How Your Hobby Helps.
For some people as soon as the word ‘therapy’ is mentioned they become anxious and worried and shy. But there are many ways that we can give ourselves the same benefits as therapy just by using our hobbies in a therapeutic way, often without even thinking about it!
There are so many ways a hobby can make us feel better, the hard part is starting! So one step at a time is a good way to begin and before soon we will be reaping the benefit.
Hobbies and interests are like mental health maintenance!
Let's take colouring for example.
Coloured pencils can be bought quite cheaply and some paper too and then there is the whole world that opens up.
Choosing the colour can be a very mindful process. We are simply concentrating and focusing on one simple thing, which colour shall we use first? Which colour is our eye drawn to? Of course, there is no need to even decide we can close our eyes and just pick up a random colour and start like that, no pressure to make any decision, just do.
Where do we start to add colour to the paper? We may have something in mind that we want to draw or create and so we just move and colour. Or we may just doodle and it is amazing how much doodling can just calm our thoughts and focus our attention on the pencil.
Using different strokes can produce a meditative state of calm, when we watch the pencil rhythmically move across the paper leaving behind the pigment and our hand becomes part of the pencil.
Creating something we are proud of can boost our self-esteem and confidence, and the way we think about ourselves. This could be a simple drawing or a painting.
There are so many ways that our hobbies can help us feel better, they can improve our energy levels too! The compliments that people give can encourage us to do more, motivating us to complete a project. Looking at others and what they have achieved can inspire us too!
Please share your hobby with us and let’s discuss how they can help us even more. So let’s start by - What is your favourite hobby?
How does it help you? Is it calming or energising? Does it make you fitter? Does it make you feel peace and content inside?
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Listening - One Step At A Time!
What is your favourite hobby?
I like writing poetry!
How does it help you?
Well for me it helps me organise my thoughts if I feel overwhelmed, it's like an organised way of venting for me. It also keeps my mind active and is quite satisfying to me to think of symbolism and structure techniques for a poem.
Is it calming or energising?
Both, if I'm using it to vent then it makes me calmer but if I'm tired and I just write a bunch of meaningless words down and create something meaningful out of it then it increases my motivation, which I suppose you could call energising.
Does it make you fitter?
Well, it certainly makes my find fitter, God knows Thesaurus.com saves my life with some of my poems lol
Does it make you feel peace and content inside?
Yes
@kindozzy27 thanks for replying. I like the way you say the poetry organises your thoughts, I find that too, and I can drift off into a world of words. I loved reading your thread of poems too!
Listening - One Step At A Time!
@kindozzy27
@kindozzy27
What is your favourite hobby?
I enjoy doing anything with a group hobbies could be, shopping, family time, video games with friends!
How does it help you?
I think is helps me by just being around others!
Is it calming or energising?
I would have to say both!
Favorite hobby is surfing !! Is best in world go to ocean and be in water and sun and is just nothing bad just calm and happy and fun. I can’t surf so much lately because my epilepsy not controlled any more I hope soon is doing better with medicine because is favorite thing in world
@theboymoana I hope you get back to surfing soon! I am useless and prefer paddle boarding hahaha! But I agree water and sun is the best! Is that why you chose your name?
Listening - One Step At A Time!
@MistyMagic that is ok paddle boarding fun to and surfing lot harder to some people just my whole family surf learn when we can stand up. Name is because moana is favorite and we are lot same Polynesian and from island and love ocean and have long hair and like going adventure just moana is girl and I’m boy and I have disabilities but is close same !
The colleagues I work with can make my work very stressful. Someone had began bringing in puzzles into our lunchroom. A 1000 piece puzzle was completed recently, and now there's a 2000 piece on the table. I love working on the puzzle, as it helps release stress. So, I would sit at the table for 30 mins to an hour after my shift, before heading home. I lost track of time the past Friday, and sat there for 1.5 hrs!~
@MistyMagic
@MistyMagic
Thank you Misty, for your wonderful post.
I have too many hobbies...
Some have calming, introspective expression benefits, like listening to music (I like piano music from the Romantic era: Chopin, Schuman, etc, also Bach, Beethoven...)
Some give me pleasure, joy and improve my self-esteem, like painting and photography.
I used to make and program robots with Lego Mindstorms, which was super-cool...
Reading made much of what I am.
So loads, tons of benefits for my mental health and improving as a person.
I also wish to add something as a Listener.
I have witnessed here the powerful healing power of hobbies.
I have been a Listener of some people posting in this Community.
I met some others in the forums, discussing serious matters.
I can attest to how positive effect participating in the Hobby Zone Subcommunity had on their emotional wellbeing.
I think it's not just having a hobby, That's great in itself, sure.
