Pine forest with snow and sunburst

Mindlessness—the Benefits of Automatic Thinking for Dementia

At DAWN, we believe in allowing people to age in place for as long as possible. However, it’s not always feasible to keep someone who is experiencing dementia at home through the end of life. How can families make moving someone with dementia less distressing? Let’s consider the ways we’ve helped our clients here at … Read more

trees by a country road

Don’t Move Them—Let Them Use Mindlessness

Ellen Langer has been writing about the value of mindfulness for over 35 years. I read her book Mindfulness in the early 1990s. I still have my copy. In it, she points out the tremendous influence context has on our perception of something’s value. She gives the example of heroin, something we consider intrinsically bad, … Read more

red and green maple leaves | the DAWN Method

How to Choose a Care Facility

At DAWN, we believe in preserving dignity and autonomy, and allowing people to age in place for as long as possible. However, it is not always feasible to keep someone who is experiencing dementia at home. Being the primary caregiver of someone who is experiencing dementia is exhausting, but it is especially debilitating if you … Read more

pink blossoms in the rain | the DAWN Method

Mindlessness—the Benefits of Using Muscle Memory for Dementia

In another blog I stated that mindlessness is just as valuable to people experiencing dementia as mindfulness is to those of us who have healthy brains. Let’s consider the mindlessness tool muscle memory, and why it’s so helpful when someone is losing rational thought and memory. The value of muscle memory for dementia and Alzheimer’s. … Read more

An open email to Dr. Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Memorial Prize 2002

Note: Daniel Kahneman, Princeton Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs Emeritus, is an Israeli-American psychologist notable for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making, as well as behavioral economics, for which he was awarded the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Dear Dr. Kahneman, Could we talk about the importance of the … Read more