Page 67 - Vision Manual

Negative Symptoms
Lack of interest and lack of pleasure
It’s very difficult to stay active when things don’t seem interesting or things just aren’t any fun. It’s also very difficult to pursue goals when you feel this way.
The following strategies may be helpful to gradually increase your interest and enjoyment of activities:
 Be patient with yourself. Changes will happen gradually.
 Start with an activity that you used to enjoy. Think of something that you could
do that is brief and related to that activity. For example, if you used to enjoy jogging, you could try taking a brief walk (5-10 minutes) in the neighborhood. Be attentive to what you experience as you walk: What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? How does your body feel as you are being active? Do you feel more relaxed afterwards?
 As you gain confidence in brief activities, gradually increase them and plan longer activities.
 Ask people in your support system to do things with you. It can be more enjoyable to have someone with whom to converse and share the experience. For example, when you take a walk with a friend or family member it become s asocial experience as well as a physical one.
 Regularly schedule enjoyable activities. For example, you could set up a schedule of walking every morning after breakfast. The more regularly you do an activity, the more likely you will start to feel enjoyment.
 Investigate new interests such as the following: o Computers
o Art
o Visitingmuseums
o Games
o Collecting coins, stamps, etc o Cooking
o Exercising
o Gardening
o Walking
o Singingordancing
o Humor
o Listening to music
o Playing a musical instrument o Watchingorplayingsports
67 | P a g e