Submitted by –
S. R. Hatton is a author, caregiver advocate, and founding father of S. R. Hatton Publishing
S. R. Hatton focuses on tales that discover the deeply human experiences of caregiving, persistent sickness, trauma, and therapeutic. Her work blends humor, honesty, and hope—and sometimes, a really sturdy cup of espresso.
Rising analysis and lived expertise recommend that trauma—and the way in which it lives within the physique—might play a deeper function in cognitive decline than we beforehand thought.
When caregivers face a dementia prognosis, they’re typically handed a script: the signs will worsen, the skills will fade, and nothing might be achieved however handle the decline. It’s like being given a guide titled, “Brace for Influence,” with no chapters on hope, pleasure, or what to do if the one you love doesn’t comply with the anticipated path.
However what if the physique is attempting to say one thing else? What if the story isn’t fully written but?
Rising analysis and lived expertise recommend that trauma—and the way in which it lives within the physique—might play a deeper function in cognitive decline than we beforehand thought. And extra importantly, once we strategy dementia by way of a trauma-informed, body-aware lens, we might start to see shocking shifts in connection, consolation, and even readability.
So let’s speak in regards to the mind, the physique, and the nervous system’s uncanny means to throw a wrench into our greatest medical predictions.
Understanding Trauma: Not Only a Psychological Story
For years, we thought trauma lived primarily in reminiscence—one thing to be talked out, resolved in remedy, or filed away with time. However anybody who’s ever jumped at a loud sound years after a automobile accident, or cried throughout a track with out realizing why, is aware of in any other case. Trauma lives within the physique. It hides in our muscular tissues, our posture, our hormones, and, sure, presumably even in the way in which we age.
When the physique experiences trauma, particularly if unresolved, it will probably keep locked in a form of inner “pink alert.” This state of persistent dysregulation impacts all the things: how we breathe, how we digest, how we sleep—and the way we relate to the world. And if the nervous system is continually scanning for hazard, it has little bandwidth left for reminiscence consolidation, emotional regulation, or social engagement. Sound acquainted?
When Dementia Meets the Physique’s Reminiscence
Right here’s the place it will get actually fascinating. Individuals dwelling with dementia might lose entry to names, locations, even the identities of these closest to them. However they typically retain rhythm, musical reminiscence, and instinctive emotional cues. That’s as a result of the elements of the mind concerned in procedural and sensory reminiscence are sometimes extra resilient within the early to mid-stages of cognitive decline.
Translation? Even when the thoughts forgets, the physique remembers.
Your beloved might not recall what that they had for breakfast—or even when that they had breakfast—however their physique would possibly nonetheless know easy methods to sway to Sinatra, snicker on the sound of birds outdoors, or chill out while you gently maintain their hand.
These aren’t simply “candy moments.” They’re neurological gold. They inform us that the physique’s capability to attach and reply isn’t gone—it simply might have to be reached in a different way.
Somatic Practices That Matter Extra Than You Assume
So what does this imply for you, the drained, over-caffeinated caregiver who’s attempting to steadiness compassion with remembering to take the laundry out of the washer earlier than it begins to odor?
It means you might have extra instruments than you notice. You don’t need to be a neuroscientist or a trauma professional. You simply need to be keen to decelerate, listen, and use probably the most underrated instruments in dementia care: contact, tone, rhythm, and presence.
Listed here are just a few practices to think about:
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Create Sensory Security (a.ok.a. Don’t Scare the Bejeebers Out of Them)
- Maintain lighting comfortable and pure. Nobody desires to be bathed in surgical lighting except they’re in surgical procedure.
- Calming scents like lavender or cinnamon can ease the nervous system.
- Remove sudden, loud noises. That vacuum cleaner? Possibly use it after they nap.
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Constant, Comforting Contact (and No, a Pat on the Head Doesn’t Depend)
- A delicate hand on the arm or again can communicate volumes.
- Supply hand massages with lotion. It’s soothing, and hey—you’ll each odor superb.
- Holding arms in silence might be as significant as a full dialog.
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Use Rhythm and Repetition (As a result of the Physique Loves a Good Groove)
- Acquainted songs can deliver somebody again into the second, generally miraculously.
- Rocking chairs, swaying, strolling collectively—these rhythmic actions are grounding.
- Every day routines supply predictable consolation. You don’t want a inflexible schedule, however slightly rhythm goes a great distance.
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Let Feelings Movement (Yours Too, Actually)
- Don’t shut down tears, anger, and even these “why are you watching me like that?” moments.
- Acknowledge feelings with easy phrases like, “That sounds arduous,” or “I’m proper right here.”
- Feelings are a part of regulation. After they’re allowed, the nervous system breathes.
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Be a Physique Language Detective
- Discover posture, respiration, eye motion, fidgeting.
- Are they curling in, withdrawing, or reaching out?
- Your response issues greater than your clarification. They’ll really feel the way you make them really feel, even when they neglect what you stated 5 minutes later.
Somatic Therapeutic Isn’t a Development — It’s Historic
If this all sounds new or woo-woo, take into account this: somatic therapeutic is definitely historic. Rocking infants, strolling in step, singing lullabies, getting ready meals collectively—these are all embodied practices handed down for generations. We simply forgot them for some time within the fluorescent-lit world of medical care.
However right here’s the factor: no quantity of medicine or completely laminated caregiving charts can change the influence of human presence. That quiet “I’m right here” provided with a contact, a breath, a shared second of silence—that’s the place the magic nonetheless lives.
What Caregivers Must Keep in mind (Moreover The place They Put Their Espresso)
This isn’t about curing dementia. It’s about connecting by way of it.
Once we shift from attempting to “repair” cognitive signs to supporting the physique’s want for rhythm, regulation, and security, we start to note one thing profound: the particular person continues to be there. Not all the time accessible by logic or dialog, however nonetheless profoundly human, and nonetheless attentive to care that meets them the place they’re.
This strategy might not reverse the course of decline—but it surely would possibly rewrite how that story is skilled; by each of you.
Moments of laughter. A shared hum to a favourite track. A head gently rested in your shoulder. These moments will not be charted on a cognitive scale—however they’re all the things.
Closing Ideas: This Isn’t the Finish of the Story
If you happen to’re a caregiver studying this whereas reheating your espresso for the third time and questioning if any of this can make a distinction, right here’s your reply:
Sure.
As a result of each act of light presence issues. Each time you select curiosity over correction, persistence over panic, you’re creating area for therapeutic—not all the time of reminiscence, however therapeutic from worry. From disconnection. From loneliness.
The physique has a voice. Once we study to pay attention—not simply with our ears, however with our hearts and arms—we might discover there’s extra nonetheless potential than anybody predicted.
Concerning the Creator:
S. R. Hatton is a author, caregiver advocate, and founding father of S. R. Hatton Publishing. She focuses on tales that discover the deeply human experiences of caregiving, persistent sickness, trauma, and therapeutic. Her work blends humor, honesty, and hope—and sometimes, a really sturdy cup of espresso.
Her newest e book, Dementia Denied: One Girl’s True Story of Surviving a Terminal Prognosis & Reclaiming Her Life, expands on lots of the trauma-informed and somatic therapeutic rules explored on this article. Via the extraordinary true story of Ginger Smith, the e book dives deeper into how the physique holds reminiscence, how emotional overwhelm might mimic or intensify cognitive decline, and why caregivers should not underestimate the therapeutic energy of contact, rhythm, and presence.
Obtainable in print and as an eBook on Amazon starting Could 29, 2025.
You may pre-order the eBook HERE.
