people who have dementia. These patients need special care and attention. My friend's grandmother suffers from dementia and has been in a private clinic for a long time under the supervision of doctors. My friend did everything to make her grandmother feel comfortable.

[Tziva]

This three year old thread did not need bumped.