Gardening can become a form of therapy for patients suffering from dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases, Prof. Dr. Jens Benninghoff (Isar-Amper Hospital Munich-East) illustrates in his DLD Health talk.
Benninghoff describes cultivating a garden as a metaphor for restoring meaning to patients’ lives. The title of his session is a reference to Voltaire’s famous closing line from Candide, “Il Faut Cultiver Son Jardin.”
Clinical settings often strip patients of responsibility as their disease progresses, he notes. An effect driven by safety concerns and a “triangle of sadness” between patient, caregiver, and an over- or understimulating environment.
Gardening counters this trend. It gives patients a concrete role, as they can “feel even responsible for a flower in a pot”, he says. “This is not only giving a patient purpose, but also giving him responsibility. And that’s a very important part.”
To prove the concept scientifically, Benninghoff ran a randomized trial at his hospital, which showed that therapeutic gardens improve quality of life, reduce depressive symptoms, anxiety, and overall medication.
Watch the video to explore this talk in detail.
