Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Fun Ways to Lighten Up

Healing is serious—and often depressingly slow. The stress can be overwhelming. Following are some ideas that may enhance your healing journey:

  • Rent and watch an old-fashioned comedy (try Danny Kaye, Phyllis Diller, Bob Hope, etc.). Laughter is a proven healer.
  • Take off your shoes and run through the dew-covered grass.
  • Go to a park (without your kids if you are a mom or dad) and swing back and forth.
  • Post comic strips on your bathroom mirror.
  • Do a finger painting.
  • Sit outside to watch a sunset or sunrise.
  • Sing while you do a chore.
  • Turn up the music and dance in your bedroom or living room.
  • Skip—it is still a fun thing to do.
  • Treat yourself to a picnic lunch or dinner.
  • Take a bath to relax.
  • Lie down and listen to a whole CD. Just listen.
  • Take the time to read a light book.
  • Go to the library, sit on the floor, and read a stack of picture books.
  • Go to a card shop and read all the encouragement cards.
  • Serve an upside down meal to your family (dessert first!)
  • Sit on the bathroom counter and soak your feet in cool water on a hot day.
  • Buy squirt guns and play with your spouse and/or kids.
  • Spend time each day on a hobby—even 10 minutes a day can make a difference.
  • Buy inexpensive flowers and put them all over your house.
  • Take a walk with a friend.
  • Learn a joke and tell it to at least two people.
  • Have a pajama day.
  • Roast some marshmallows with friends and/or family.
  • Pay for a massage or swap massages with a trusted friend.
  • Do anything that sounds both fun and healthy.

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Recommended Books

  • 10 Lifesaving Principles for Women in Difficult Marriages by Karla Downing
  • A Way of Hope by Leslie J. Barner
  • Angry Men and the Women Who Love Them by Paul Hegstrom
  • Battered But Not Broken by Patricia Riddle Gaddis
  • Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend
  • Bradshaw on the Family by John Bradshaw
  • Caring Enough to Forgive/Not Forgive by David Augsburger
  • Codependent No More by Melody Beattie
  • Healing the Wounded Heart by Dr. Dan B. Allendar
  • Keeping the Faith: Questions and Answers for the Abused Woman by Marie M. Fortune
  • Perfect Daughters by Robert J. Ackerman, Ph.D.
  • Recovery: A Guide for Adult Children of Alcoholics by Herbert L. Gravitz and Julie D. Bowden
  • Safe People by Dr Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend
  • Slay Your Own Dragons by Nancy Good
  • The Cinderella Syndrome by Lee Ezell
  • The Dance of Anger by Harriet Goldhor Lerner, Ph.D.
  • The Search for Significance by Robert S. McGee
  • Turning Fear to Hope by Holly Wagner Green
  • When Violence Comes Home: Help for Victims of Spouse Abuse by Tim Jackson and Jeff Olson
  • Why Does He Do That? by Lundy Bancroft