Meeting ‘Positive Health’ in the Anker in Borger. | Photo: Rianne Denissen
BORGER – Petra van den Bosch, combination coach in Borger, is today organizing an information meeting about Positive Health in collaboration with the welfare organization Andes. Dozens of elderly people gather in the Anker in Borger to learn more about the subject together.
What is Positive Health?
“At Positive Health we try to look at health in a different way,” van den Bosch explains. She stands in front of a well-filled room in the Anker with a broad smile on her face. “When we talk about health, we need to look much further than just health as a disease treatment. Health is also about your mental well-being. Consider, for example, mental resilience, meaning and quality of life.”
Increasing self-reliance
Van den Bosch explains why a meeting on Positive Health is important now: “Our welfare state is slowly changing into a participation society. Older people are increasingly dependent on an informal caregiver or several informal caregivers at the same time and it is expected that the number of available informal caregivers will decrease every year.” This development means that older people are more conscious about their health and think about what they can do themselves to remain fit and vital for as long as possible. The meeting on Positive Health is therefore very useful for elderly people who want to take matters into their own hands and increase their self-reliance.
Working together
During the meeting, the participants investigate the 6 different pillars of Positive Health through discussions, games and riddles. They are all discussed this morning: bodily functions, mental well-being, meaning, quality of life, participation and daily functioning. It is then up to all participants to identify these pillars for themselves. What is currently going well and in what areas is there still room for improvement? The entire room gets to work enthusiastically and talks to each other about the different pillars. Discussions soon arise about philosophical questions: What does it actually mean to care for someone? What is the difference between loneliness and being alone? And: How can I care for someone who does not want to receive help? One of the attendees asks the group for advice: “My neighbor seems very lonely. I have asked her several times to have coffee together or to help her in some other way. But no matter what I do, she doesn’t seem to want to receive help. How can I best help her?” One by one the fingers go up in the air. The participants share personal experiences and exchange practical tips with each other.
Participants learn together about the importance of Positive Health. | Photo: Rianne Denissen
Not only useful but also fun
Erika Klein Gombert from welfare organization Andes recognizes the questions from the audience all too well: “We often see that asking for help and taking the first step in that direction is often experienced as difficult. By participating in these meetings and activities, older people create a social safety net from which they can later reap the benefits.” An enthusiastic participant fully agrees with this: “My wife and I have also participated in van den Bosch’s fall prevention course. For us this was not only useful and educational, but also very enjoyable. It has helped us enormously in making new contacts.”
In addition to the necessary theory, a lot of attention is also paid to movement, music and above all: a lot of fun during the meeting. In this way, the meeting not only provides information about Positive Health, but is also a first step in the right direction.
Have you become enthusiastic and would you like to attend a meeting or course with Petra van den Bosch? Please contact Petra van den Bosch and email [email protected]
2024-01-03 18:48:17
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