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Community Wellness: The value of play for adults

Community Wellness: The value of play for adults

February 28, 2017

Community Wellness: The value of play for adults

 

We've all watched a child or children at play: dressing up dolls with an imaginary friend, chasing each other in a game of tag, hanging upside down on playground equipment, or building with LEGOs.

By Robert Lathers, LMSW and CEO, The Right Door for Hope, Recovery and Wellness

 

We've all watched a child or children at play: dressing up dolls with an imaginary friend, chasing each other in a game of tag, hanging upside down on playground equipment, or building with LEGOs.

Play for children is not only fun; it has a role in how they develop physically, emotionally, intellectually, socially, and even morally. Children use play to build friendships, to learn, to imagine, to create and to problem solve.

A friend and I were chatting the other day about the concept of "play" for adults. Certainly adults play games -- cards, board games and team sports, for example -- but other than games, she wondered, what does play look like in adults? We know that play is as important to adults as it is to children, when it comes to intellectual and social stimulation, as well as providing necessary "down time," but how do we know when we are "playing" and not working or checking some responsibility off the list?

In an article in "Psychology Today," Peter Gray, Ph.D. says this about the nature of play:

- Play doesn't have to do with the behavior, but with the motivation and their attitude toward the activity. Playing baseball, for example, is play for some, but for others it is work, and in fact a job.

- An activity doesn't have to be 100 percent play. While we see this kind of pure play more often in children, in adults we may mix in play with accomplishing tasks. We often talk more about adults having a "playful" attitude, approach or spirit toward some activity than "playing." Raking leaves as a family in the fall is doing needed yard cleanup, but jumping in leaf piles can add an element of play. It's possible that someone's job can be both work and play ... 50/50, or 80/20, or some other blend. There's no magic number.

Gray says play also has the following characteristics:

- It's an activity in which the means are more valued than ends. The activity is pursued for the enjoyment of it, and achieving goals is secondary to the process of getting there.

- It has a structure, or rules, which are not dictated by physical necessity but emanate from the minds of the players. Unlike the laws of physics or biology, which are not optional in this world, play has a structure that is chosen by the players, and it takes thought to remember and follow the "rules."

- It is imaginative, non-literal, mentally removed in some way from "real" or "serious" life. We know the difference when we step into the play situation to participate, and when we step out out of it. This "fantasy" aspect is one reason why pure play is easier for children than adults: As we become more self-conscious and inhibited, it is more difficult for us to step into "make believe" worlds.

- It involves an active, alert, but non-stressed frame of mind. Some researchers call this "being in the flow," in which the focus is on the here and now, rather than the goal ahead. This frame of mind is shown to aid creativity and learning, whereas when the focus is on performance and achievement, we tend to revert back to tried and true methods of what we know.

How does play enter into your life? Do you have a balance between work and play? What kinds of activities are you involved in that provide you with the important aspect of "play"?

 

Robert Lathers, LMSW, is the CEO of The Right Door for Hope, Recovery and Wellness, formerly Ionia County Community Mental Health. His email address is rlathers@rightdoor.org. He welcomes your comments and questions. If you have a mental health emergency, call 911 or our 24-hour crisis line at 1-888- 527-1790. Visit The Right Door online at www.rightdoor.org and find us on Facebook. The Right Door in Ionia is now open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.