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What Do You Do For Fun? When That Question Makes You Squirm

Okay, you don’t have to be a “fun” person. But being “a little less boring” could change your life :)

Karen Nimmo
On The Couch
Published in
4 min readFeb 10, 2025
Image by Md Manik Shaikh on Pixabay

What do you do for fun?

It’s a simple question, yet it leads to more than a little squirming.

“Fun?” some clients will say to that question, offering a blank, or even annoyed stare.

To be fair to them, though, most people don’t sign up for therapy when life is sweet. When you’re in the mental health trenches, fun can seem a long way off.

And one of the signs of depression is no longer getting pleasure from the activities and people you once enjoyed. In other words, the fun leeches out of life.

How much does it matter?

Are you fun to live with?

A long time ago I asked a client if she was fun to live with.

She pushed back hard at what she labelled a “stupid question”.

“I’m a good person. I’m respectful. I’m caring. I clean up after myself — and my partner a lot of the time. Why do I have to be fun as well?”

She had a point. Being “fun” is not an essential on the relationship resume. Even if it makes the cut, it…

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On The Couch
On The Couch

Published in On The Couch

Practical psychology for health and happiness. Owned/Edited by clinical psychologist and writer Karen Nimmo.

Karen Nimmo
Karen Nimmo

Written by Karen Nimmo

Clinical psychologist, author of 4 books. Editor of On the Couch: Practical psychology for health and happiness. karen@onthecouch.co.nz

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