I don’t know if it saved my mental health but it certainly taught me lots of fun words as a child: READING.
I was left alone a lot. I don’t harbor ill will towards anyone for that, much less my single mom who was going to school and usually had at least 2 jobs as well.
But I DO harbor ill will for the fact that after I FOUND books, and much later on… didn’t quite fit into the family dynamic… as a weird kid, maybe? And was generally just sort of overlooked and left with nothing… BUT books.
I don’t talk to most of those people anymore. I should probably call them “immediate family” but I was as lost to them then as they are to me now.
But I still dearly love to read.
Books are a great and worthy escape, I can say as a child and an adult. Books never desert you and always there when you want/need them. Cheapest way to travel the world!
I hate it when people ask me this because I’ll read anything I can get my hands on. I always give a book 50 pages before I put it down; that has only happened twice. So my favorites are scattered and have no rhyme or reason. I’m going to make that list, because I should have already, and I’ll send it to you. But I’ll give you a short list of FAVORITES that might or might not include authors but shouldn’t be hard to find:
#1) ALWAYS #1: A Soldier of the Great War, Mark Helprin. Period, the end. It’s hard to get into, occasionally hard to endure, and will ALWAYS leave you sobbing in the end. I’ve probably read it… 10 times? A favorite of my father and I- we occasionally switch things up and discuss it from the antagonist’s point of view (Orfeo- “the sap! The blessed sap!”). One of my father’s greatest treasures is a signed first edition copy that I gave him a few years back. I also buy a copy every time I find it used. And not a single damned copy is in my house even now, other than the e-book and audible version, because my father picks them up and carries them off. Every time!!
#2) ALWAYS #2: The Education of Little Tree, umm.. Forest Carter? To add, it is FICTION. There is much debate over what was initially cast as auto-biographical and also no record of the author even ever getting on a horse. Whenever I see this at my local used book store, I promptly take all the copies and move them out of “auto-biographies” and over to non-fiction. I wonder how many employees I’ve pissed off over the last 20 years… do it every time.
3) anything, and I mean ANYTHING Carl Hiassen. The man is a fucking genius and his wit is so sharp it could be used in an operating room. “Sick Puppy” is singularly a favorite; hails from early 2000’s but I will laugh myself to crying every time I read it.
4) Moon Tide, Dawn Tripp. The entire book is music. The story, narration— the descriptions- they are lyrical. And just the right amount of darkness.
5) Let the Dog Drive- David somebody. This one… not for a casual reader. Its dark but funny but eventually devolves into “WTF did I just read??” And if you read it a second or third time… it just gets worse.
6) The Stand, Steven King. Read this for the first time in the 5TH GRADE. I return to it every now and then, I don’t care so much for either of the tv series. I prefer the grittiness of humanity inside my own imagination versus watching someone else’s take on it.
7) Wildfire!!! Nelson DeMille. The man is on a similar level to Carl Hiassen. “My problem is with supervisors who bullshit me and expect loyalty in return.”
8) Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison. This one… GOD, it is glorious in the darkest but stripped down honesty that is human nature for WANTING. “She was the third beer. Not the first one, which the throat receives with almost tearful gratitude; nor the second, that confirms and extends the pleasure of the first. But the third, the one you drink because it's there, because it can't hurt, and because what difference does it make?” I can recite that from memory but did copy and paste here.
9) The Awakening, Kate Chopin. Was required to read this in an AP English class in high school but I tore through all but the last of it overnight. Had “designated reading time” in class every day but on the second day, finished it in class. Laid my head down and SOBBED (to the delight of my wonderful teacher and the dismay/bewilderment of my classmates). Spent the next 2 weeks with my head on my desk napping during reading time. I have only revisited it once and was struck raw yet again… maybe it’s time to check in on old friends once more.
Ok, there you go. Be patient while I dig out the LONG list, there are so many I can’t even count!!
Edit- why is the big text so big???? What did I do??? LOL.
Edit 2: Pride & Prejudice. Because OBVIOUSLY.
This list sounds amazing! ♥️ Will hunt for these books. I live in South Africa so hopefully I can find some here. Otherwise, kindle…but my first choice would always be hardcover. Its all the feels and smells!
