I was very much one of the many individuals in the public that thought it was the deterioration in memory that had robbed people of their identity in the case of dementia. When I read this study, I felt like I was hit on the head by a bolt from the blue.
The study published in June 2015, in the Journal of the Association for Psychological Science on neurodegeneration and identity. In this study, researchers, Nina Strohminger from Yale University and Shaun Nichols from the University of Arizona made a breathtaking discovery.
Nina and Shaun had measured perceived identity changes in 248 patients with Frontotemporal Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
They found that moral behavior, not memory loss, causes loved ones to say that the patient wasn’t “the same person” anymore. That people with Frontotemporal Dementia was observed to have the greatest change in perceived change in the identity of the person with dementia by the caregiver. Next in line was AD and lastly ALS.
Tea is serious business for most Chinese, it is part of our culture, lifestyle and history. Just looking at the current market situation of tea in China, it is currently a $90 billion USD industry. For professional or formal carers who are working with residents or clients who are Chinese, it is good to understand the importance and relevance of Chinese tea to provide personalised care. I used to care for a Chinese lady and all we had in the facility was English tea, they had the usual run-of-the-mill Dilmah English Ceylon black tea, I’m possibly getting this wrong too, I only drink Earl Grey. Anyway, whenever she gets a cup of English tea from the staff, she’ll have a giggle, sip it and say “yucks”, and push it away. Thankfully her family brings here a stash of green tea that I can prepare for her that she keeps in her room.
Understanding how and when tea has come about in Chinese history is a good place to start, to appreciate the longevity of the tea culture, tradition and art that has flourished in among the Chinese since its beginnings in 3rd century A.D. Tea continued to gain popularity and by 618-907 A.D., tea had become a national phenomenon complete with ceremonies, traditions, and philosophies, tea plants were cultivated in 42 prefectures and drinking tea had become a daily norm for everyone among the different social classes (Wang, 2000). With tea filtering down for approximately 2000 years, you can see why it means so much to most of the Chinese population. Even for immigrants to western countries, studies have found that some cultural dietary preferences are just impossible to let go, and tea is but one of the many.
I can’t reiterate that for many Chinese, tea is a way of life, a philosophy, an art and a part of their identity. In art, you may see it reflected in poetry, literature, calligraphy and even in religion. Tea represents for some the connection between human and nature, the appreciation of the simplicity of the gifts of the earth that can soothe, clear and strengthen the human spirit. In that aspect, you may observe that many Chinese may have a deeper emphasis on the purity or the quality of the tea, and to consume it in its simplest and natural form, with no sugar, milk or spice. Unless you are drinking a flower tea, which is a whole different article in itself. Here tea is written in reference to the purest form, of harvested dried leaves.
In a nutshell, there are 6 main groups of Chinese tea.
Green Tea (绿茶) Pronounced: Lǜchá
Image from china.org.cn
This is the most common of all the teas and dominants 80% of the global Asian tea market. Green tea when brewed, produces a light to dark green hue.
When brewing green tea, increasing the temperature of the water will increase the bitterness of the green leave. Bitterness is produced by Catechins found in green tea and it’s reaction to the temperature of the water. To obtain a fresh, leafy and sweet cup of green, tea should be brewed at 75 to 80 Celsius or 167 to 176 Fahrenheit.
Black Tea (红茶) Pronounced: Hóngchá
Image from chinesetimeschool.com
Black tea is technically known as red tea in Chinese. Hong (红)stands for red and Cha (茶) stands for tea. A popular hong cha is known as Gong Fu (工夫) Cha or Gong Fu Hong Cha. Click here for more info on black teas.
Oolong Tea (烏龍) Pronounced: wūlóng
Image from chinesetimeschool.com
Oolong tea is strangely gaining popularity in the west, and it is currently used in everything from fusion dishes to weight loss tips. Thought Oolong is known commonly in the west to mean “black dragon”, which sounds a lot cooler then the dark dragon, “Wu” (烏) actually means dark, not black, and “Long” (龍) means dragon.
A common Oolong tea is the Tie Guan Yin (铁观音), literally translated it means “Iron Goodness of Mercy”. This tea is popular with Chinese from Southern China, Taiwan and parts of Southeast Asia.
Currently, Twinnings do stock Oolong in teabags, or for a more affordable range, you might be able to find this at the local Chinese grocer. I found this (see image below) for $5 AUD and would last me 6 months if I drank a cup daily, however it is only availably in loose leaves.
White Tea (白 毫 銀 針) Pronounced: Baihao Yinzhen
image from Shang Tea
White tea or Bai Hao Yin Zhen, loosely translated as white fine silver needles, some call it white hair silver needles. Very light refreshing tea that usually consist of peony and pekoe. This tea may be harder to find and may be more costly than the other teas, depending on your geographical location.
Yellow tea(黃茶) Pronounced: huángchá
image from fo.ifeng.com/
Yellow tea as the name states, has a beautiful imperial golden hue, some people may be confused with yellow tea and it may fall into a different category at the shops. Some places, it may be grouped up with the white teas. This is due to the fact that yellow tea when brewed, has the aroma of red tea and the flavour that taste like a mild green tea with a hint of white tea. A popular yellow tea is the Junshan Yinzhen (君山银针).
Pu-er tea (普洱茶)Prounced:P-Erh
– image from blisstree.com
Pu-er is an exclusive tea and can be rare and expensive, as it is tightl regulated for quality. Like champagne, the aged tea leaves only comes from one province in China and that is Yunnan, from wild trees that range from a few hundred years old to a thousand years old. Given that Black tea is, in fact, “red tea” according to the Chinese, Pu-Er is the one true “Black Tea”.
