Hey Mike: I also thought kayaking would have been therapeutic which is why I am so amazed that it wasn't. Several reasons which may point to its lack of therapeutic effectiveness: 1. It has a link to my loss 2. It provided opportunity for failure - normally not an issue but during increased times of stress (for all of us) one becomes more hypersensitive to failure. These are probably the two biggest reasons. RC ---------- On 05/02/2001, Mike Said: M> Sorry to hear about your difficulties -- glad to hear you're beginning to tackle them. I would be M> interested to know why some activities were more therapeutic than others, if you have any thoughts on this. M> I would have thought kayaking would be therapeutic, as it involves physical activity and a presumably M> pleasant outdoors environment, both of which I would have expected to have fairly high therapeutic levels. M> what do you think makes the difference? I do see your point about distraction not necessarily being M> therapeutic. M> Cheers M> Mike Griffin M> http://www.otdirect.co.uk M> Ron Carson wrote: >> Hello All: >> >> Recently, I experienced great tragedy in my personal life. Left with >> feelings of complete overwhelm and helplessness, for much of the time I >> did nothing but reflect on the situation. Slowly, however, I began to >> engage in meaningful occupations such as kayaking, yard work and >> woodworking. In the wake of my experience, I have made several personal >> observations about occupation as a therapeutic medium. >> >> 1. Not all occupations are created equal when it comes to their >> therapeutic effectiveness. >> >> I love to kayak and fish - it's my new found hobby. However, >> during this experience, I quickly learned that kayaking was not >> therapeutic. For me, kayaking contributed to my depression and to my >> negative feelings. Fishing was a setup for failure. Being unsuccessful >> at catching fish (a very common experience) only contribute to my >> negative feelings. As great as kayaking potential to be therapeutic, it >> was a very negative experience. >> >> 2. Occupation's ability to divert one's attention is very powerful but >> may not be therapeutic. >> >> During my yard and wood working, I primarily focused attention >> on the task at hand and not on the the problems in my life. While this >> has certain therapeutic effectiveness, it may not have directly helped >> solve the issues. However, as I write this I can see that directing my >> attention away from the problems may have allowed me to be more clearly >> focuses when I did return to addressing the problems. >> >> Clinically, I have learned a great deal about the power (or lack of) >> occupation. >> >> Ron >> >> (Writing this is part of my self-prescribed therapy. This list serve is >> one of my occupations and writing today has been very therapeutic) >> >> rC >> >> ******************** >> >> Unsubscribe by sending a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message's body, >put the following text: >> >> unsubscribe OTlist >> >> ------ >> >> OTnow messages are archived at: >> >> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] (and) >> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] >> >> ********rC*********** M> ******************** M> Unsubscribe by sending a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message's body, put the following text: M> unsubscribe OTlist M> ------ M> OTnow messages are archived at: M> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] (and) M> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] M> ********rC*********** ******************** Unsubscribe by sending a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message's body, put the following text: unsubscribe OTlist ------ OTnow messages are archived at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] (and) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] ********rC***********