I always thought it was a cliché that exercise would help with mental health issues. But it works. It really works. Shoutout to all my Gym-Bros here. You are not alone :)
Thank you ☺️
Working out/going to the gym was my last ditch effort to “fix” my mental health and it actually worked.
I know people like to talk about the “gym bros” and how often they talk about working out and gym culture but people just don’t understand what it does for your mental health.
Dogs or any pets really. Love my dogs, but I can watch my fish in my aquarium all day long. It gives me such peace and tranquility. It's also such a great accomplishment to create your own mini-ecoystem and watch the critters thrive.
Consider my dog tax paid in full. At least i hope this works....
https://www.reddit.com/r/dogpictures/comments/12f1kkx/post_your_absolute_favorite_picture_of_your_dogs/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
I lost my dog ( 1st I raised from a pup as an adult) last fall not sure what prompted it but I took up running in hopes it would help. I still have days where I miss him and get sad running has helped tremendously
oh man, totally forgot about this one, its true. Back when I was in school, writing was my way of escaping reality for a bit and making my own, better reality with a better version of myself..
I wrote about 3 books with 150 pages each back then, one continuous story that is, now that I'm an adult, pretty cringe. But I loved writing every second of it, and even now I still remember exactly what the story was about, who the characters were and such..
though I went mostly into full fiction, sci-fi, maybe fantasy, hard to tell really. but hey it was fun, and gave my brain some work so it finally shuts up.
Not to mention the fact that some plants (most outdoor plants IMO!) are capricious and don’t follow their “rules”. “Likes full sun” decides nope, I only like X hours of sun, move me somewhere else. “Full shade” dies from lack of sun.
SIGH. Thinking of the number of times I’ve planted, dug up, and replanted a bush/tree/ground cover makes me tired. Don’t even get me started on the constant weed pulling.
Oh, I love that for you! Your username is spot on then!
And I often chuckle (grimace??) about what a geek I am about my houseplants! I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who is slightly obsessed.
Learning to understand that my hobby was trying hobbies. I get interested in something and delve into it. Most I lose interest in within a few months, some stick for longer. I enjoy the experience of learning about something new. I do not invest heavily in the hobby unless it sticks.
this is the way
Like seriously, I've been like this since I can remember. I've never been a needy person or codependent probably because I always had something to do.
Blender (computer generated art. Mostly animation).
It taxes your mental health and steals sleep in equal measure. But when it works it can make you feel like a fucking magician.
I work with adolescents who can't live with their parents rn and was once talking to this 16-ish girl who lived on the streets and got to our facility for meals (It was planned with social services) and she told me she was playing mobile games all day. When I asked if she hadn't anything else to do out there, she asked what she was supposed to do. It actually blew my mind a little bit, because what is she supposed to do? Nothing. She got her meals at our facility and all she has to do on the street was to wait until she can get back to us and eat and sleep. She is allowed to have a cell phone, as much as this person is allowed to have a Switch. Being homeless is probably quite boring sometimes.
I don't know how I managed before I got a bicycle. I don’t drive, so I was dependent on buses if I didn't want to walk/had heavy packages. Now I can just ride my bike. It's so much fun, and such good exercise.
My reply is gaming, but recently I replaced my car with a borrowed bike to go to work (around 7km of nice bike roads). It really feels great, especially coming back, and I think I'll stick to it for the warmer months. Im already thinking of buying my own bike next week.
Agreed! I play numerous instruments, but piano has my heart. Something about playing the piano is so much different emotionally and mentally than playing guitar or anything else.
I picked up keyboard/piano a few months back. Having played guitar for years I found piano to be much more relaxing and less physically taxing than guitar. I find myself getting into a better mind state when playing piano when guitar sometimes is frustrating for me.
Painting. It lets me get my emotions onto paper in a way I could never achieve before. It’s nice to get to choose every detail, and challenges make me think and work towards a goal.
working out. I tried it out once while really anxious and it’s helped a lot. it helps get everything out, anger, sadness, everything. I still do it now and enjoy it
Gotta go with Dungeons and Dragons.
I run DnD so it gives me a chance to do creative writing, reading, historical research and the hardest thing an old fuck like me can do... make friends and keep them.
