Marking Heart Month
by Family Councils Ontario
February is Heart Month in Canada. To mark this important month, let’s talk about how Councils can support the health and well-being of their most important resource: their members.
Practice peer support
Peer support is the foundation of a Family Council. It is defined as:
"…[A] system of giving and receiving help founded on key principles of respect, shared responsibility, and mutual agreement of what is helpful… It is about understanding another’s situation empathically through the shared experience of emotional and psychological pain. When people find affiliation with others they feel are 'like' them, they feel a connection. This connection, or affiliation, is a deep, holistic understanding based on mutual experience where people are able to 'be' with each other without the constraints of traditional (expert/patient) relationships." (Mead, 2001)1
Peer support supports the health and well-being of Council members because it provides a means for people to share their experiences and receive support. It provides a means for people to alleviate their pain through sharing with people who understand their experiences and who can give emotional, informational, and practical support. Peer support is an essential part of a Family Council as no one understands the experiences of a caregiver like another caregiver. Whether done formally or informally, peer support improves the heath and lives of Council members.
Family Council members can experience high levels of stress due to their role as caregivers. According to Harvard Health Publishing, worry and stress can negatively impact your heart health.2 Through peer support- whether in a facilitated sharing session or informally sharing experiences- Council members can reduce their worry and stress by hearing from others suggestions to resolving challenges and approaches to bettering their abilities as a caregiver, and, above all, knowing that they are not alone in their feelings, experiences, and concerns. So, it’s easy to see the connection between better heart health and reducing stress and worry through peer support.
Share knowledge
Knowledge sharing and transfer are other essential aspects of Family Council work. Councils can promote heart health and well-being of members through sharing knowledge and hosting educational sessions on relevant topics. Councils can distribute educational materials from trusted sources (such as The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada) and host educational sessions from subject material experts on topics such as caring for the caregiver, heart health, or how to start an exercise regimen. All of these approaches will help improve the health and well-being of your members, and by extension their families and beloved resident. Share knowledge and improve the lives of your members.
Practice good health and well-being at meetings
Consider how to make your meeting healthier experiences for members. Heart-healthy refreshments such as fresh fruit, vegetables, and green tea can make for an enjoyable and healthy meeting. In good weather, think about holding meetings outside in the fresh air (while encouraging members to wear sunscreen to protect their skin!) or- if members can do so- hold a walking meeting to get some exercise during meetings. Councils can not only practice peer support and share information to promote good heart health, they can incorporate healthy practices into their meeting to go the extra mile in supporting members’ health.
Laugh!
The Mayo Clinic lists several health benefits of laughter, including:3
- Bring oxygen-rich air into your body
- Release endorphins
- Activate and relieve your stress response
- Reduce stress and tension
- Improve your mood
- Make it easier to cope with stress and difficult situations
Laughter really can be the best medicine! So, think about ways to bring laughter into your meetings. Can you start or end your meeting with a joke, silly image, or funny video? Bring laughter into your meetings and improve the lives of your members!
We all have heart health and we can all support each other in improving and maintain good health. To mark Health Month in Canada, consider how your Council can practice peer support, share knowledge, practice good health and well-being at meetings, and bring laughter to meetings. This will all help make your members’ hearts happy and healthy!
Sources:
- https://www.peersupportvic.org/index.php/2014-12-15-22-41-58/2014-12-15-22-59-27
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/managing-emotions-can-save-heart-201605099541
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456
Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash