“Men do not quit playing because they grow old. They grow old because they quit playing.”- Oliver Windell Holmes
How many times has someone told you to act your age? I always found this to be confusing since there is really no accurate model or measuring tool to judge what a person should act like at a certain age. When it comes to play beyond age 10, there are no benchmarks, no way to measure what a 45-year-old woman should act like.
As children, if we are lucky, we are allowed to and even encouraged to play. Somewhere in the space between adolescence and adulthood (a debatable time frame indeed), we become focused on work and responsibility. Play takes the role of a lesser priority. There are simply fewer opportunities and more obligations. Like other self-care activities, like healthy eating, exercise, sleep, and play have many benefits to strengthen and lengthen our lives.
Some lifelong benefits of play are:
Play fosters creativity, flexibility, and learning
Play is an inexpensive and drug-free antidote to anxiety, depression, and isolation
Play connects us to others
Play teaches perseverance
Play teaches us how to lose gracefully
Play makes us happy
2020 has brought an unusual amount of stress and anxiety. It is more important than ever to engage in self-care and stress relief. Do you remember how to play? Do you know what made your heart soar and brought pure delight? Do you know what your partner loves to play? Have you played with him or her since you were dating or since the kids came? Playing with your partner brings joy, drops defenses, heals old wounds, fosters connection, and builds trust to try new things. Play provides the context for learning about our partners and ourselves.
It is human nature to play. When we are able to be in the moment and enjoy our play, there are no boundaries, no repression, just joy. We are not thinking about the past or planning for the future. We are able to be present at that moment in our lives.
Do not spend time or money searching for the fountain of youth. It is inside you. Play in it!
To read more about the benefits of play see The Art Of Play by Adam and Allee Blatner and The Gift of Play Why Adult Women Stop Playing and How to Start Again by Barbara Brannen
*Alexa Griffith, LMHC, LCAC, NCC, RPT is a licensed mental health therapist. Alexa enjoys providing individual counseling and family counseling. She also provides play therapy for children, as well as teen and adolescent counseling via telehealth or in office.
Alexa's practice serves the Indianapolis area, including Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Zionsville, and Westfield. Learn more @ alexagtherapy.com
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