The handbook brings you exercises about the importance of social engagement for your mental health and mental fitness. The importance of common recollection, of sharing memories and experiences with your friends and the group with its powerful dynamics are highlighted. You might also find the answers to some of the quiz questions in the online games in the handbook exercises below.
M3.1 | What Can You Put In The Pot?
M3.2 | Finding Common Ground
M3.3 | Narrative Café
M3.4 | Picturing Words
M3.5 | Sharing Sensations
M3.6 | What, Why, hoW - demystifying the www
M3.7 | Standing Your Ground
M3.8 | Take The Big Yellow Taxi
This game in the Meeting room draws attention to the importance of social interaction. As you get older, people change around you through retirement or perhaps the death of peers, thus it seems to become more difficult to make new friendships. But it is important to continue to maintain close relationships. Ageing studies confirm that older people who are socially active show a slower progression of health decline. Staying socially active is not just enjoyable, but it activates the release of neurotransmitters, increase of synaptic density and hence it has a protecting function in maintaining cognitive functions.
Social interaction can even boost your immune system and therefore protect against illness. Comparing older people living in isolation and people remaining socially active, the following health benefits were found in the latter group:
- reduced risk for cardiovascular problems and locomotor disorders;
- reduced risk for Alzheimer’s Disease;
- reduced risk for mental illness and depression.
In summary, social interaction with physical activity and healthy nutrition helps to keep your mental health and protect you from cognitive decline.
http://www.ard.it/download/Cervello_invecchia.pdf
http://www.actitud50.com/es/gimnasia-mental/
http://www.fgcsic.es/lychnos/es_ES/publicaciones/lychnos_02/articulo
http://www.fgcsic.es/lychnos/es_ES/publicaciones/lychnos_num_08/articulos
http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/libro?codigo=343628
http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_aging_seniors_aging_well.htm
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Healthy_ageing_stay_mentally_active
http://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/what-is-mental-health
http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth/Pages/Mentalhealthhome.aspx
http://www.gmhfonline.org/gmhf/consumer/factsheets/hlthage_mental.html
http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/olderadults.html
http://www.livescience.com/35863-grow-old-gracefully-tips.html
http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/
http://www.healthyageing.eu/resources/resources
http://ec.europa.eu/health/mental_health/portal/index_en.htm
http://www.euro.who.int/en/publications/policy-documents/mental-health-declaration-for-europe
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs381/en/
http://www.printime.co.il/16584/%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%97%D7%A7%D7%99-%D7%97%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%91%D7%94
http://www.olgaraz.co.il/?p=867
Social Flight
- Discussion: What gestures do you use in your country?
- Follow up activity after the board game. Reassume the principles of assertive communication. The facilitator suggests 3 difficult/problematic situations from which participants in pairs should choose one to act and work out in an assertive way.
Tableau
- Making a memory card game with nicknames and profile pictures (from the printed tableau).
- Creating anagrams from letters of nicknames.
- This exercise links well to M3.2 Finding Common Ground where learners share their interests, so their matching images and nicknames could connect like minded people together, across a virtual network and across other countries.
To see the games please