Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn
Stressed, Depressed? Go Play. Play = Joy!
Are you feeling anxious and over-burdened? Tired and apathetic? Have you lost your joie de vivre…
joie de vi·vre ZHwä də ˈvēvrə/ noun: exuberant enjoyment of life
Maybe you think you you never had that. But you did. As a child. It was stimulated by and expressed in playing. And you just couldn’t get enough of it.
What happened to that wonderful joie de vivre? Where did it go? Life got in the way. And life is serious business. Most adults are too busy to be joyful and exuberant. Who has time for it?
We need to make time! We need to PLAY! Play = joy. And joy increases mental, physical and emotional well-being.
PLAY = JOY & LAUGHTER
No matter what your age, there are two surefire, universal ways to instantly feel happy: fun and laughter. How do you have fun and laughter? By playing. Play = joy.
Psychologist Peter Gray says, “The absence of play is depression.” So why, as adults, do we stop playing? Somewhere along the way, playing got a nasty reputation. Maybe it goes back to our puritanical roots that branded play as self-indulgent and a waste of time. Our primitive ancestors certainly didn’t believe that.
Research has concluded that hunter-gatherer tribes needed to work only 2 – 3 hours a day to meet their needs. So what did they do with the rest of their time? They did not have electricity. No television, radio, internet. They socialized, they danced, they played with their children. And the children were encouraged to play all day long well into adolescence.
All species of animals naturally play. They need no encouragement or instructions. Play is how they learn the skills necessary to navigate their way through life. It is healthy, stimulating, enriching and rewarding. People develop skills, learn to follow rules, negotiate, cooperate and make decisions through play. We gain insight into ourselves and others through playful interaction.
According to Professor Gray, over-protective adults are controlling children, denying them self-directed learning and growth through free play. He believes that is a cause of the rise in major depressive disorder and anxiety disorder among young people.
Could lack of play be having the same effect on adults? A study by Blue Cross Blue Shield found that major depression in Americans has jumped 33% from 2013 – 2016.
WE NEED TO PLAY MORE!
We need to play just to laugh and have fun. Play = joy and we need more joy in our lives. There are many enjoyable, mentally stimulating games that can be played alone. But games that involve other people are more fun. Create a play group. On a regular basis, get together with friends and play: board games, card games, word games, charades, treasure hunts. Each week a different person is responsible for providing the game. There are resources on the internet for ideas.
We connect with people by playing. Get outdoors and play golf, soccer, tennis, baseball, basketball, croquet (my personal favorite).
Life is a game and we are all players. Some see life as a hard game of competition in which they are out to kill their opponent. Some cheat. But playing together can create harmony and unity among people. What if we think of life as a game in which we are all on the same team?
If we are on the same team, then your win is my win. If we’re on the same team, we work together, we support and encourage each other. If we’re on the same team, we take turns. Sometimes I talk, sometimes I listen. Sometimes I lead, sometimes I follow.
If we’re on the same team, we have the same goal: to recapture the exuberant joy of living.
In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play. Fredrich Nietzch So
Newsletter