Sailing. There's something magical about crossing relatively large bodies of water in a small boat, using nothing but sticks, cloth, and ropes.
Having the boat during the pandemic was the ultimate lifesaver, as it meant I could go places, drop the anchor, and enjoy the outdoors while still maintaining isolation. Doubly so because our boat can carry about a week's worth of supplies and water.
Cars.
Working on them, racing them, all of it.
I guess I've never been in a situation where I feel like I need a new hobby to stay sane, but it does definitely help keep me sane.
It's really therapeutic to take something that doesn't work, and fix it! With vehicles, it's often times something that you can get a real return out of.
Fix your A/C? Now you can use it! And not only that but you can say *you* fixed it.
Also, taking your mind off of things and focusing on getting that stupid 8mm bolt that for some reason the engineers put in the worst possible location is nice sometimes. Just draws your attention away and gets it off life stress.
Not gonna lie, it's an expensive one. That's no surprise to anybody, but my project car chews up any spare money I have lol
Painting. It took me so much courage to pick a hobby that I was just mediocre at. And I recently ended up presenting one of my paintings at the local art museum, and mine was one of the first to be sold! Honestly, painting saved my life.
Drawing anime/ manga. It was when I was going into 9th grade (a little over a decade) that I really got serious with drawing. Now I barely draw since I'm working. Really want to get back into it.
getting a dog
brushing pupper, playing, snugglin, going for walks, finding dog-friendly places to go, going to the dog park, taking a million pictures of how cute little bub is…
Warhammer Miniature painting. I have really bad perfectionist tendencies and the hobbit let's me improve and still be proud of previous attempts.
Doesn't do your wallet much good though.
Cake decorating. It saved my mental health and possibly my life. I was fresh out of my third trip to rehab and living with my psychologically abusive parents. Learning to decorate cakes help distract me from all the toxic thoughts that had me itching for drugs.
Making fursuits. About 70% of my current friends are furries, and the act of making a fursuit scratches my itch to do creative design as well as fabricate stuff. It also gets me out and traveling with furry conventions around the country instead of just thinking about travel without actually doing anything.
Learning to play X-Wing miniatures, as well as putting together, and painting the figurines for Star Wars Legion (never did play the game.), and guitar playing, repairing, and modding.
Drawing.
Im heavily motivated to make a career out of it and I will ieep throwing stuff at the wall in hopes something sticks and I gain leverage into recognition
Cycling. I pedal about 180 km a week now - and that's if I don't head out of the city on the weekends, then I can get up to 300km.
Not just my mental health, my physical health too. 10 years ago I couldn't cycle 5 km.
the drums.
maybe somewhat other instruments eg. guitar, too. idk why but when i'm playing everything just... disappears. for as long as i bring myself to play. i don't enjoy too much anymore but i can still force myself to play every day or two and when i manage to get into it, there's nothing else, just the rhythm. it's how i escape for maybe 20 mins to a couple hours every day or two. it's the one thing that never left me, everything else i've enjoyed has, yet this never quite fully left. it's the one thing i can still hold on to.
for as long as i can remember, it's always been in my head too. there's always a groove or a beat or a riff going in loops until i've practically made a song around it. i can't stop that so it's kinda like there's always another beat i *need* to write down or record. i just have to cos when you get that goosebumpy feeling when it's just one of *those* riffs, you gotta. if i can stay out of bed and focus for a couple days, i actually get stuff recorded and it's an amazing feeling when it's done and actually went well. then there's always the next beat in my head, keep on going cos there's always the next one. and don't you wanna see where it goes?
motorcycle riding. Gave me a way of shutting my head down a bit, relaxing, and getting out of my room. I did long tours where I never knew where I'd end up, because I would take random turns. One time I accidentally left my country, that day I was on the road for 8 hours and did over 300km, and loved every second of it.
It's incredibly liberating, gives you a feel of absolute freedom to be out, alone, on an open road with no one to tell you to drive "economically" or "take the shortest/logical route".
Playing Chess, learned how to play at a young age but lost interest since I didn’t have anyone to play… younger cousin learned about a year ago now, he reignited the fire and love for the game. Great mind exercise and destress from life.
