Towards A Quality Life
Living and living with quality are two different things. This little name we give to life is what fuels true happiness and true personal satisfaction. Even though the quality of life has been worked on more in the world of intellectual disability, it is something that affects us all.
Have you ever thought about the true meaning of quality of life? What does a quality life mean? Is it a life that only involves having good physical and mental health? Could you have a life of dignity without illness, but with people around you who would decide everything for you?
This last question is very interesting. This is the starting point of this concept. We can sometimes think that the “good life” is for someone to do everything for us and we can do whatever we love, etc. But could we really be happy and feel useful that way?
What does quality of life mean?
Before moving towards wellness, we must stop to think about what it means to be happy, how we can know if our life is of good quality or not, and what we lack to improve this. quality. The first thing to do, then, is to understand what quality of life really means.
The authors Schalock and Verdugo, the biggest exponents of this model, explain that a person can have a quality of life when their needs are met and when they have the opportunity to enrich their life in the areas that are important. But what does this mean?
How do we know if our needs are being met? We can examine what quality means and divide its semantics into several small pieces to better understand the total meaning.
To do this, we can divide the quality of life into eight dimensions or areas that everyone should cultivate. The dimensions of quality of life are emotional and material well-being, personal relationships, personal development, physical well-being, self-determination, social inclusion and rights.
The pillars that support people’s happiness are independence, social participation, and physical and mental well-being. If any of these pillars fall or weaken, it is possible that the person’s satisfaction is also damaged.
The importance of the people around us
We human beings do not live in bubbles, isolated from others. We cannot understand the quality of life without taking into account those around us. This includes people who are close to us as well as those we don’t even know but who somehow have an influence on us.
Family, the people you live with, friends and co-workers are the people you bond with on a daily basis. Together you laugh, you create happy moments, you support each other in sad moments, you enjoy your free time, or you share most of your life.
We cannot forget that we live surrounded by other people or groups who also end up having an influence on our daily life. People who are part of the community, such as the cashier at the supermarket, the sports coach, the neighbor, etc., also have an impact on us.
Furthermore, we are all part of a culture that follows certain laws or social rules. These have an impact on our way of seeing life, on our values, our beliefs and the meaning of what surrounds us. What, in a given culture, can be considered as positive, can be experienced in a very negative way in another.
The steps that bring us closer to a quality life
Depending on where we are, the way to improve our quality of life takes a certain form.If we are talking about the social and cultural system, the next steps will be changing social policies, rights and l equality, and having economic support to be able to move forward.
When we talk about the quality of life in the companies or organizations around us, we have to focus on organizational change, internal and external policies, activities and training aimed at including this vision in the ‘organization.
If we want to have an impact on a person’s quality of life, we will need to focus on the eight dimensions we have commented on. One of the most useful models for improving the quality of life for others is person-centered planning.
Person-centered planning
Person-Centered Planning or PCP is all about focusing on the person. To place it right in the center of what we want to watch. This look must always take into account the fact that the human being is unique, has inalienable rights, is an independent being with his own tastes and preferences.
Knowing and understanding what the person feels, what are their strengths, aspirations and capacities will be essential in the process of improving the quality of life. We must give the person a voice, a power and take into account his needs as well as the people around him.
Paying attention to the dimensions of a person’s quality of life, caring for those around us and relying on the pillars of self-determination, social participation and well-being are the steps we need to take. to start moving forward on this long road that we call quality of life.
Our thoughts What does quality of life consist of? Discover the parameters that define it, while keeping in mind that everyone must forge their own idea.
