So how can we be of help when it comes to human rights?

 

Justice related to opportunities and resources required for occupational participation sufficient to satisfy personal needs and full citizenship.

                                                                                       - Townsend & Wilcock, 2004

 

So, how crazy is this but I have spent most of my holiday sitting at my desk! I know it's sad that I am working during my holidays when the beach is right around the corner but these next couple of weeks are ludicrously busy. I was sitting and pondering away when all of a sudden the dogs barked and the door bell rang. I must have been so deeply engrossed in my work that I did not notice that I was the only occupant left in our home which clearly meant opening the door for whomever was there. When I took a glimpse to see who was at the door I was surprised to see a little family made up of a middle aged couple and two little boys, one of which was in a pram. I asked them how I could help them which is when they told me their story...

 

It is funny, but my professional face (that's if I have one already) immediately came out while listening to their story. Ok I was not in my working clothes but OT grows on one and so one tends to automatically apply the principles that one has learnt in class, in your 'normal' life. We (here at home) have come across a lot of similar situations in the past which have taught me many lessons...now, I was on my own and had to handle this situation to the best of my ability.

 Their story began with them having to leave their house that they were renting because the land owners had a dispute. They didn't know where to go as the man was a car guard at our local mall and earned R80 a day whilst the lady looked after the two children. They were willing to stay anywhere as long as they would have a roof over their heads....and that is all they told me.

I am telling this story as it got me thinking. How do I handle this situation, keeping my beliefs in mind and my acquired OT knowledge? It also got me thinking about the asserts that all people have the right to, based on the WFOT Human Rights position paper, which are:     



 

Asserts that all people have the right to - based on the WFOT Human Rights position paper

 

• Be supported to participate in occupation as included and valued member of their family, community and society.
•  Have choice, not being pressured, forced or coerced into occupation that threaten health, or are dehumanising, degrading or illegal.
• Be valued for their participation, and have equitable access, regardless of difference.
• Access occupations that enable people to flourish, fulfil their potential, experience satisfaction.
• Access civic, educative, productive, social, creative, spiritual and restorative occupations.
• Not be excluded from occupation by economic, social and physical barriers.

 

To me these asserts are a little 'far fetched'. They paint the perfect picture of what occupation should be all about but are they really being realistic at the end of the day?! Maybe if these asserts would be implemented, this family of four would live a more comfortable life. There are however 'weeds' which prevent people to reach their ultimate 'occupational potential' which we should be aware of.

 

These are factors like; occupational alienation, occupational  deprivation, occupational marginalisation and occupational balance.

 

It is vitally important that we as OT students become aware of these 'barriers' so that one day when we are practicing, may it be in the rural or private setting, that we don't become oblivious to these barriers that may stand in the way of our clients. We need to search for possible solutions ie. community profiling, examining the policies, action research etc. so that we can assist our clients and society in breaking through these barriers so that they may participate in an occupation that gives them purpose and meaning. In doing this, we may assist our justice system in serving justice, even though it may be on a small scale...every little bit helps. 

 

I strongly believe that justice can not be 'squished' into a system...it starts with everyone's attitude towards it.

 

Reference

 

Townsend, E., Wilcock, A. (2004). Occupational justice and client centred practice: A dialogue in progress. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71 (2), 75 - 87 

Just do, be, belong and become!...it's as easy as that!

 

Is it all that easy I ask myself?! We are currently "on holiday" for a couple of days and so we went to Thangami natural Spas close to Vryheid. It was incredibly scenic and away from any sort of metropolitan state which I loved! I must admit that I am not the biggest city slicker. We had some time to challenge our thoughts and it was there, in the middle of the dense African bush, that I was reminded of Ann Wilcocks understanding of health and well being which put my avoidant streak to the test.

Doing 

Doing, as Wilcock portrays it is, "acting on the environment and interacting with other beings".(Stoffel & Brown, pg. 639) I strongly believe that this is what us OT students are constantly doing. Maybe we are even exceeding the 'normal' requirements of the statement because there are times when our class is tired of constantly doing. What we need to remember though is that doing also "affirms competence and self worth" (Hammell, 2004) This refers to intrinsic motivation. This to me does not mean that whatever you do has to be done on a large scale for everyone to see. All of us want to be important and leave behind a legacy but we are not all going to. We need to ask ourselves what our motives for what we are doing are. If we don't try we will never know and there are ALWAYS going to be people out there that are going to be better at something than you are but maybe you will invent a new approach, who knows.... 