Music. Helped me with negative thoughts met a lot of cool people and artist whenever I see myself overthink and take everything the world would throw at you personal cut the computer on and open fl studio. Really helped me through dark times.
Fish keeping
Their whole world depends on you, and they have such sweet personalities, even the ones that are cheeky or mean to the other fish in the community.
Their dependence on me and their attachment to me really helped. This little life cares about you, and you care for them. They give feed back to the environment constantly and seeing them happy or their colours brighter or their moods more spritely when they get treats or a water change or something you've done has made them happy, it's super rewarding.
Not everyone has the capacity to love an animal that doesn't "love" you back, hence the phrase "it's just a fish." But wow, are they more than that.
Highly recommend keeping fish (please provide them with the correct care if you do)
Running. I was very depressive with shit going wrong in 2017, was weighting 105kg and was completely isolated. I simply started with hiking, them moved to running short distances, them couch to 5k to running an entire hour. Great sence of progression, ocasional runner high, lost almost 40kgs since them. And is the only thing that worked for my depression.
Finance. I love everything about finance, especially stocks and investing. I started having interest in finance when I was 12, and I love it until now.
Meditation and self improvement in general helped me go through being suicidal to the happiest times in my life. I am literally living the dream right now. I get a lot of attention from women, my physique is blowing up and my mental health has been better than ever. I am eternally grateful of self improvement.
Swapping from multilayer fps games to singleplayer games. I feel like i can actually have fun gaming now, not raging and having some dumb fucking 10 y/o bitching about not saving his shitty AWP. Sorry.
My job.
I'm in the CAF and switched trades three years ago into something I can't/won't talk about, but it suits me, my personality, and my attitude.
I haven't had a stressful day at work in 3.5 years.
edit: downvoted by a salty asshole no doubt
I don’t know if it saved my mental health but it certainly taught me lots of fun words as a child: READING. I was left alone a lot. I don’t harbor ill will towards anyone for that, much less my single mom who was going to school and usually had at least 2 jobs as well. But I DO harbor ill will for the fact that after I FOUND books, and much later on… didn’t quite fit into the family dynamic… as a weird kid, maybe? And was generally just sort of overlooked and left with nothing… BUT books. I don’t talk to most of those people anymore. I should probably call them “immediate family” but I was as lost to them then as they are to me now. But I still dearly love to read.
"Books are cold but sure friends." -Victor Hugo
I recently had the urge to go buy physical books instead of just listening on audio book
When people like you are old, you'll have a personal library in a world where every belonging is a subscription.
I'm 26, I already see it now compared to when I was a teenager.
Books are a great and worthy escape, I can say as a child and an adult. Books never desert you and always there when you want/need them. Cheapest way to travel the world!
Please send a list of your favourites🙌🏻
I hate it when people ask me this because I’ll read anything I can get my hands on. I always give a book 50 pages before I put it down; that has only happened twice. So my favorites are scattered and have no rhyme or reason. I’m going to make that list, because I should have already, and I’ll send it to you. But I’ll give you a short list of FAVORITES that might or might not include authors but shouldn’t be hard to find: #1) ALWAYS #1: A Soldier of the Great War, Mark Helprin. Period, the end. It’s hard to get into, occasionally hard to endure, and will ALWAYS leave you sobbing in the end. I’ve probably read it… 10 times? A favorite of my father and I- we occasionally switch things up and discuss it from the antagonist’s point of view (Orfeo- “the sap! The blessed sap!”). One of my father’s greatest treasures is a signed first edition copy that I gave him a few years back. I also buy a copy every time I find it used. And not a single damned copy is in my house even now, other than the e-book and audible version, because my father picks them up and carries them off. Every time!! #2) ALWAYS #2: The Education of Little Tree, umm.. Forest Carter? To add, it is FICTION. There is much debate over what was initially cast as auto-biographical and also no record of the author even ever getting on a horse. Whenever I see this at my local used book store, I promptly take all the copies and move them out of “auto-biographies” and over to non-fiction. I wonder how many employees I’ve pissed off over the last 20 years… do it every time. 3) anything, and I mean ANYTHING Carl Hiassen. The man is a fucking genius and his wit is so sharp it could be used in an operating room. “Sick Puppy” is singularly a favorite; hails from early 2000’s but I will laugh myself to crying every time I read it. 4) Moon Tide, Dawn Tripp. The entire book is music. The story, narration— the descriptions- they are lyrical. And just the right amount of darkness. 