Try: #look for patterns in the cr’s sadness do sad moods occur on a daily or weekly basis is the cr sad at a certain time of day right after a meal after a particular activity or after talking with a particular person #as you look for patterns gently ask the cr questions about his or her life and relationships and his or her family’s history sometimes people are sad around the anniversaries of the deaths of spouses parents or siblings as you ask about family history ask when things happened or when the cr found out about them #if the cr has trouble answering questions invite family members and friends to share their thoughts about the cr’s experiences if your relationship with the cr involves confidentiality consider the rules of confidentiality before speaking with family or friends #ask what music the cr enjoys play that music softly when a cr is sad to help lift the mood #see if working on arts and crafts will distract the cr from feelings of sadness #if sadness is ongoing and causing changes in behavior consider an evaluation for depression by a doctor or mental health specialist

Materials: Observant caregiver knowledge or interest in family history or events family members and friends arts and crafts supplies music player music evaluation for depression if necessary

Categories: Emotional Psychological, Verbal Communication, Good Verbal Comm, So-So Verbal Comm, Poor Verbal Comm, Cognitive Awareness, Fully Aware, Somewhat Aware, Long-Term Memory, Good L T Memory, So-So L T Memory, Poor L T Memory, Short-Term Memory, Good S T Memory, So-So S T Memory, Poor S T Memory

Information: n/a

References: n/a

Keywords: n/a

*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed