As a child, I often listened to my mother and her sisters talk about living on a farm and going to school. They really did walk through deep snow drifts to reach their one-room schoolhouse. I tried to imagine what it was like to ride in a horse and buggy when they told me that was their transportation. These were things I could only imagine, but stories that enriched my life.
One of the great joys I find in talking with older people is listening to the collection of history that they carry with them. Whether it is a major event or personal anecdote, I find stepping back into the past with someone a good history lesson. The knowledge and experience they possess allow me to experience another time. It’s not always pleasant things or things that I wished I could have lived through (The Great Depression, WW II), but whether positive or negative, these recollections add to my lived experience of the world.
Remembering and sharing memories is not just interesting and enlightening, it can be therapeutic. Researchers have found telling stories and reminiscing in structured settings have positive health benefits such as reducing depression, improving self-esteem and helping older adults deal with life transitions (see reference 1). It may even help individuals with dementia through improved mood, cognition and behavior (see reference 2).
On his web page, Create Your Life Story (http://createyourlifestory.com), Ian Kath says “People wait, people procrastinate, people make excuses but most of all people don’t take the time to really consider the stories in the lives of those around them. It’s only once you start asking, the stories start to come out.”
And not only should we ask for and listen to the stories – we should record them. In this digital age, there are many ways to record stories. One that has caught my attention is StoryCorps (http://storycorps.org), a nonprofit organization whose goal is to record the stories of Americans. StoryCorps has booths set up in select cities year round and also has a mobile recording booth that visits other cities. But for those people not close to those cities, they post guidelines for recording stories and suggest questions for getting the conversations started. Listen to some of the stories online at http://storycorps.org/stories-archive/page/3. UTMB’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute also offers a Lifestory workshop to guide people in writing and sharing life experiences and memories (http://www.utmb.edu/olli).
Our technology-filled environment has moved many people away from conversation as a method of communication, even though storytelling has been used to communicate history and wisdom for thousands of years. The next time you are with a friend or relative – especially an older one – ask for a story. You both will benefit from the experience.
Guest Blogger: Linda Rounds, Ph.D., R.N., Professor, UTMB School of Nursing
References
- Jones, E. (2003). Reminiscence therapy for older women with depression. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 29(7), 26-33.
- Woods, B., Spector, A. Jones, C., Orrell, M. & Davies, S. (2005). Reminiscence therapy for dementia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15846613
Join us for a real-time discussion about questions raised by this essay on Wednesday from 12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. See Discussion and SL tabs above for details. Link to the virtual meeting room: http://tinyurl.com/cjfx9ag.
Rodger Marion 
January 23, 2013 at 1:09 pm
Transcript of the Weekly Discussion on Aging – January 23, 2013
[10:14] Drdtrain is online.
[10:15] Rodger Markova: Hello Tony
[10:27] Drdtrain: I like Linda’s blog. Stories are always good.
[10:28] Rodger Markova: Yes, just being conscious that people can be engaged by simply asking them about their past is a good way to encourage providers to take time to listen to patients.
[10:30] Rodger Markova: It’s sort of a permission giving thing. Like the Spirituality course, we tell students that you CAN talk with people about their faith issues.
[10:30] Drdtrain: I’m getting that at the restaurant I play on Fri and Sat nights. Mostly an older local group enjoying a nice dinner and sitting at the bar. Conversations become real in a hurry. I like that.
[10:31] Rodger Markova: Right. Yes, bars are often good places for talk
[10:32] Drdtrain: Yes. I’m finding the conversation starts cautiously and maybe a few insights into lonliness – “I come here almost every night to have a drink and say hello. Don’t want to just sit at home.”
[10:32] Rodger Markova: Right,
[10:32] Drdtrain: Then we talk about music and when they find out I’m in Geriatrics, then all the ailments and who they know is in a nursing home, etc…
[10:33] Rodger Markova: Yes
[10:33] Drdtrain: Religion and politics start around the 3rd or 4th encounter. And it is important to remember their name!
[10:34] Rodger Markova: People like to talk about themselves. We often do a small group thing with students where they draw out a time line of their lives with major events on it and then talk about it. People always love to do that.
[10:35] Drdtrain: Yes – life course. Great movie illustrating that is The Straight Story’. Ever see it?
[10:35] Rodger Markova: No.
[10:36] Rodger Markova: Is it a fictional film or a documentary?
[10:36] Drdtrain: Old man takes to his riding mower across the Iowa Wisconsin hills to visit his ailing brother. Fictional I think.
[10:37] Rodger Markova: Oh yes. I have heard of that, but not seen it
[10:37] Rodger Markova: Gee, that might be based on fact.
[10:38] Rodger Markova: It’s a David Lynch film
[10:38] Rodger Markova: “The film is based on the true story of Alvin Straight’s journey across Iowa and Wisconsin on a lawnmower.”
[10:39] Drdtrain: Travels about 350 miles and meets… That’s right. Last movie with Richard Farnsworth before he died. Wonderful character actor,
[10:40] Rodger Markova: Yes, that would be worth seeing.
[10:41] Drdtrain: Our video series is really taking off. We get 25-30 and now broadcasting to Morningside Ministries in SA. AHEC groups don’t seem too interested in pursuing it for some reason
[10:41] Rodger Markova: I’m happy the video series is doing so well.
[10:41] Rodger Markova: Dianne and I just watched a film about a bunch of people who walk across Spain on a pilgrimage. Lots of storytelling in it. Martin Sheen stars and his son, Emilio, wrote and directed.
[10:43] Drdtrain: Sounds good. Have you seen ‘The Quartet’ – bunch of real-life musicians, singers, actors living in a retirement home in England. And they get together to express their art in small group. Real good dynamics – who’s in charge, who wants to be left alone but eventually comes around.
[10:43] Rodger Markova: No, that sounds good.
[10:51] Drdtrain: Thanks. Take care, Rodger.
[10:52] Rodger Markova: Bye