Play, April 2025

We all deal with a lot of stress in our lives from time to time.  Work, family, world affairs, illness and the news, just to name a few sources of stress.  How you cope with stress can affect your overall health.  There are many coping methods available.  Some of them are unhealthy, such as alcohol, recreational drugs and risky behaviours.  There are also a number of healthy ways to address stress, which include meditation, exercise, healthy eating, talking to friends, counselling and sometimes medications.  Personally, I like to ‘play’ to relieve stress.

Play can include a lot of things.  When you are playing cards, tile or board games, you have to concentrate, which takes your mind off some of those stressors.  Unless you “must win”, which can sometimes add to your stress.  Playing cards, board games, mahjong and even games on my phone serve as a distraction for me.  I am only mildly competitive, so it doesn’t worry me if I am Euchred at cards or don’t get a Mahjong.  Not everyone can win.  Playing the game is what is important to me.  It’s a social behaviour that brings people together to have some fun.  Winning occasionally is a bonus, but not necessary to take your mind off your stressors.

Over the years, I have sought counselling for extreme stress, like the loss of my husband, to name the most stressful situation I can think of.  When you can openly share your feelings with someone who listens and supports you in a positive, non-judgmental way, it is extremely beneficial to your mental health.   For less extreme times of stress, I will often phone a friend to hash things over.  This often leads to light-hearted comments and the odd joke, which is a form of play.  Whatever makes you laugh releases positive endorphins into your system and lightens your mood.  There are movies and books out there that can tickle your funny bone.  Recently, I read, I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron.  Her writing makes me laugh out loud.  She is well known for her romantic comedy films like Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail and When Harry Met Sally.  If you are having a bad day, one of these movies is certain to lighten your mood.

Sometimes I also play with my art.  I will create a messy background with watercolours by slopping several colours of paint over some paper without any real purpose.  When it dries, I look at it to see what I can see in the shapes, a bit like when you try to find images in the clouds.  Another approach is to doodle with a marker over pieces of paper.  Don’t use a pencil as you will be tempted to erase and change it.  Once the line or messy background is in place, don’t think too much about it, just start filling in things that you see. 

The two doodle drawings attached to this blog were done exactly like that.  I did these during a very stressful time in my life.  Quit Squawking and Grab the Happy really does say it all today too!  Take some time to play in whichever form works for you.  Focus on all the things we have to be happy about and grateful for.