My Account
0

Permission to Come Home: Play as Medicine

Can you allow yourself to introduce play as a healing practice?
Permission to Come Home: Play as Medicine

While play can provide space for new beginnings and exploration, it can also give us the chance to be reminded of our “why” and gain perspective in the midst of the muck and messiness of life. While writing this book, I experienced one of the most intense seasons of burnout in my life. The convergence of world events that deeply affected me—George Floyd’s murder; the massacre of Asian spa workers in Atlanta—coupled with the steadily increasing exhaustion and worry from the COVID-19 pandemic sent me into a tailspin, physically and mentally. Of course, I couldn’t have anticipated all these life events—and all of them left me burned to a crisp.

Permission to Come Home by Jenny T. Wang, PhD

So, I did what felt like the most counterproductive thing I could do, as deadlines loomed: I booked a trip to visit college friends for a weekend in San Diego. It felt like I was digging myself into a deeper hole, but I needed to find my way back to myself again. I was having serious doubts—about writing, about my work—and I wondered if I should just call everything off and go back to focusing on the more regular parts of my life. While packing, it took every ounce of willpower to leave my laptop at home, ignoring the voice in my head telling me that my time on the flight would give me ample opportunity to write. I brought a novel instead. I forced my body to rest and invited myself into play. During dinner one night, fully present for the first time in months, I burst into tears and said, “This might be the first time I am enjoying food in a really long time.” I had run myself ragged, and at that moment I fully realized how tattered I had become. I had lived with such strong blinders that I had forgotten how to enjoy and savor food and my life. This thought was extremely depressing. My friends held me in love and nonjudgment for the whole weekend. They reminded me of who I was, of why I was writing this book, and that I was capable of it. It was exactly what I needed—a necessary pause and permission to play without having earned a thing.

Whatever your life circumstances, can you find the time to allow yourself to consider how you might introduce play as a healing practice for exhaustion and as a form of medicine for our epidemic of over-functioning, loneliness, and burnout? Perhaps for you this medicine may come in the form of planning dinner and a movie at home with your kids, where you put away your phones and just savor the evening, or taking an hour out of your day to go for a leisurely walk with a friend and notice every smell of fall in the air. Play does not have to be a lavish trip to an exotic location; it can be found in the ordinary moments, if you are willing to create magic within every day.

Excerpted from Permission to Come Home by Jenny T. Wang. Copyright © 2022 by Jenny T. Wang. Reprinted with permission of Balance Publishing. All rights reserved.

Share this post:

Dr. Jenny Wang (she/her) is a Taiwanese American clinical psychologist speaker and mental health activist who works from a social justice and trauma-informed framework. She is the founder of the @asiansformentalhealth community on Instagram and is passionate about destigmatizing mental health for Asians. Her clinical and professional interests focus on Asian American identity, mental health advocacy, and racial trauma. She created the Asians for Mental Health therapist directory to help Asian Americans find culturally reverent mental health care. She has been featured on NBC News, NPR, Houston Chronicle, and several other publications discussing the unique mental health struggles of Asian Americans.

Recommended products

Original price was: $250.00.Current price is: $199.00.

Transform Your Relationship

The Gottman Relationship Adviser is a complete approach to relationship wellness. Measure your relationship health with the research-based Gottman Assessment, analyze five key areas of your partnership to identify your strengths and weaknesses, then start a tailored, step-by-step digital program proven to heal and strengthen your connection—all on your schedule and from anywhere.

The Adviser uses the legendary scientific Gottman Method to help you understand what’s really going on in your relationship—and gives you exactly what you need to improve it.

Original price was: $119.00.Current price is: $79.00.

Research-based Foundations for a Lifetime of Love.  The Gottman Relationship Coach is an inspiring and educational multimedia experience designed to enhance the well-being of relationships. Participants will be guided through research-based tools and communication skills that can transform relationships—all based on the popular Gottman Method. The first program, “How to Make Your Relationship Work”, is now available and includes:

  • The Gottman Method and How to Make Your Relationship Work
  • How do we predict the future of a relationship?
  • How to build a Sound Relationship House
  • What to do when the destructive Four Horsemen enter your relationship

“Buy Now” will take you to GOTTMAN CONNECT to purchase and view this product.

$599.00

Created by “the Einstein of Love” (Psychology Today), this two-day workshop is grounded on what actually works in relationships that are happy and stable. See for yourself why millions of couples worldwide have benefited from the Gottman Method.

Quote from participant in most recent Live Virtual Workshop:

The Art and Science of Love workshop- where do I begin? It was an absolute stellar workshop. We were looking forward to this for weeks, and it exceeded our expectations! It was well-structured, and well-organized, and provided a wealth of information with real-time demonstrations of how to work through specific scenarios. The outstanding support that was provided throughout the exercises with therapists on standby- WOW! Priceless!

Includes the Art & Science of Love box set.  Please allow time for shipping.  Please Note: This is a live online event. To attend, you will need a reliable internet connection. Our staff will reach out to you with your personal registration and access information.

Related posts

Couple walking

Self-Care: Cherishing Yourself And Your Relationship

Ellie Lisitsa

These are ideas that can keep you and your relationship from being overwhelmed in daily life. ...

Read More

The truth about boundaries. Image of woman concentrating while looking at her phone.

The Truth About Boundaries

Nicole Schiener

Setting and maintaining boundaries protects your peace and so much more. ...

Read More

Invest in Yourself for Relationship Growth

The Gottman Institute

If you can’t keep it together, your relationship can’t either. ...

Read More

Not Having Fun

Not Having Fun in Your Relationship? Here’s How to Fix It

Laura Silverstein

Add play and adventure back into your relationship ...

Read More

Healthy happy Partnered Life

Three Steps to a Healthy, Happy, Partnered Life

Jennifer Pesetsky

Live a long love life with these simple steps. ...

Read More

What Pride Means to the Gay Couples Institute

Chris Dollard

The Gay Couples Institute saw the need for specialized care for LGBTQ couples, and we provide support to their tribe members. ...

Read More

Sign up for the email newsletter you are most interested in and start your Gottman journey today!