The labels and language we use around dementia affect how we experience caregiving. The words we choose affect how we feel about it and how we understand the problems to begin with, as we try to solve the many puzzles that dementia creates just navigating daily life.
Our expectations around caregiving are shaped by the words and labels we use. These expectations are incredibly powerful and impact how we think and experience our work. An insightful study, famously called the Milkshake Study, from Stanford University demonstrates this truth. The study measured ghrelin levels (the hormone that tells our brain we are full during mealtimes). They conducted lab tests with two groups of participants who drank the exact same milkshake mixture. The only difference was the expectation created by the words used to describe the milkshake. One group was told their milkshake was high calorie and the other was told their milkshake was low calorie. The ghrelin levels were markedly greater in the group that was told it was high calorie.
Referencing the Stanford Milkshake Study, “labels are not just labels; they evoke a set of beliefs,” says Alia Crum, a clinical psychologist at Columbia Business School, New York. Labels, I would also argue, can give or take away a person’s sense of power over the problems they are facing.
For example, our self talk as caregivers can include negative thoughts when we are stressed, like “yesterday felt impossibly hard so today will be no better.” Caregivers face so much each day. Can the words we choose in our daily life end up shaping our experience? Negative self talk can lead to a form of victimhood to Alzheimer’s Disease. Or is it possible for us to turn that around to define ourselves as the champions of people living with it?
The choice of words, and labels, we use about dementia care will undoubtedly influence the thoughts and emotions we carry about our work. This process transfers to those around us — co-workers, family members, and residents. The challenging questions I have are along the lines of: How can we hear ourselves? Can team members effectively help give us feedback and trigger a healthier reflection of our work? What if we approach ourselves with as much compassion as we do for those we care for? So much food, or milkshakes, for thought.
We can become discouraged when we face the decline of dementia, but what if we see each day as another opportunity to explore, be curious, and creative as we help those living with dementia to have the best day possible? We have the power to choose the words and labels applied to dementia care and therefore improve our own experience and that of those around us.