5 Ways To Use Play to Reduce Your Anxiety
Let’s Play a Game… Catch Phrase!
Round 1 — Four Words — O_t of the b_ _ e.”
Round 2 — one word — _ i_ un_ _ rs_ _ _d
Round 3– Two Words — Ch _ _ _’s P_ _y
Everyday phrases lead us to believe that play is a waste of time or only for children. But, what if play might actually improve our mental health?
There’s real evidence that engaging in play can reduce your anxiety. Here are five types of play to try out yourself.
Role-play is used prolifically in health industries to reduce anxiety. In 2012, psychologists prepared participants for surgery through therapeutic role-play (He H et al. 2015). The participants were shown a video of the operation and then asked to role-play the procedure with a doll. The research participants demonstrated significantly lower levels of perioperative anxiety. Not only that, but they also experienced less pain post-surgery (He H et al. 2015).
What?! Less Pain?! That’s amazing!
To reduce anxiety, try role-playing a stressful situation. It’s even more fun if you don’t act like yourself.
Get more people in the sandbox. Working with others has shown to reduce anxiety and depression as well as lift mood. We are meant to be in relationship with others, and we feel lonely when we’re not.
Arrange some regular times in your week to chat to your colleagues. Bring your anxiety-producing troubles to the table and seek some fresh perspectives.
Make a game out of the situation. According to Bright Horizons (2020), engaging in gameplay builds our ability to take risks and be more resilient… even in stressful situations.
When I have to do something in my job that I don’t enjoy, I DON’T put it off. I turn it into a game. I create some arbitrary milestones, and when I hit each one, I get a reward. When the whole thing is complete, the prize is wine.
If you’re not one for competition, think about game mechanics rather than gamification.
Build something. Prototyping is a form of play. Building a model is a beautiful way to bring your idea to life or even create an entirely new concept. When we’re in stressful situations, blood rushes to our hands and feet (it’s a flight response thing). Consequently, doing something with our hands regulates and normalises blood flow, calming us down. Not only that but, according to neuroscientist Kelly Lambert, our brains actually reward us when we engage in physical activities. “…we change the neurochemistry of our brain in ways that a drug can change the neurochemistry of our brain.”
Years ago, we piloted a program for anxious boys by engaging them in lunchtime knitting. You’d never believe how much the boys loved it, and their smiles grew daily. Bizarrely, it became cool for a while.
Find something that makes you laugh. And then share it. Laughter reduces cortisol (our stress hormone) which, in turn, reduces anxiety. It even makes your muscles more relaxed for up to 45 minutes afterwards.
Did you know that when we’re anxious or fearful, we release a scent that unleashes anxiety and fear in others (it’s a herd flight response thing)? And, just like that scent, laughter is contagious.
Just like laughter, play brings things into perspective. It allows us to see things in a different light and reduces the tendency to catastrophise.
ANSWERS: 1. Out of the blue, 2. Misunderstood, 3. Child’s Play.
