Using the "life story" to BETTER understand & relate to a person

Building a healthy relationship with your aging loved one.
Life Story Part 1: "Meet me where I am"

What sums up a life? What makes it into your Life Story? You’ve had so many experiences in life-  some you would label good and others bad. Everything else is a measurement in-between. If you were to create your Life Story, what would make the cut? What moments have you forgotten? What lessons are so close to you that you can’t even “see” them anymore because they are so much a part of you now?  And hey, what about the fact that you are still living? Essentially still writing your story! Who is to say that your biggest life lessons aren’t still to come? Who is to say that the biggest breakthroughs and “Ah-ha” moments aren’t ready to reveal themselves in the next few years, days or even hours.

One thing you know is so far, your life (or rather your experiences in life), have shaped you into the You that you are today. You are still being shaped regardless of your age. A person’s needs can change throughout their life. We wrote about Needs last month. Consider the experience of an individual of a certain age, who is moving out of his longtime family home to somewhere with more support for his current needs. The move is an adjustment to routine, with new faces, new food, new address and phone number- new everything! Change isn’t necessarily bad, but it is different, and it takes time to establish his bearings. It takes time to become comfortable while settling into the new space. Consider that this individual has some memory impairment. Building those new bearings and comfort can be more challenging.

Enter in the power of the Life Story. Imagine how would the staff at the care facility relate to this gentleman better when they knew key details that define (in his eyes) who he is in his life. Imagine the depth of relationship he would have with a supportive companion who knew that he prided himself as a community involved man in his younger years of retirement. Imagine the quality of their time together when it is evolved around more meaningful activities and conversations that encompasses and celebrates those key details from his Life Story. It sets up the opportunity to create the space for new experiences, learnings and exploration together even at this time of his life. Giving him the opportunity to continue adding more chapters to his Life Story.