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Joan, According to an NPF booklet "Support groups offer education, socialization, and an invaluable 'all-in-the-same-boat' forum, where people genuinely understand your concerns, and share insights...". It sounds like your support group is into education but lacks the social interactions that you need. My husband and I facilitate a young onset support group (I have Parkinson's) that meets once a month. We started off meeting in homes on a rotating basis, but we got too large and too much house cleaning, we now meet in a large living room like setting in a local church. I think because we have a rather small group of regulars (6 couples plus ) it is easier for us to become more involved with each other. Our best meetings seem to be the ones where we spend the two hours just "sharing" and maybe watching a video concerning some aspect of Parkinson's, and of course we always have refreshments! We do have speakers, but they are not usually Parkinson's experts. Rather, they cover a wide range of topics such as exercise, social security, massage therapy, and art therapy. Our speakers always seem willing to stay and interact with the support group members. As a matter of fact quite often I have let people know it's time to end the evening or I think we'd be there for another hour! And most important, besides videos and speakers, a support group meeting should always have time for spontaneous humor and laughter. Keep going to your support group for information because like you say, the speakers and the question / answer sessions are "pretty good". In addition, though, I suggest that you take charge by finding two or three people in the group that you feel comfortable with and go for coffee or lunch. Sharon H