Let us first decide what counts as a hobby. It seems ridiculous to define something that everyone “knows” the definition of. But for the sake of those people who try to count chores as hobbies, we will define a hobby as follows:

A purposeful activity done regularly that brings one pleasure.

Mental health really does improve when you participate in hobbies, and if you don’t believe it I challenge you to give it a try! Later in this post I’ll give a few ideas of things that you can do but for now let’s dive into the mental health benefits of hobbies.

Benefits of Hobbies

1- Decreased Stress/Improved Physical Health:

Participating regularly in activities you enjoy decreases cortisol, the stress hormone, and improves heart health. More than just reducing the feelings of stress, decreasing cortisol also decreases inflammation which in turn reduces flares of your illness. (https://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-health/health-benefits-of-hobbies )

Depending on the activity of your choice, it could also improve physical fitness, coordination, and innovative thinking. 

2- Enhanced Relationships:

Another benefit of hobbies is that they can increase your ability to talk to others. Having something to discuss other than your health can be just enough of a break to reset your medical tolerance and automatically draws people to you due to your passion. (“The Empowered Woman”). 

An additional way that hobbies enhance relationships takes a little extra effort on your part. Hobbies give you a chance to meet other people with similar interests. There is a strong connection between positive relationships and lower rates of anxiety and depression. (https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/Strong-relationships-strong-health) Giving a nice double whammy to health AND relationships.

3- Increased Life Satisfaction:

When you live with a chronic illness you are unable to wait until you feel better to live your life. On my hardest days I have a hard time focusing on much of anything except how horrible I feel. One thing I’ve found that helps is spending even a short amount of time doing something I enjoy. This makes the nastiest days a little less nasty. With a chronic condition we must learn to live well WITH our illness. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5507015/) When we learn to do this we will truly be able to feel satisfaction about the life we are living.

Making time for hobbies

But I don’t have time for x,y, or z. I’m using what time I have to manage my illness and feel selfish taking more time just to do something fun. I don’t know what to try, it’s been too long since I’ve had a hobby. 

All of these are thoughts that I have regularly and will likely continue having as long as I have a chronic disease and am a mother. A.K.A. forevermore. 

Here are a few ways to prioritize/fit in hobbies:

• 5 minute spurts: a hobby doesn’t need to take hours for it to “count.” Even participating in something for a short amount of time each day has loads of benefits.
• Choose a hobby that has to do with what you already spend time doing. My mom told me that when my siblings and I were growing up she would take us to the library so she could get a book on something like baking bread, and then when we were home she would have the resources to do it. Example: playing with a toddler-hobby could be building cool towers and taking pictures of them. 

Hobby ideas

For those of you who simply cannot come up with something that seems remotely interesting to try, I have compiled a list and hopefully something seems interesting to you on it.

1. Painting
2. Drawing
3. Dancing
4. Singing
5. Playing an instrument
6. Organizing
7. Walking
8. Lifting weights
9. Playing solitaire
10. Writing
11. Reading
12. Playing soccer
13. Yoga
14. DIY crafting
15. Home refurbishing
16. Interior design
17. Photography

I found a blog called localadventurer.com and they have a post compiling 101 different hobbies you can try! Find that article at this link.

In conclusion, hobbies can change your mind! Let me know what you decide to try.

The post How Hobbies Can Change Your Mind first appeared on MS and Mo.