Joseph and Richard both attended a six-week Healthier Living Class at a senior center in Northridge. Here’s what they had to say about their experiences.

Joseph
“Many times if you can be pro-active about your health it’s good. Preventative medicine gets overlooked, but it can help to be in a group environment where there’s a lot of trust – that helps everybody. I signed up because I have COPD. It’s helped me. The text books were really good. It gave an outline on how to handle things. I’ve learned that I need to get better at communicating with my family about my condition. In the future, I’d like to see more in-person workshops. We were offered the course online and a self-help book, but it makes a difference being in a room with other people. Other humans help reinforcement the learning and give real life examples.

I’d definitely recommend it to others. I’ve been telling other people about it.”

Richard
“A nurse called me about it and said that she thought it would be good for my health. She said that I just had to go to one to see if I liked it. And so I did, and I really enjoyed it. I’m coming off a knee injury. It happened a few months ago and it’s still sore. The action plans that are part of the workshop have gotten me going to the gym regularly, and I’m pushing myself a little more each time. It’s helped me significantly. It’s going to take a while longer, but it’s at least improving. I‘ve learned to think in the action plan way – it’s a lot easier to do things in small steps. If I start slow and keep increasing I know I can get there. It helps me keep up the discipline. I’ve also cut back significantly on the sugary drinks. I’ve switched to water and green tea. I’ve noticed a difference.

I’d recommend it. In fact, I’ve signed up for a class in two weeks on diabetes. I’m an insulin diabetic. I can manage it, but I know I can learn more.”