The Kansans Optimizing Health Program (KOHP for short) is set to begin again soon. A total of twenty-five individuals who are either dealing with a chronic illness or providing care for someone have participated in the first two 6-week workshops. The program, developed by Stanford University, has helped participants across the U.S. and many foreign countries learn strategies to improve their health – one step at a time.
If you live with arthritis, diabetes, heart or lung disease, asthma or the effects of a stroke on a daily basis, KOHP may be just the program for you. During the 2 ½ hour workshops you will learn ways to reduce your pain and deal with fatigue, frustration and isolation. Reminders about the benefits of exercise as it helps to increase your energy level will be shared. One session emphasizes the importance of eating nutritious food along with practicing relaxation techniques to better manage stress.
Tips on how to talk to your doctor about your health and making informed choices about your treatment are part of the curriculum. Each week participants will learn more about solving their problems by writing down and working on an action plan. Focusing on something you “want” to do is the first important component of an action plan. Once you have chosen something to work on you need to determine how much you are going to do, when you are going to do it, and how many days a week you are going to do it. For example:  This week, I will walk (what) around the block (how much) before lunch (when) three times (how many). A final component of the action plan is to assign a confidence level on a scale of 0 to 10.  (0 = not at all confident; 10=totally confident)  Always strive to choose a goal that you have a confidence level of 7 or greater. This will encourage success.
Hopefully by now you are asking yourself how to register for the upcoming KOHP workshop. The workshop will be held six Tuesdays, beginning March 15th and ending April 19th, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m., at the Great Bend Activity Center, 2715 18th Street. The cost to register is $10 which includes a 380 page book and healthy refreshments. Call the Great Bend Recreation Center at (620)793-3755 to register. If you have any questions about this worthwhile workshop feel free to give me a call at my office.