6 Enjoyable Therapeutic Activities To Try On The Weekend

Weekends roll around quickly these days, and if you're feeling at a loose end or looking for something to help quieten your body after a long tiring week.

We've got a few ideas to inspire you that have a nice therapeutic vibe to them. To get started, pick one activity that aligns with you for the weekend and save the others for another time. 

 

1. Make a Zine

How could we not suggest zine-making as our number one activity to try?

Zine making is a lovely way to combine paper craft with some writing or drawing to make something meaningful to you. You can make a zine on any topic. The options are limited to your imagination. Poetry, free writing, doodles, your favorite animals, or a cause you care about supporting. 

If you're new to zine-making, we have some helpful tips to get you started with folding your first zine.

Other materials that will come in handy include, paper, scissors, a graphite pencil, eraser, and perhaps some coloring pencils or scraps of paper for college. Try not to be too critical of your work. Zines have a rough and raw charm to them. That's what makes them so unique.

 

2. Plant Something Green

You don't need an outdoor garden to have a fantastic display of plants breathing life into your space.

Indoor plants have become a popular part of interior design. There are some tremendous hardy plant varieties if you're not a green thumb too. Plants thriving in my space include the Monstera, and Golden Pothos are two favorites. They're hardy as anything. These plants are also good at signaling when they need water by drooping their leaves. You can also take clippings of them, and they'll last in water for ages! 

Interestingly, indoor plants often suffer due to too much watering as opposed to not enough!

So stick a note in your calendar for a weekly water. As you tend to them over time, you'll feel a sense of satisfaction at how much enjoyment they bring. All you need is a pot (or tin can with holes in it), some potting mix or soil from the garden, and your new plant!

 

3. Start a Journal

Journaling is a well-documented therapeutic practice.

But journaling doesn't always need to be a chronology of what you did each day. You might choose to put together an art journal of sketches or photographs or bringing together other collectibles you've acquired along your travels. Try to allocate a small amount of quiet time each day that works for you. Over time you'll be able to look back and reflect on meaningful moments in your life. If stuck for ideas, this compact-sized journal prompts reference guide might help out too. 

For this activity, you'll need a lined or blank page journal or notebook, a pen, and you're good to go. 

 

4. Cook a Favorite Meal

Food can be a powerful way to celebrate one's culture or other meaningful events.

Can you think of a recipe that brings you fond memories? Or a culturally important meal that brings you back to your roots? This activity could also involve learning the recipe from a loved one? Or that's been handed down through generations. Maybe your favorite meal has nothing to do with family but a meal you've often enjoyed while catching up with friends?

Making homemade pizza always reminds me of fun play when it comes to food as you mix and experiment with toppings for example. We often make it when friends come over.

I have a fruit cake recipe that my Nanna used to make during the holidays. This recipe was handed down to my aunty, and now my cousin, who prepares it every holiday. It's always bought fond memories of togetherness. Whatever meal brings meaning to you, try making it, and what better reason to enjoy with some loved ones. 

 

 

5. Make Some Therapy Dough

As a kid, I remember being absorbed for hours in play using playdough.

Bright colors, the feel of fresh soft dough had a calming effect. Therapy dough is much the same only. Rather than using it to make objects as you did as a child, use it as a distraction to relieve stress or anxious feelings. Therapy dough often has calming oils added that help to relax you too. 

To cook up a batch of therapy dough, you'll need some flour, vegetable oil, cream of tartar, some salt, and essential oil, maybe natural food coloring, but this is optional. Check out this therapy dough recipe to get started. 

 

6. Make Your Own Medicinal Salve 

Making salves is one of the more intricate activities on our list yet rewarding in so many ways.

Making something that can both inspire and heal minor ailments is incredible and something our ancestors did long ago. Salves are topical ointments that you can use to relieve muscle aches, soothe skin, with their calming effect. A salve combines olive oil, beeswax, herbs that are cooked together to extract the medicinal properties of the herbs and make a therapeutic balm.

If the idea of making your own salve piques interest, and keen to get started checkout this article.  We've also a got a beautifully illustrated zine that can step you through this process.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead! 

 

Image Credits: Brodie Vissers, Tomas Hustoles, Sarah Pflung