Sometimes life sucks. We hit a roadblock, and nothing much makes sense. The only thing we want to do is to lay in bed all day and wait for things to get better.
But that’s the worst possible thing that you can do for yourself. In those times where we just want to veg out and camp out in our beds, are the times when we should be out and about, trying to press that reset button on our lives.
Intuitively, we’d want to do activities that are fun to give us that boost. Watching a movie, playing a game we enjoy, having our favourite meal, these are some of our favourite things, no doubt. But whilst these are pleasurable activities that no doubt make us feel good, it doesn’t last for longer than the activity itself.
Ideally, we should combine these with activities we can master as well. For example, learning how to knit, play the bongos, or maybe some gardening at home. Learning a new task is brilliant at helping us find relief from our stressors because we’re so deeply engaged in it. Think about it, if you were just learning how to ride a bicycle, or learning how to rock climb, you’d be so hyper focussed on the task at hand, for that hour or so whilst you’re doing it, you won’t be distracted by whatever it is that’s ailing you.
As therapists, we often hear from clients that it’s hard to think of new and fun things to do to keep the bad thoughts and feelings away. So we’ve come up with a handy list of things that you can do! Just remember that this list isn’t exhaustive, and they are somethings that we like to do here at The Mind. And if none of these jive with you, give it a go yourself and try to come up with one fun activity, and something new that you can do.
Good luck!
