Leisure
What is Leisure?
- Freely chosen
- Meaningful activity
- Leads to positive emotions and experiences
- State of mind away from stress/anxiety
- Free time from obligations
What does the word "distraction" mean?
- An activity that absorbs your mind
- Diverting attention away from one thing to another
- Distraction can be both healthy and unhealthy
What does the word "relaxation" mean?
- Being free from stress or tension
- Allowing for recovery from stress
Name a coping skill that engages your sense of sight
- Reading
- Watching TV
- Talking a walk outdoors
- Looking through old photographs
- And many more!
Taking time each day to engage in activity that is meaningful to you is essential for coping with life's stressors
TRUE
Regular engagement in leisure helps to promote resilience and acts as a buffer to feelings of stress and anxiety
- Walking
- Running
- Yoga
- Stretching
- Pilates
- Boxing
- Strength Training
- Cardiovascular Exercise
- And many more!
Name an unhealthy distraction that is often used as a coping skill
- Self-harm
- Substance use
- Scrolling through social media for long periods of time
- Watching television/movies for long periods of time
Name a leisure activity that you find relaxing
- Reading
- Listening to music
- Going for a walk in nature
- And many more! The key is that it is an activity you enjoy, find engaging, and helps to reduce stress
Name a coping skill that engages your sense of hearing/sound
- Listen to soothing music
- Listen to your favourite music or a song that helps to connect with your emotions
- Play an instrument
- Meditation
- Mindfulness in nature (paying attention to sounds)
- And many more!
No thought or feeling is wrong. It is what we choose to do with that thought or feeling that really counts.
TRUE
We can choose to act upon our thoughts and feelings in a negative way, or choose to acknowledge them and process them using healthy coping strategies.
List 3 creative leisure activities that can be used for coping
- Journaling
- Creative writing
- Painting
- Drawing
- Colouring
- Singing
- Dancing
- And many more!
Name 3 leisure activities that can be used as Healthy Distractions
- Listening to the radio, an audiobook, or podcast
- Do a puzzle
- Read an interesting book
- Watch an episode or two of TV
- Go for a walk or hike and observe nature
- And many more!
The proper way to deep breathe is not with your chest but with your ____________.
Diaphragm
Name a coping skill that engages your sense of smell
- Light a candle
- Walk outside
- Imagine the smell of your favourite food
- Make a tea or cup of coffee and savour the smell before drinking
- Aromatherapy
- And many more!
All stress is bad stress.
FALSE
Stress is a part of life and helps us to grow and change. It is when stress outweighs our resources that it can become harmful.
Name a social leisure activity that can be used for coping
- Call a family member or friend
- Chat with a friend online
- Go for a walk with someone
- Engage in your preferred leisure activities with someone else
- Board games and card games
- And many more!
Name a benefit of engaging in Healthy Distraction
- Gives your mind and heart a break
- Great for short-term relief of stress and anxiety
- Helpful to move through a crisis situation
This coping strategy helps you to relax by focusing on one part of the body or group of muscles at a time and mentally releasing any physical tension you feel there
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Name a coping skill that engages your sense of touch
- Use a fidget toy, stress ball, or sensory tool
- Use a ice pack
- Chew on ice
- Take a hot bath
- Walking on the grass barefoot
- And many more!
Sleeping all day is a healthy way to cope
FALSE
While sleep and rest are important factors in our well-being, over-sleeping is an unhealthy coping strategy as it leads to avoidance and long-term problems.
What are the 5 areas of health/well-being that engaging in leisure can benefit?
HINT: You may know this if you have attended Leisure Education group in the past!
- Social
- Emotional
- Cognitive
- Spiritual
- Physical
Name a challenge of using Healthy Distraction as a coping skill
- Does not resolve underlying issues
- Medication can make concentrating on the distraction difficult
- Cannot always engage in the activity for long periods of time
This coping skill involves sitting comfortably, focusing on your breathing, and bringing your mind's attention to the present moment without drifting into concerns about the past or the future
Mindfulness Meditation
Name a coping skill that engages your sense of taste
- Eat your favourite food and savour the taste
- Drink your favourite juice, pop, or other non-alcoholic beverage
- Chew gum or have a mint
Helping others is a positive coping skill
TRUE
Helping others or doing random acts of kindness, if we feel we have the capacity to do so, can remind us that everyone has value and that purpose can be found in the small things in life. It can also help to boost our feelings of self-worth and confidence.