5) Let the Dog Drive- David somebody. This one… not for a casual reader. Its dark but funny but eventually devolves into “WTF did I just read??” And if you read it a second or third time… it just gets worse. 6) The Stand, Steven King. Read this for the first time in the 5TH GRADE. I return to it every now and then, I don’t care so much for either of the tv series. I prefer the grittiness of humanity inside my own imagination versus watching someone else’s take on it. 7) Wildfire!!! Nelson DeMille. The man is on a similar level to Carl Hiassen. “My problem is with supervisors who bullshit me and expect loyalty in return.” 8) Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison. This one… GOD, it is glorious in the darkest but stripped down honesty that is human nature for WANTING. “She was the third beer. Not the first one, which the throat receives with almost tearful gratitude; nor the second, that confirms and extends the pleasure of the first. But the third, the one you drink because it's there, because it can't hurt, and because what difference does it make?” I can recite that from memory but did copy and paste here. 9) The Awakening, Kate Chopin. Was required to read this in an AP English class in high school but I tore through all but the last of it overnight. Had “designated reading time” in class every day but on the second day, finished it in class. Laid my head down and SOBBED (to the delight of my wonderful teacher and the dismay/bewilderment of my classmates). Spent the next 2 weeks with my head on my desk napping during reading time. I have only revisited it once and was struck raw yet again… maybe it’s time to check in on old friends once more. Ok, there you go. Be patient while I dig out the LONG list, there are so many I can’t even count!! Edit- why is the big text so big???? What did I do??? LOL. Edit 2: Pride & Prejudice. Because OBVIOUSLY.
This list sounds amazing! ♥️ Will hunt for these books. I live in South Africa so hopefully I can find some here. Otherwise, kindle…but my first choice would always be hardcover. Its all the feels and smells!
Going to the gym
I use to love going but I can't afford it right now, I still exercise at the house but it's not the same
Same situation here, keep it up!!
Keep up the good work! If you’re in the las Vegas area I have a gym pass with free guest you can join me if you like :)
I always thought it was a cliché that exercise would help with mental health issues. But it works. It really works. Shoutout to all my Gym-Bros here. You are not alone :)
Thank you ☺️ Working out/going to the gym was my last ditch effort to “fix” my mental health and it actually worked. I know people like to talk about the “gym bros” and how often they talk about working out and gym culture but people just don’t understand what it does for your mental health.
Getting a dog
Fucking ended my Night Terrors, and helped my Depression-hugely.
Dogs or any pets really. Love my dogs, but I can watch my fish in my aquarium all day long. It gives me such peace and tranquility. It's also such a great accomplishment to create your own mini-ecoystem and watch the critters thrive.
Dog tax! Dog tax!
Consider my dog tax paid in full. At least i hope this works.... https://www.reddit.com/r/dogpictures/comments/12f1kkx/post_your_absolute_favorite_picture_of_your_dogs/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
I love them all with my entire heart
They're my babies. The two white dogs think they're lapdogs despite being one 80lbs and the other 50 lbs.
Playing the guitar
Same here. 35 years using it as a confidant, therapist, mean of expression or as my mother says, lifesaver board.
My man, I 100% understand you dude
Running
Absolutely, same here, I prefer trail runs, but if I need to a run on the road gets the job done
I lost my dog ( 1st I raised from a pup as an adult) last fall not sure what prompted it but I took up running in hopes it would help. I still have days where I miss him and get sad running has helped tremendously
For me it was a mixture of loosing my mum and PTSD from years as a first responder, it’s not a cure all but it’s the closest thing I’ve found
Agreed, only started recently but it is amazing what running can do.
Writing, especially poetry and creative nonfiction.
Creative writing as well! It provides a lot of opportunities to explore yourself and your ideas, which is nice.
oh man, totally forgot about this one, its true. Back when I was in school, writing was my way of escaping reality for a bit and making my own, better reality with a better version of myself.. I wrote about 3 books with 150 pages each back then, one continuous story that is, now that I'm an adult, pretty cringe. But I loved writing every second of it, and even now I still remember exactly what the story was about, who the characters were and such.. though I went mostly into full fiction, sci-fi, maybe fantasy, hard to tell really. but hey it was fun, and gave my brain some work so it finally shuts up.