 

Being

To me, this is the hardest of the four. I am quite for the whole "Be yourself" thing but do I really apply it at the end of the day? Wilcock stated that, "being allows for reflection, contemplation and discovery" (Stoffel & Brown, pg. 639) which has been beautifully said. What is a little concerning about human nature is that there are many things that define who we are. Pressure wells up from all sides and in the end we drown in what society wants us to be and 'being you' becomes damn difficult. Put on those 'arm floaties' and off you go!        

 

Belonging

Belonging must be the most satisfying feeling ever! Often it is up to the individual of how much they want to belong. It gives me a great sense of pleasure to sense when someone feels welcomed or when a feeling of belonging develops when they are around me or in my home! It is defined as, "the idea of reciprocity, unconditional acceptance and being valued beyond the intrinsic value of self". (Rebeiro, Day, Semeniuk, O'Brien and Wilson, 2001) Everyone encounters the craving to belong even the most cold hearted out there.

 

Becoming

"...through creating, exploring and reflecting on the experiences of life, a person becomes or is transformed." (Stoffel & Brown, pg. 639) We can clearly pick up the importance of making time to reflect, discover and learn from our past and present experiences. this will assist with our personal growth. It is always important to me that individuals "become who they are" and then accepting themselves the way they are because in the end we do not get to choose our genetic makeup but it's what we make of it that counts and makes us who we are meant to be.  

 

So for all of the avoidant types out there....just DO, BE, BELONG and BECOME who you are meant to be!...just do it!

 

 

 

Reference



Brown C and Stoffel V, 2011, Occupational therapy in mental health: A vision for participation, United States of America, Davis company.



Am I the A-V-O-I-D-A-N-T type!?
 

 Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.  - Pema Chodron

Golly, so much has happened lately! Don't know where to begin! Life has been a little rough and all over the place....So let me go back to last week when we received our clinical performance forms with our mid term marks on them. I was a little distraught or better said bummed about what I had scored...my clinical performance means a lot to me and so I got a bit of a fright when I received my form and I was sitting on the fence of a pass! Am sure you can image my music blaring in my car on the way home!:)....I had to work hard to contain myself. This I did by telling myself that it was not about the marks and that I will work harder on the areas that I was lacking in, in order to become a better therapist! My lack of sleep and the high level of anxiety did not help the situation...

What did help a little was celebrating Mark and Roan's wedding on the weekend between doing work! It was such a special and personal moment! The question, "So have you got a boyfriend or fiancé yet?" was posed multiple times that day. Yes! Good question! This made me think about my own interpersonal relationships! Am I avoiding them? My supervisor pointed out something so very true the other day when she gave us some individual feedback. She said that I should re-examine the stigma of not being 'book smart'. It is indeed a real stigma already. I think it might be my ego....these typical egocentric thoughts, 'well if I am not excellent at something I will just avoid it as much as possible.'

On Tuesday we had our annual Research Day which our class hosted for the forth years who presented their research projects. Oh my goodness did I get cold feet upon seeing these well put together research projects! I have never seen myself as a researcher and there these pretty forth year ladies stood, all grown up and so very professional. Am I avoiding growing up?  This particular slide from one of the research projects somehow said it all.

So what is the remedy for the avoidant type?! Will let you know once I have an answer! Here are some happy moments captured on Research Day 2013!



In the end, it will all be worth it...

 

 

                One day, in retrospect the years of struggle will strike you as the most BEAUTIFUL.     

                                                                                                      - Sigmund Freud

 

A horrific accident happened not too far away from where I live...22 people dead and many find themselves in critical conditions.
This just goes to show how short life really is! This accident shook many and profound questions about life started cropping up...

 ***

Many people do not understand why us OT students work so hard. They do not understand how we can be working away our best and most prosperous years, during which we should be travelling and trying out all sorts of different things...what they are really wanting to say is, "why work so hard if life is so frikken short!?"...ever since the accident happened, I have also asked myself this question. 

 

We set so many goals in our profession, that we try very hard to work towards together with our clients. The dictionary defines a goal as, 'a purpose toward which an edeavor is directed.' This makes me ask myself the question, "what is my goal" and what is the "key" to reaching a goal...and is "the journey towards the goal not more important than reaching the actual destination?"

