A Lesson on PQ (Play Quotient)

-

Our supervision session for the week was interesting, to say the least. It featured a ‘lambi daadhi wale baba’, an omnipotent all-knowing sadhu who channelized himself through our mentors. Our session was then an hour of song, dance and theatre. 

For an hour, it felt like we had taken a step back from reality and were suspended in a world of make-believe, imagination and creativity with no boundaries for logic. I was Santara Devi, with my fellow past-life bhakts - Gulabo, Angoori, Barfi Rani and others. We were forced to think about alternate universes, about our characters’ life stories and troubles and moments of revelations. It was a little daunting to completely step into a fictional character’s shoes and create a story out of it, but at the same time, it was fun and silly. And so we came up with over-the-top origin stories of our past-life alter egos. By the end, we were all giggling, feeling much lighter than we had started and definitely feeling more positive. 

What was the purpose of this activity you might ask? Play Quotient or PQ. This is a quantity present in all of us that unfortunately dwindles as we grow older, burdened with the expectations of social norms. Play Quotient points at our personality traits that interact with our play value - the ability to engage and have fun in different situations. While PQ in children literally has to do with how they play with other children and their toys, PQ in adults is just as important. It is a stress reliever (as was evident with the activity), it increases creativity and overall positivity towards life. To put things in perspective, we were asked to think about some hobbies or interests we left long ago under the pretext of getting “too old for it”.

When I think about it, there’s honestly a lot, whether it's thumb painting, my trust stuffed animals collection, making jewelry or playing with clay. There were so many things I would do absolutely care-free without worrying about its social credentials. One resolution I took back from our supervision session is to stop worrying about how the things I enjoy doing can be qualified as “useful” for an adult. Do the things you want and don’t be afraid to be silly and excited about them. Be playful!

By Devshri Joshi Intern I Am Wellbeing: Trauma Healing & Prevention

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On The Other Side : Mental Health Inequity From The Therapist’s Lens

-
Apart from structural inequalities that hamper access to mental health services for the common masses, mental health professionals themselves are bound in a unique conundrum. The conversations around mental health as an imperative subject both for individual and communal well-being, are still fairly nascent in the country. As a result, India is still in its nascent stage of harboring and investing in infrastructure and the necessary means that aid in the proper training of mental health professionals and social workers. There is a paramount deficit in the amount of funding provided by the Government and furthermore, no set rules, laws or ethical and moral groundwork is being laid by the governing or affiliated bodies. As of now, there are only 47 government psychiatric institutions catering to the massive population of 1.3 billion, steadily building an insurmountable pressure on the already scanty number of psychiatric nurses, doctors, psychologists, staff, and mental health advocates.
Read more

Decluttering Away - A Guide To Self Care

-
We were often taught as kids, the phrase, ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’ and while back then, this was a means to promote good health and hygiene, it has also been scientifically proven to be associated with mental fitness. As the New Year dawns upon us and we look forward to new beginnings and experiences, cleaning, organizing, and decluttering are a few of the most effective ways to unwind from overwhelming thoughts and feelings. The amazing Marie Kondo says that ‘One must only keep those things that give us joy, much like our thoughts, we must keep those that make us happy and let the other negative ones pass us by. Decluttering shouldn’t just be about the things we possess but also about the physical spaces we occupy. The physical act of organizing distracts people from certain anxiety-inducing situations while simultaneously giving immediate control over one’s surroundings. Decluttering as a self-care practice is one of the most efficient practices since it requires no extra t
Read more

Mental Health in an Unequal World

-
Image
In a country like ours where every 100 kms, language, culture, dialect and food changes, so do people, their problems, perspectives, opportunities, resources and access to these resources. India is a country of diversity when it comes to culture and traditions but also when it comes to the harrowing gap between the rich and the millions of poor and homeless people that are poverty stricken, and for whom healthcare is a luxury. Much like healthcare, mental wellbeing is a concept foreign to a large population of the country. A lot of factors like poverty and income inequality, religion and caste, cultural and traditional influences, civic and political systems, age and disability as well as gender and sexual orientation are responsible for such an exclusivity of mental health services. About 80% of all healthcare services are being provided by the private sector making mental health practically inaccessible to those who can’t afford it. There is also the pressing issue of specialization
Read more