HAPPY HABITS
SAVORING POSITIVITY
Older adults (60+) form a growing part of our population. The World Health Organisation declared the current decade the ‘Decade of Healthy Ageing’ with the aim to improve the lives of older people, their families and their communities. Happy Habits wants to contribute to this mission by offering this program that introduces older adults to the psycho-social factors that contribute to their ageing experience and mainly influence their happiness levels and satisfaction with life.
In this module we honor the diversity of older adults by acknowledging that they are probably the most heterogeneous group of our population as a result of their vast life experiences. We do not provide a one-fits-all formula for ageing positively. We rather want to create the conditions in which older adults can flourish on their own terms as they age.
This way we can best counteract the typical stereotype of old age as a time of loss, deterioration, and vulnerability and create an aging experience that is authentic to the values of that population. As we do that, we not only change how society relates to older adults but also how older adults relate to themselves.
Wayne Dyer
"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.'
HOW DOES A SESSION LOOK LIKE?
This module is broken into 10 sessions, each lasting 60 minutes. They would ideally take place in an easy-to-access facility to serve potential physical challenges of older adults.
Together we will explore various elements that contribute to their well-being. We will look at positive emotions and what strategies we can apply to cultivate them in our every day lives. We will experiment with our ability to savor positive experiences not only in the present but also from the past and anticipated future. We will discover ways of living an engaged and meaningful life. We will look at the role of relationships not only to our family and friends but also at how strangers and small acts of connection make a difference to our well-being. And at last we will incorporate the concepts of achievement and independence vs. interdependence into our understanding of what makes a good life in old age.
The sessions take place in an open, warm and compassionate community to build a sense of connection. All interventions can be directly applied and transferred into older adults' every day life.
Like this, mental well-being in old age finally gets the attention
it deserves.
