Manage Holiday Stress With Play
The holidays are just around the corner. Did a hear a groan? Or elation? Or both?
During the holidays it’s easy to get sucked into family drama, irritated by travel plans, or feel pressure to keep up with traditions. Before you know it, Family gatherings and activities which you might have enjoyed, can become tainted with anxiety and relationship tension, leading to depression.
(Fun fact: therapy offices are usually busiest between Halloween and New Year’s. I don’t think this is a coincidence.)
Instead of counting down to Christmas with cheer, you might find yourself consumed with checking off your to-do list, longing for the madness to end. Often at the end of it all people resolve to reset after the hustle, bustle, and STRESS.
Good news! It doesn’t have to be this way. Play is a powerful buffer to this stress. Isn’t it lucky we start the holiday season off with one of the most playful holidays of them all—Halloween!?
This year save yourself the grief and stay off the therapy couch with play. Yes play. Yes, even for adults. Especially for adults. It’s a short cut to that “reset button” promised on New Year’s Day. You don’t have to wait three months to hit it.
We adults often think the secret to less stress is more discipline and structure (hence those unattainable New Year’s Resolutions), but really play is where it’s at. Stress and anxiety are future oriented and riddled with unrealistic expectations. Play is one of the quickest ways to re-engage with and enjoy the here and now.
Remember when you were a kid and you couldn’t wait for Saturday morning because you were going to spend hours doing…well, whatever it was you loved to do? Maybe it was reading comics, skipping rocks, or running with the neighborhood kids. Even watching cartoons is a form of play. I’ll let you fill in the blank. Whatever it was, you couldn’t get enough of it. It would consume your mind, so you lost track of time. Afterwards you probably felt refreshed. That’s play.
Not only does play connect you with the present moment, but it also connects you with yourself and your loved ones in a more meaningful way with less room for debates about politics, religion, and family drama.
Halloween provides fabulous opportunities for engaging in many types of play.Attunement play is simply being with someone as they engage in play. For example, being with your kids while they enjoy their costumes or a fall festival. Social play includes friends, such as an adults only Halloween party. Creative play gets us in touch with the fantastical, such wearing your own costume and playing the part while trick or treating with your kids or while attending the Halloween party. You can engage your whole body in play by walking through a haunted house or re-enacting the music video “Thriller”. Even telling ghost stories or watching scary movies are a type of play! Giving yourself permission to enjoy these activities gives your mind a chance to relax.
Skip the mental breakdown this year. Carve out time out for play! See what I did there? I told you to “carve” time, like you would carve a pumpkin! Haha. Word play!