But sharing their work and creative ideas in a caring, safe and enthusiastic environment, and getting feedback and encouragement as well as giving those to other members in the Hobby Zone Community is such an uplifting, empowering experience, for people that might be struggling in other areas of their lives.
So, answering the question "How your Hobby helps?, I would answer, by providing self-care moments, by adding meaning to our lives, by flourishing in some areas while we struggle in others, by feeling a sense of achievement when we focus on these and not in our problems, by processing traumatic issues in creative, manageable ways, by building our identity around positive things (we are not just a "problem person") and by giving us both a "safe place" to return to, and a base from which deal with the big issues in our healing journey, a place we can always come back, like small children explore the world going back and forth from the challenging environment to explore, to the cozy proximity of their mothers.
I love reading for it can really comfort me a lot☺️
I love reading books of art history for my interest in aesthetics. I am also keen on reading Philosophy, for it can fulfill my cognition and make me feel less confused. When my mental world is fulfilled, I will then feel less anxious for issues of college application and the cold attitude of my crush 😊
@MistyMagic
My favourite hobby I would say is "learning new hobbies". I have so many different hobbies I enjoy and the process of learning a new skill is both calming and energizing for me, I like to always be learning new things and trying new skills I think it keeps my mind engaged and helps ward off negative emotions. I also find when I am able to learn a new things or finish something all those reward chemicals it triggers are a mood boost.
Taking time out for hobbies also lets me set down some of the other racing thoughts running through my head and just focus on something simple with a simple solution and outcome, often being one thing that I can rely on going 'okay' even if nothing else is that day.
@MistyMagic
What is your favourite hobby?
Good question, but I have many hobbies and it's hard for me to choose because they all bring me joy.
How does it help you?
My hobbies usually take away the stress of a hectic day and let my creativity run free.
Is it calming or energising?
I find all my calming, and energising.
Does it make you fitter?
I'm sure it makes me fitter both physically and mentally.
Does it make you feel peace and content inside?
No doubt about it!
What is the smallest /easiest thing you can tweak about your daily life today for the better?
Reduce screen time
@MistyMagic
I am not sure how much this counts as a hobby, as it isn't really a specific activity - but (and to no surprise here) mine would be anything involving cats 🐈 I'm labelling cats just generally as a 'hobby' even though it isn't, as so much of my life revolves around them it may as well be my main hobby 😅
Anyway, questions!
How does it help you?
It helps my mental health - being with cats is extremely mindful to me, I am not focusing on my inner thoughts, I am just simply in the moment, taking in all the sensory input - how soft their fur is, the colour of their eyes, the sound of their purrs or meows, and the soft warm feeling I get inside me being near them. They are also excellent distraction tools for me, especially if I'm feeling particularly down, instead of turning to negative coping activities, I seek out cats, maybe I'll play with my cat and laugh because he is being silly, or maybe ill read a fact book on cats and distract myself with new facts, or maybe I'll watch a film or documentary to take up space in my brain instead of unkind thoughts. He will also encourage me to go outside to play when I'm feeling really depressed, and that's always helpful as it's very good to spend a minimum of 10 minutes a day outside! They're helpful in so many ways!
Is it calming or energising?
Both! When I am overwhelmed or stressed or upset, I know I can go and cuddle my cat and feel all those bad feelings calm right down, or, when he is being hyperactive, I can play with him and maybe run around the house with his favourite toy... A feather on a string (ignores all the toys I actually spend money on, very typical 😂)
Does it make you fitter?
Yes... So much running when he's hyper or in his 'danger mode' as I like to call it... When he has so much energy and starts getting mischievous and knocking everything over 😮 always chasing round the house trying to contain him when he's like that 😅 I will play in the garden with him too
Does it make you feel peace and content inside?
Yes, very. I love them so much. It is hard to describe the feeling of it, but so much goodness. I am the happiest when I am thinking about them 😺💖
... I hope that doesn't make me sound like too much of a crazy cat person 🙀
@MistyMagic
My favorite hobby is probably making music, but it's hard to pick. The one that seems to benefit me the most is drawing and painting...it takes some patience and sometimes I have a hard time getting started, but when I do it's like an intense meditation, lol. At its best I lose myself in the work and think of nothing, at its worst I rush through it and don't give it the time it deserves. I'd like to take on more creative projects in the coming weeks, finish some old ones, and so forth.
Music makes me feel like I'm discovering something moment by moment until I've heard the same song too many times and need a break from it. I feel the same way about writing and drawing: I have to know when to pull away and stop, or there's a good chance I won't finish it. Walking meditation makes me feel calm and alive...gosh, it's hard to really pick my favorite.