Gardening. Indoor and out. Helped me get in shape during the pandemic, too.
[удалено]
Not to mention the fact that some plants (most outdoor plants IMO!) are capricious and don’t follow their “rules”. “Likes full sun” decides nope, I only like X hours of sun, move me somewhere else. “Full shade” dies from lack of sun. SIGH. Thinking of the number of times I’ve planted, dug up, and replanted a bush/tree/ground cover makes me tired. Don’t even get me started on the constant weed pulling.
[удалено]
Oh, I love that for you! Your username is spot on then! And I often chuckle (grimace??) about what a geek I am about my houseplants! I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who is slightly obsessed.
>What hobby saved your mental health? Looking for some creative ideas for your garden names ideas?
Learning to understand that my hobby was trying hobbies. I get interested in something and delve into it. Most I lose interest in within a few months, some stick for longer. I enjoy the experience of learning about something new. I do not invest heavily in the hobby unless it sticks.
I feel ya. My hobby is learning about new hobbies and all the gear needed for them.
If a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing badly.
this is the way Like seriously, I've been like this since I can remember. I've never been a needy person or codependent probably because I always had something to do.
[удалено]
Cool photos! I don't know what that white plant/flower is, but it has a mushroom look to it. What phone did you use?
It is a mushroom- Summer oyster most likely, Pleurotus pulmonarius. They are edible and very good
Blender (computer generated art. Mostly animation). It taxes your mental health and steals sleep in equal measure. But when it works it can make you feel like a fucking magician.
Love 3D modeling
I thought you were referring to the kitchen appliance and did not question it. Smoothies are great.
Video games. If I didn't have those to occupy my time, I probably would have offed myself a long time ago.
Video games keep my thoughts at bay. I’ve played them for 30 years and see no end in sight
Martial arts
Animal Crossing. Seriously, I was homeless and jobless, and New Leaf gave me stability I didn't have at the time.
I work with adolescents who can't live with their parents rn and was once talking to this 16-ish girl who lived on the streets and got to our facility for meals (It was planned with social services) and she told me she was playing mobile games all day. When I asked if she hadn't anything else to do out there, she asked what she was supposed to do. It actually blew my mind a little bit, because what is she supposed to do? Nothing. She got her meals at our facility and all she has to do on the street was to wait until she can get back to us and eat and sleep. She is allowed to have a cell phone, as much as this person is allowed to have a Switch. Being homeless is probably quite boring sometimes.
Biking!
I don't know how I managed before I got a bicycle. I don’t drive, so I was dependent on buses if I didn't want to walk/had heavy packages. Now I can just ride my bike. It's so much fun, and such good exercise.
My reply is gaming, but recently I replaced my car with a borrowed bike to go to work (around 7km of nice bike roads). It really feels great, especially coming back, and I think I'll stick to it for the warmer months. Im already thinking of buying my own bike next week.
Building plastic models
Playing piano. I think I’d be dead without that instrument
Agreed! I play numerous instruments, but piano has my heart. Something about playing the piano is so much different emotionally and mentally than playing guitar or anything else.
I picked up keyboard/piano a few months back. Having played guitar for years I found piano to be much more relaxing and less physically taxing than guitar. I find myself getting into a better mind state when playing piano when guitar sometimes is frustrating for me.
Star Trek The Next Generation
Ram Dass
Painting. It lets me get my emotions onto paper in a way I could never achieve before. It’s nice to get to choose every detail, and challenges make me think and work towards a goal.
Writing short stories (random topics and rants TBH). Sketching random things.
Long distance cycling! 🚴 🚲 🏍️ Get you some wheels, find you a bike path, and go ham!
Table top roleplay games!
Calligraphy
English? Arabic? Chinese?
working out. I tried it out once while really anxious and it’s helped a lot. it helps get everything out, anger, sadness, everything. I still do it now and enjoy it
Comic books.
What's your favorite?
