WFC (Wellness For Caregivers) Concept Note
Introduction
Wellness as a concept cum practice has made humongous strides in recent years, thanks to the explosive number of behavioral cum healthcare issues despite impressive advances in the science and technology of patient care at various levels, be it ambulatory therapy at the one end or hi-tech intensive care in tertiary hospitals in metro cities at the other.
It is an irony of the times we live in that while the expenses and complexities of patient care are increasing by the day, the healing experience and satisfaction level of the healthcare consumer are not necessarily growing in tandem, largely due to man-made and thus avoidable inadequacies. It is not surprising that the wellness component of healthcare is often made to take the backseat as a result. We hope to address this issue in depth and add value to the healing process in our own modest way.
Why wellness?
Wellness is not mere absence of illness. The latter may dominate the perception of all stakeholders in the healthcare system before, during and after the event of illness and the care thereof but it is the wholesome / holistic wellness involving the body, mind and spirit of the all concerned persons that will eventually decide how happy and comfortable they are with the entire experience and the outcome.
This may appear easy and self-evident but it is arguably the most difficult thing to keep in mind 24×7 without which one cannot ensure that smile of satisfaction on the face of the patient as well as his family and friends. In short, wellness, not mere absence of illness, is the ultimate right of the healthcare consumer and ultimate duty of the healthcare provider.
Why caregiver?
The single most important and direct caregiver for the patient is of course the doctor but the latter cannot function effectively without the support and involvement of paramedical and non-medical personnel all through the healing process. For instance, good nursing care plays a pivotal role in the treatment and recovery of the patient, but it does not end with carrying out the physical tasks assigned to the nurse. It is rooted deeply in the psychological makeup cum connect of the patient as well as the nurse.
Likewise, there are many other caregivers who are stakeholders in the healthcare system and ensure smooth functioning of the entire machinery. These include direct caregivers like family, friends and relatives as well as indirect ones like policy makers, activists and power centers at macro level striving for the same laudable end result. They too need to personify wellness for optimum impact all around with effective communication skills coupled with a high level of emotional intelligence.
Why WFC?
WFC is an entity comprising experts in healthcare and behavioral sciences dedicated to facilitating and sustaining the wellness of all stakeholders. WFC members are highly experienced in not only detecting and assessing the wellness needs of individuals and groups, but also administering interventional packages to improve wellness levels, assessing their impact over a period of time and eventually acting as ongoing facilitators and mentors to specifically identified individuals and groups. We can quantify the benefits of such programs to a given organization and show that our services will be cost-effective to the stakeholders in a sustainable manner.
Services to augment wellness levels
- Need assessment
- Awareness creation
- Interventional services
- One-on-one sessions
- Group sessions
- Impact assessment
- Follow up activities / services
- Other need-based programs from time to time
Tips for mental illness patients to handle stress
Uff!! Iam exhausted. This is how Ive felt in the past few days. Totally famished. That is the reason I couldn’t write the poems I promised to.
Here are some tips about how mental illness patients should handle stress?
Take a break-
Just be away from your routine. Take enough time to bounce back and be with your family. Sleep a lot and if possible go for walks and meditate.
Don’t expect people to understand your condition-
Well, you will behave normal but, only you know how you feel and what you are going through. You may be nervous, frightened, scared, over worried, tensed and lose confidence too. Since you are behaving normal, people around will think nothing is wrong with you. BUT, only you know its a camouflage. From within you are battling a hurricane and stopping it from toppling you completely.
PEOPLE will expect that you to engage in all your normal routine and think you are pretending. Just ignore, take rest.
Read humour-
Laugh out loudly, read jokes, humorous books or spend time with friends and family.
Never overthink-
This is an absolute killer. Just divert your mind to something positive and train it to think positive.
Root cause-
As you are resting, ponder on what is troubling you. Only you know your insecurities and reason for stress. Find your own answers, be strong and let nothing affect your mind and disturb it to the extend that stress kills your happiness and productivity.
Joining back work-
When you join back work, avoid too much of it. Take regular breaks and enjoy your work. Don’t take the stress of finishing your targets, that can take a toll on your health again.
Do not care for people who don’t care for you-
There are people who are born to criticize. They don’t see anything positive in ‘you’ or world around. Avoid talking to these people and don’t try to please them. They are the most toxic human beings.
Take your medications regularly and be with people who love humour, are happy and keep smiling
Travel 