Taking time out for pleasurable activities
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Things you enjoy

Doing things you enjoy is good for you. Doing activities that are enjoyable is very important as a way of gaining a sense of control and purpose in life, and for giving pleasure. Indeed, one of the most successful ways of improving people’s mood, giving them a ‘lift’, and restoring a sense of control, is to increase their activity, create routines, and increase the number of positive events in their lives. When lives are unbalanced by a challenging event, finding a new balance between work and pleasure gains importance. Pleasurable activities are important for our health, and for our connections with other people. It is important, too, that people have more positive experiences than negative experiences​

Time out to socialise

So, take some time out from the endless paperwork and the huge job that lies ahead, and give yourself permission to do some of the things you have enjoyed in the past – watching a DVD, kicking a football, going out for a bush walk, or just playing a game of scrabble. Try to plan ahead so that you’ve got things to look forward to. Try also to make sure that some of the pleasurable activities also involve enjoying your social connections with others. This is a great combination. Sometimes it can be easier to talk and share with people when you are busy doing something together. ​

Taking a break

You may find as you start picking up some of the activities you used to enjoy that you’re not enjoying them as much as you used to. This is very normal, and not a reason to give up. Sometimes after challenging experiences people’s ability to enjoy themselves is diminished for the present. One important way in which you can help is by doing things that help to rebuild some normal routines and a sense of wellbeing. And when you ‘down tools’ for a while and take time out for a bit, you will probably pick up again with time to re-evaluate and adjust to a changed world.