Engaging with arts helps metro Atlanta caregivers and people living with dementia connect
There are a lot of things Gracie Hansen and Jane MacFarlane enjoy doing together. But nothing beats their monthly visits to the High Museum of Art in Midtown Atlanta.
"For me, it's really nice to exercise that part of my brain and my art vocabulary, and for Jane, it's nice because she gets to expand it and she gets to sit and enjoy things and experience things with other people and share her perspective," Hansen said. "And everyone's perspective is equally valid."
MacFarlane, a lifelong actress, has Alzheimer's disease. Hansen is her caregiver. The pair is part of a community of caregivers and their clients in Atlanta who experience the arts together as a way to manage the stress and impact of cognitive diseases.
"Museum day is always our favorite day," Hansen said, "so it's easier to get up early and start the day so that we can get our lunch in before we go."
Their friendship blossomed from their mutual love of the arts. MacFarlane says exhibits with vintage decor and fashion allow her to reflect on her life.
"They were of the times," MacFarlane said. "If you've lived through all those times, they take you back through your own history."
Hansen says they also love going to the aquarium, watching theater shows, documentaries, choirs, and being outside.
Dr. Monica Parker, an associate professor in neurology at Emory School of Medicine and a leading administrator at the Goizueta Brain Health Institute, says engaging patients with the arts gives them a sense of relief.
"There's something in that experience that's familiar and somewhat comforting for that individual," Parker said. "So research is still ongoing to understand what the neural pathways are that are connecting people to whatever the arts engagement is."
Now that it's getting warmer outside, Hansen says she and MacFarlane plan on going to the zoo and the botanical gardens. Hansen says you never know what MacFarlane will say next.
"If you're allowed to love people," MacFarlane said, "if people let you love them, you're so much better off than if they keep their elbows out and keep you away."
It's the best part of having her as a companion.
