The Healthy Management of Reality - Stanford University

Is There a “Minimum Daily Requirement” of Rewarding Activities?Peter M. Lewinsohn, the psychologist who was my dissertation chair at theUniversity of Oregon, developed an interesting method of treating depression. Hehad patients fill out a questionnaire with hundreds of pleasant activities, and thenused the results to prescribe an increase in pleasant activities that were related tothe person’s mood. This approach was helpful to many patients suffering fromdepression, and has been adapted into psychological treatments for depressionacross the country.In using this method, it occurred to me that perhaps human beings have aminimum daily requirement of rewarding activities. These activities includepleasant activities, activities in which we get to enjoy a feeling of mastery, andactivities that we find particularly meaningful, even if they are not inherentlypleasant. When we get less than our minimum daily requirement for a long enoughtime, our body and our mind begin to malfunction. We develop negative moodstates, we have trouble eating and sleeping, we become less sociable, and weactually begin to lose our ability to enjoy things. It is as if the organism begins toslow down its life functions. In severe cases, thoughts of death and suicideactually appear. Rewarding activities may be reinforcing to our life functions, toour very desire to live. In this manner, they shape our overall state of well-being.They shape us and our reality.If this is the case, then it is important that we shape the nature and frequencyof these activities. It is important that we take the time to engage in those activitiesthat we find pleasant and meaningful. It is important that we shape our days sothat there is time to spend in those places and with those people who bring a senseof interest and joy into our lives. Our bodies may need this kind of emotionalHMOR.July2005.Muñoz.doc 91