My mom always used to say, “If you look good you will feel good.”
She would encourage me to get up, take a shower, comb my mop, shave and put on pressed clothing when I was sick. Mom was a stickler for fashion, but her premise was sound. Somehow if you get up and go through the actions of normalcy, getting dressed and looking your best, you can trick your body into feeling better.
I worry about this with the elderly. When someone is feeling poorly, it is easy to just sit around for a day or two in our PJ’s. The problem is that day or two can turn into a month or forever.
Can it be that this psychosomatic technique works to get our body healed? My experience says it can.
So this weekend instead of lounging in my sweats with the remote control super-glued to my hand, I got up and showered and dressed fashionably casual as if I was going out. Only to have my wife walk in to see the finished product and say, “Oh I see you are feeling better. Good I’m going shopping.” Wait, I wanted to scream, I am only looking better not feeling better so I can fake my brain out that I am not sick. Not wanting to waste one of my two sympathy days that I get from my wife a year for feeling under the weather, I let it go.
Seems like this looking good thing works.
3 Comments
This is so true. Taking the care to jazz yourself up uplifts how you feel inside.
What do you think about music as an affirmative therapy for the elderly suffering from Alzheimer’s/Vascular Dementia? I’ve been thinking about how much my father loved classical music when he was younger and whether it might help him cope at this point. Do you think that would work at your facility?
Thank you so much for your question. At Aegis, we firmly believe in the power of music. We are currently implementing music stations in our facilities and customizing the music choices for each individual resident. The joy in their faces and the positive response this effort has made on our residents has been very impactful. Music can soothe, remind, and energize. Music is often associated with life events and emotions, evoking memories of the past. If your father loved classical music, try playing some of his favorites and monitor his reaction to those songs. Create a playlist of his favorite songs that he reacts to positively. You can also try exercising to music, sing-alongs to classic tunes or dancing. We wish you the best in caring for your father.