 

Have you ever reached a goal lately? It is an amazing feeling for a couple of minutes, hours or days hey! A recent goal of ours was planning and running the Casual Day in aid of spreading awareness about disability :) The theme was 'Think Big'. Here is a pic to show you that we really tried hard to stick out and make a statement for the disabled :)

We played 'A Minute to Win It' with everyone at the rehab, even the staff members joined in!...so everyone ended up looking a little like we did in the photo! Was such a treat seeing everyone looking a little out of place for once! I guess one is never too old to play around and look odd!...so many things turned out a little lob sided with regards to our plans but everyone caught on quickly that it was not about the competition and rather about the fellowship and bonding that happened. Days like these make my life! One sees how the most collected and rigid kind of people start tapping their feet to the music, putting on a funky looking props and some stepping it up by doing a dance in front of everyone. It was a beautiful moment that I don't think I will ever forget! It is such a pleasure to be able to be working alongside these three stunning girls! We all have our insecurities and weaknesses but yet we borrow and lend what we possibly can to one another which to me is real team work and growth!:)      
You soon however notice that life carries on and you find yourself setting new goals soon after having reached one, no matter how big or small. This may be due to our ambitious nature or our personal drive that keeps us going and reaching for the stars. My personal drive is pure HOPE! It is hard to explain the 'contents' of this 'ingredient' but holding onto this thing called HOPE helps me get up in the morning as well as working with clients with a poor prognosis.

My reply to the many questions about why I am working so much is;

'there must be something that inspires me about what I am learning and doing other wise I would have become a tour guide a long time ago!'         

What are we really after in this life?!

 

"I think it is a very hard choice. The price, we think the price is worth it." - Madeleine Albright

*** 

On Thursday last week I decided that I had enough of the city fumes for a while and went home to breathe some fresh sea air! Best decision ever! However, when I entered my home there was little breathing of fresh sea air. All that was in the air were the terrible nuclear fumes coming from Syria...  

When it comes to politics I am a little this...

 

 

I know I know, I should totally get plugged into the newspaper to remain updated about all of these things that are going on around us!..but I often get comfortable and enjoy not having to stress about the bad things in life. Less to stress about helps me sleep better!

 

That should not be our thinking and I am embarrassed to have had such thoughts on the matter! What a selfish kind of thinking when there are people in Syria and other places that can't sleep because death may have the better of them in the morning! We very often think ourselves small and insignificant in this world (well I do) but that should not be so! 

 

Let me show you one very nicely laid out perspective on the Syrian matter...





 



Who knows if this is true, or just another one of these propaganda clips making its rounds...all I know is that there is some sort of power struggle going on and when that is the case, man will walk all over human rights which is a shame because that is not what we are here for! Lets face it, man has come very far in terms of discovering his own potential which is why technology is advancing so fast and we are able to cure our own diseases. People that have walked the earth before us have put systems in place which have brought wealth and comfort to many on the one hand and poverty and suffering on the other. These systems have been carried through the generations to this very day! The systems I am referring to are of rigid origin and if something does not run according to plan, it will spin out of control and not even paper money will be able to save the mess.  

 

So you are probably thinking where on earth does OT fit into all of this!? Our profession is all about being good advocates for our clients which has everything to do with human rights. In fact, the rights of humans are so important to us that we will even treat criminals or murderers in order to fulfil our role.

 

Our role....a difficult one to describe in words but not with the heart. Our role, one that covers many a occupation yet focuses on the desirable occupation of our clients heart. Our role, one so free yet so specific to man.

 

It is so easy for man to lose his focus on what is important in this life. Like it was said in the clip, "What kind of psychopath is willing to intentionally set off a global conflict that would lead to millions of deaths just to protect the currency of a paper money." 

 

All of us have our own little or big power struggles going on especially my client who is caught in a whirlwind of religious-family 'traditions' and his own prideful ego. His story is a clear example of how a power struggle can slowly but surely chip away at a grown man's life. Seeing this power struggle unfold on a much smaller scale than the one going on globally at the moment, just shows how destructive the craving for power can be. 

 

Us OT's are probably not going to be able to change the world's thinking but we can start small. Like someone once said, "It's only when you stop basing your involvement on the chances of success that success actually becomes possible." This for me means to let this course shape me, which starts in the boardroom, presenting my client.

 

Our mid term presentations took place on Tuesday this week. I was mighty tired when I woke up that day, not exactly in the mood to make a difference. What I didn't do was to practice what I was going to say which didn't really help my nerves! What made it worse was that I was after the tea break. This meant that there were amazing presentations before me, pointing out what I should and shouldn't have done. I must admit that I generally quite enjoy presenting something that I am passionate about but I have totally had better presentations than this one....but in the end  I needed to remind myself that it wasn't and isn't about me! My feedback was reasonable and I will definitely look at the things that were mentioned in the future.

 

I really enjoy what I am doing even though I often feel like my brain is malfunctioning and I am being crushed from all sides! :) Oh and by the way, I disagree with Madeleine Albright's statement that I put at the beginning of my blog because I don't think it's a very hard choice to decide what's worth the price....