|
Health Notes A Newsletter for Employees |
|
|
Getting The Most Out Of Leisure Time With family, job and household responsibilities, leisure time is a luxury for many of us. You can learn to enjoy your leisure time by organizing it, learning to say no, deciding what you like to do and making specific plans for enjoyment. Organize Your Time If you have a limited amount of free time each week, it makes sense to organize what you have so that you can more fully enjoy it! Instead of letting household chores drag out over the weekend, try taking care of them first thing, especially things you don’t like to do. You might find that you better enjoy your leisure time when you can devote yourself to it. Learn To Say No If you find it hard to get time for yourself, learn to say no to others who make demands on your time. We often feel that we must say yes and end up resenting those who want our precious free time. By learning to say no, you can also learn to say yes and mean it. Make A List Do you have a list of things you’d do if you had time? Would you like to read a good book, learn a new skill or get interested in a hobby? By making a list of things you enjoy doing, you might be more likely to think about how you can control your time and participate in things that interest you. Make Specific Plans If you spend your time on the phone or habitually sitting in front of the TV, you might be wondering where all of your time went. If you’re feeling dissatisfied with how you’re spending your time now, you might be just "killing time." By making plans to do the things you enjoy doing, you might be surprised how much free time you have. Cross-Dependency Perhaps you know someone who is recovering from a destructive relationship with alcohol or other drugs. If so, you probably know that it is extremely dangerous for that person to take even the smallest amount of the former "drug of choice." What you may not know is that it is also dangerous for that person to take many other substances, including some prescription drugs and over-the-counter remedies. A recovering person is at high risk for cross-dependency. A new substance or non-drug activity may become a new addiction or contribute to a relapse into the old one. Knowing about cross-dependency can help prevent new addictions and relapses for a recovering person. How It Happens Often, people originally begin taking drugs as a way of dealing with unpleasant emotions. Fear, anxiety, anger, depression, low self-esteem and loneliness can all be characteristics of a basic feeling of spiritual emptiness or incompleteness. A chemically dependent person may have gotten into the habit of "filling" the emptiness with the effects of the drug. A recovering person comes face-to-face with all the feelings that were covered up, and may believe there is no danger in "taking a little something" to calm or comfort oneself. Unfortunately, the danger is great. Dependency on one drug often creates a cross-dependence for similar drugs. A high dose of the new drug is needed to produce the same effect that a new, nondependent user would get from a small dose. This means that a strong new addiction can be created much more quickly than the original as the user tries to use the new drug to duplicate the pleasant effects of the old one. Even if cross-tolerance is not present, the effects of a new drug sometimes weaken a recovering person’s resolve not to take the original substance, leading to a relapse into the old addiction. People can even become cross-dependent on activities, such as compulsive eating, prolonged exercise, or unhealthy relationships. These are also dangerous to good health and the recovery process. If you know someone who is chemically dependent and recovering:
If you are chemically dependent:
|
||
|
Health Notes is provided by Health Promotion Northwest,
your employee assistance program. If you or a member of your family are
experiencing personal challenges (for example: financial, marital, family,
stress, depression, and/or chemical dependency), Health Promotion
Northwest
can help. We offer confidential counseling, evaluation and
networking services as well as referrals to community resources. This
service is provided through your employer at no cost to you. To contact
us, call these numbers: |
||
|
Health Promotion Northwest |