Questions and Answers for interview of Mr.

Carel Meintjies

1.Sir what does your daily routine look like ?

Retired and does not have much to do on a daily basis. He wakes up, does
things around the house, and then goes to bed. Does not follow a set routine
anymore. During his time in the military he had a set routine.

2.What activities make you feel the most at ease and relaxed – are there any
activities you would like to try ?

Activities that make him at ease: Exercise (structured) – helps him to take his
mind away from a stressful state. He was unsure about which activities he
would like to try, due to not knowing all of his options. He states that due to
his lifelong involvement with the military he only is well versed with things that
are military related. Mr. Meintjies showed interest in trying new activities.

3.How do you view your body and what is the perception of your body from others
(peers and family) ?

He feels that he has a healthy body composition and states that this is due to
his present involvement in training. Stated that his mental health is not at an
optimal level and requires intervention. Family also share perceive him as
having a healthy body composition and they are not concerned about his
health.

4.Do you feel you are independent, responsible, and in-control person, what do you
think is the reason for this ?

He believes that he is a responsible person, due to leadership/teamwork skills

that he developed while in the military.

5.How do you maintain your state of health ?

He maintains his physical health by means of participation in exercise,

however he states that he is not currently maintaining his mental health very
well. He is not currently closely monitoring his diet and is eating what he
desires.
6.What are your strengths and limitations according to you, your friends and family,
how do you feel about them ?

According to himself his strengths are that he is straight-forward, motivated,

organized and likes to organize things in certain ways. His limitations include
stubbornness (due to military habits), when he wants something done a
certain way he does not want to compromise. Another limitation he stated was
that he feels he can be a bit too harsh on people (military influence).

His family feels that he is a bit too strict because he does not let them do what
they want to do (he wants everybody to follow his way of doing things). He
states that he believes his children will say that he is very strict. His family
feels that he is a very protective person, who will always protect them, but
sometimes he gets overprotective. Has not maintained contact with military
friends and thus does not know their opinion regarding his strengths and
limitations.

7.What are your thoughts considering what others think of you in terms of
appreciation in terms of your qualities and accomplishments ?

He viewed this question as difficult to answer. He personally feels that what he

accomplished is very great and he feels that his friends and family do not vies
his accomplishments in the same light that he does. Due to retirement he feels
that the things that he accomplished in the military does not matter anymore.
He feels that his children do not care or have regard for his title in the military.

8.How do you decide which leisure activities to participate in ?

He would usually decide by participating in anything on offer at that stage by

the military. He had limited options in terms of leisure activities, spent most of
his time on the base and his family also lived on the base. Participated in any
activities on offer at the time e.g. cricket. Preferred to participate in the sport-
related activities that were on offer (more active activities).

9.Describe your relationship with the people closest to you ?

He feels that he has the best relationship with his wife. Described his
relationship as having shown improvement since his retirement and since he
started treating his family accordingly and not as his military colleagues. He
feels that his relationship with his wife could be better, but he is starting to
actively pursue improvement of the relationship. All of his children have
moved out of the house and their relationship has received strain due to this,
he however is pursuing improvement of his relationship with his kids.

10.If you had to name a challenging situation in your life, what would you say ?

He stated that his most challenging situation at the moment is finding stuff to
do after retirement, due to spending his whole life in the military. He has no
routine and feels that he is wasting his time by watching television.

11. Do you get satisfaction from taking on challenges?

He states that he does get satisfaction from challenging situations, due to his
military-derived habits of wanting to learn how to fix things as a leader. He
feels that he currently has no challenges that he is taking on. He would like to
participate in a leisure activity that challenges him. He would prefer a sporting
activity, but he would find something new very interesting as well.

12.What situations provide you with the most sense of security of yourself ?

Outside of the military the situation that provides him with the most sense of
security is exercise (provides him with self-confidence and improves his
mental health). He states that if he does not feel that he looks good and feels
healthy he does not feel very secure.

When he was still part of the military situations that provided him with self-
security include situations where he could lead a team and provide his team
with guiding orders to successfully carry out an objective.

13.What things do you do that make you most confident ? Least confident ?

He states that he feels least confident when he has to make food.

Exercise makes him feel the most confident.

14.Are you on the road in attaining your goals in life ?

He states that his current goal is to not feel as if he has no purpose. He does
not feel that he is on his way to achieving his goals, because he is just sitting
at home.

Further goals that he has is to find a new activity to participate in, broaden his
group of friends (old friends are still in the military and he has lost contact
with them) and improve his social skills. He feels that he finds goals to strive
towards he will be able to achieve them, because if he has a goal, he will strive
towards it due to him being a very motivated person.

15.What do you believe is the value of recreational therapy for you ?

He believes recreational therapy carries value and that it can help him to
generate goals, develop motivation and to help him enjoy his life again by
feeling purpose and having something to strive for. He also believes it will
benefit his mental state and the quality of his relationships with his family
members.