To learn more about Chinese tea, here are 2 websites that I have found useful.
Aitken, A 2008, ‘Third culture kids and mad migrant mothers, or how to outgrow Amy Tan’, Journal of Australian Studies, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 445-454.
Hung, K, Xiao, H, & Yang, X 2013, ‘Why immigrants travel to their home places: Social capital and acculturation perspective’, Tourism Management, vol. 36, pp. 304-313.
Kim, S 2015, ‘Unfolding Chinese American History’, Public Historian, vol. 37, no. 2, p. 130.
Ni, W 2011, ‘A Comparison of Chinese and British Tea Culture’, Asian Culture and History, no. 2.
Serafica, R 2014, ‘Dietary Acculturation in Asian Americans’, Journal of Cultural Diversity, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 145-151.
Wang, L 2000, Chinese Tea Culture, n.p.: Beijing : Foreign Languages Press, 2000.
I’m on the plane and a man in his forties sits down beside me. He tells me, his name is David and enthusiastically tells me about how he’s going to Sydney to help an aunt. The story is all too familiar, he’s going to try and get his story on “current affairs”.
His aunt lives alone and her husband had passed away a few years ago. She had worked with a non profit organisation all her life and had a good amount of savings put aside for her retirement. Recently his aunt has issues paying her bills, she’s running out of money. His sister and mother try and help out her, they realise that she has dementia.
On top of that, for years a man only known as Mr Miller has been attaining weekly payments from his aunt. Amounts ranging from a few hundred to a thousand dollars.
They have tried going to the police but was turned away, he claims the police feels that it is a civic matter. His aunt does not have a diagnosis of dementia and does not want to see a doctor. Her memory lost is evident and she gets distress easily. She cannot recall how much she has given him but only knows she had helped him out a bit here and there.
They are at their wits end and they feel there’s no one to help them, not even the justice system. So they are going to try and get their story to the media. I wish him luck and hope that thing will work out for his family.
It’s sad but it’s happening everywhere, a good friend of mine shared a story of the same plight of a relative in Europe. I’ve experienced it personally as well and it is paralysing. What can you do?
life is a mirid of patterns, a constant swallowing and devouring of routines, recipes and algorithms. From birth we develope the basic algorithms to help us achieve our needs, a cry for food, arms outstretched will bring a cuddle, a smile and the world will smile with you. As we grow, we start to grasps the patterns in life that bring us happiness or pain, joy or grief. We take steps to understand these patterns, harness them, build them, or even formulate them. We take pains to understand the patterns that make us smarter, more resilient, and essentially happy. It could be as simple as buying flowers for a partner in Valentine’s Day or in a more complex scenario develope an understanding of their tone of voice or body language to decipher a feeling and develope an appropriate resonate to bring happiness to another. We learn to understand the patterns to empower and enable us. To enhance our lives and the lives of others. We learn because we can, and we should learn because we must.
By understanding the patterns around us of the people we care for, we reinforce the fact that their happiness is important to us and we give a damn. We mustn’t forget that happiness and positivity is as contagious as negativity.
By learning and understanding patterns and routines of the people we care for, we are creating an understanding and caring environment not just for our clients, residents and staff, but for ourselves. Memorising patterns will help keep your mind sharp, and keep your heart filled with kindness and your emotions bursting with positivity.
So do your head, heart and your health a favour and start building a positive and kind workplace. Build ribbons of patterns in your mind, patterns and routine of the people you care for. After all, when your partner knows exactly what flowers you love, and your barista gets your coffee exactly how you want it, even before you utter a word? You can’t help but smile!
Some Millennials may not get this but the generation X, Y and baby boomers will. Be kind, get with the program and rewind.
References:
Barber, S., Forster, A., & Birch, K. (2015). Levels and Patterns of Daily Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Measured Objectively in Older Care Home Residents in the United Kingdom. Journal Of Aging & Physical Activity, 23(1), 133.
Chenoweth, L., Merlyn, T., Jeon, Y., Tait, F., & Duffield, C. (2014). Attracting and retaining qualified nurses in aged and dementia care: outcomes from an Australian study. Journal Of Nursing Management, 22(2), 234-247.
Crowther, J., Wilson, K., Horton, S., & Lloyd-Williams, M. (n.d). Compassion in healthcare – lessons from a qualitative study of the end of life care of people with dementia. Journal Of The Royal Society Of Medicine, 106(12), 492-497.
Edvardsson, D., Fetherstonhaugh, D., & Nay, R. (2010). Promoting a continuation of self and normality: person-centred care as described by people with dementia, their family members and aged care staff. Journal Of Clinical Nursing, 19(17/18), 2611-2618.
Lyons, S., Brunero, S., & Lamont, S. (2015). A return to nursing rounds – person centred or a task too far?. Australian Nursing & Midwifery Journal, 22(9), 30-33.
Smith, D., & Carey, E. (2013). Person-centred care planning for clients with complex needs. Learning Disability Practice, 16(10), 20-23.
Song, Y., Dowling, G., Wallhagen, M., Lee, K., Strawbridge, W., & Hubbard, E. (2009). Rest-activity patterns in institutionalized Korean older adults with dementia. Journal Of Gerontological Nursing, 35(12), 20-28.
– image from blisstree.com
Designing for Aged Care 