Fun Activities Catalogue

Fun Activities Catalogue

A while ago, I used my EAP (employee assistance plan, euphemism for psychological support) to talk to a psychologist. My physio in particular had been encouraging me to reach out as even though I bounce back from the gazillion fucking setbacks I’ve had, that’s still a lot to deal with. I’ve never really found psychology helpful but hey, I can access one for free so I figured use my privilege of access to free psychology and try it.  

 

Well, I got what I paid for. They were pretty crap. Had no clue about impacts of chronic health, told me I was wrong about something and then I’m like “not I’m not because x & y” … waste of time really. Other things like “Buy X frozen/delivered meals, they’re really healthy” … Me: “I’ve already thought of that and they don’t meet my household requirements of this and that”. Just nothing useful and no clue. More frustrating than helpful. I felt like she thought everyone was stupid and hadn’t thought of captain obvious solutions and I had to “justify” why they wouldn’t work – yeah I’ve already thought of everything I can and worked out why or why not for my household/situation and don’t need to be challenged on it.

 

The one thing she seemed to understand was that I get annoyed at not being able to do things I like. (Distinct from depression in that I haven’t lost interest in things, but I’ve lost the ability to do them/in the same way/the way I want to etc.) Which brings me to what she emailed after the session:

 

Fun Activities Catalogue

 

OMG this was the best part of reaching out for “help”. It gave me a lot of laughs and I have been meaning to blog it. The “catalogue” is a 4 page PDF of 365  “fun activities”. Some are just tasks you do in life. Some are good things to do but I dispute them as “fun” – more neutral. Others are ridiculous for a pandemic. There are too many to share but I thought I’d pick some highlights and share them because they did give me a good laugh. 

 

As you read this, remember, these are supposed to be FUN things to do… 

 

Ones That Are Actually Just Life Tasks

  • Repairing things around the house
  • Washing my car
  • Organising my wardrobe
  • Opening the curtains and blinds to let light in
  • Mowing the lawn
  • Washing my hair
  • Cooking some meals to freeze for later
  • Making my bed with fresh sheets
  • Working from home
  • Eating something nourishing 

 

Ones That Are Not Pandemic Friendly

  • Going to a quiz or trivia night
  • Going to a party 
  • Having family get-togethers

 

Good Tasks To Complete But Not “Fun”

  • Exercising
  • Clearing my email inbox
  • Paying debts
  • Maintaining a musical instrument (eg restringing a guitar)
  • Sleeping
  • Driving
  • Organising my work space
  • Doing a nagging task (eg make a phone call, schedule an appointment

 

Ones That Repeat

  • Going out to dinner
  • Cooking a special meal
  • Cooking an international cuisine 
  • Making home made pizza
  • Massaging hand cream into my hands
  • Putting moisturising cream onto my face/body
  • Singing in the shower
  • Singing around the house

 

Really Random (aka expensive/impractical/weird) Ones

  • Flying a plane
  • Going sailing
  • Waking up early and getting ready at a leisurely pace
  • Going on a hot air balloon ride
  • Scuba Diving

 

Also, there were two I misread:

  • Donating Blood
  • Buying Books 

Yeah so my brain swapped those to create “buying blood”. 

 

Anyway, I hope you get some enjoyment out of these because they made me laugh.

 

Fun Activities Catalogue

8 Replies to “Fun Activities Catalogue”

  1. Opening the blinds to let the light in :). Oh my goodness what an ‘interesting’ list. It’s hard when you reach out for help but then they don’t meet any of your needs. Hang in there. #lifethisweek

    1. Vanessa Smith says: Reply

      Yep… you can only laugh sometimes.

  2. I definitely won the lottery when it comes to psychologists and feel very lucky to have crossed paths with mine but it sucks for you to reach out and put all that effort into one and it not meet your needs. The “buying blood” definitely gave me a laugh though 🙂

    1. Vanessa Smith says: Reply

      Look, at least I didn’t pay for it 🙂

  3. Mmmm. I don’t know what it is about EAP people but the one I went to back in 2003 after I left work as a principal had ME given her ideas for helping people.

    At least you had fun “laughing” at the list, maybe??

    Recently I was asked by a psychologist “why don’t you volunteer in a community group?”…Seriously I had no words that did not sound snarky. “Been there, done that” and no, thank you.

    Thank you for linking up for LifeThisWeek. It’s always good to see you link up a post. Next week, the optional prompt is 29/51 Please. 19 July. I will be sharing a post about Head and Neck Cancer in the lead up to World Head & Neck Cancer Day 27.7.2021. Gotta keep the awareness happening! Take care, Denyse.

    1. Vanessa Smith says: Reply

      Someone did suggest that EAPs are often staffed by qualified but relatively inexperienced staff. I think that may have been the situation here. I did generally ask people at the time of this happening if they find psychology useful cos it’s a consistent NOT useful to me. Seems to come down to the person… which is far too many spoons for me to bother with it.

  4. I think I know the document you’re talking about and while I understand that maybe ‘fun’ is a stretch, usually if someone is giving this document to a client, they first need to talk about it and the reason behind it. It’s a list of activities for behavioural activation for clients who are depressed and generally, when I am treating depression, I will tell clients it’s all about where they are at. For some people, it’s a huge achievement even just getting out of bed and sitting in their lounge room. For some, it is an achievement to pay a bill. For others, it might be going for a walk around the block. The list is something I would look at with the client and not just hand it to them without any context. So I think the EAP person probably shouldn’t have just flicked it over to you.

    1. Vanessa Smith says: Reply

      It was branded from some psychological resource site or something, so probably is the same. It makes much more sense to use it in the context you describe… less so in mine.

      I was saying things like “I want to take photos but my shoulder is too weak to hold my DSLR up to take a photo” … It was just emailed to me after the session, without context, specifically as a list of fun things. Honestly, every time I try psychology it feels like a waste of time. I know some people say it’s “find the right person” but that’s more spoons than I have.

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