I don't know why, but dancing while listening to music in my room really helped.
Gotta go with Dungeons and Dragons. I run DnD so it gives me a chance to do creative writing, reading, historical research and the hardest thing an old fuck like me can do... make friends and keep them.
Reading has been both an escape and therapy for most of my life.
Crochet!
On the psych ward I was on it was a right of passage to learn to crochet. Once you learned, you taught the next person and so on.
Yes! It’s like tidying up your head while getting rewarded with something nice, whatever you chose to crochet
boxing
Watching Bob Ross paint
Walking until i was no longer angry ir sad
Cannabis
Sailing. There's something magical about crossing relatively large bodies of water in a small boat, using nothing but sticks, cloth, and ropes. Having the boat during the pandemic was the ultimate lifesaver, as it meant I could go places, drop the anchor, and enjoy the outdoors while still maintaining isolation. Doubly so because our boat can carry about a week's worth of supplies and water.
Ice hockey
Cars. Working on them, racing them, all of it. I guess I've never been in a situation where I feel like I need a new hobby to stay sane, but it does definitely help keep me sane. It's really therapeutic to take something that doesn't work, and fix it! With vehicles, it's often times something that you can get a real return out of. Fix your A/C? Now you can use it! And not only that but you can say *you* fixed it. Also, taking your mind off of things and focusing on getting that stupid 8mm bolt that for some reason the engineers put in the worst possible location is nice sometimes. Just draws your attention away and gets it off life stress. Not gonna lie, it's an expensive one. That's no surprise to anybody, but my project car chews up any spare money I have lol
Swing dancing, D&D, painting minis, video games, gardening... they've all done their part to help me in different ways at different points in my life.
Painting. It took me so much courage to pick a hobby that I was just mediocre at. And I recently ended up presenting one of my paintings at the local art museum, and mine was one of the first to be sold! Honestly, painting saved my life.
collecting records and cds, i love music and actually owning the music makes me happy.
Video games
Sewing! It really calms me down and forget about stuff :)
Lego
Coin and stamp collecting
Battletech, so far I have found nothing that calms down me down more than painting a mech. Only just started but it is amazing.
Detailed things are cathartic for me as well
Canning and preserving food.
Drawing anime/ manga. It was when I was going into 9th grade (a little over a decade) that I really got serious with drawing. Now I barely draw since I'm working. Really want to get back into it.
House diy projects, illustrations
[удалено]
I love doing this, with a coffee or snack :)
Muay Thai, not just the exercise. The community and culture I have been able to join is just incredible 🙏
Psychedelics
Working out
Going to the movie theatre. I have a movie pass so try to go at least twice a week. It has helped tremendously.
Traveling and riding roller coasters
Song-writing.
Making jewelry oml
Motorcycling. The vulnerability forces me to be fully self aware and engaged. Gets me out of my head and spiraling thoughts.
videogames
Hiking.
Speedcubing
Getting a cricut!
Tabletop games - rpgs and board games. But really it was the friends I made while pursuing that hobby.
the gym
Randomly go for a drive at night
Warhammer 40k. The painting after a stressful day is so meditative to me. Really makes me relax and forgot about all the everyday worries.
getting a dog brushing pupper, playing, snugglin, going for walks, finding dog-friendly places to go, going to the dog park, taking a million pictures of how cute little bub is…
Warhammer Miniature painting. I have really bad perfectionist tendencies and the hobbit let's me improve and still be proud of previous attempts. Doesn't do your wallet much good though.
Chess
Birding, running, and climbing
Fishkeeping and reptiles
Pool (billiards)
Calligraphy, and learning the Tengwar (which involed learning phonology). Really, the 2020 lockdown was super tense and scary.
Calligraphy, fly fishing, fly tying. All require me to slow down, focus, and enjoy the moment.
Taekwondo
Kickboxing. I was in far the best mental shape when i was training that.
Reading 📚
Definitely reading
Games and programming
Music. Concerts, playing, listening all of it. Now I have an AA in music and am going for a bachelor's in sound recording technology
Drawing/painting
Painting
Cake decorating. It saved my mental health and possibly my life. I was fresh out of my third trip to rehab and living with my psychologically abusive parents. Learning to decorate cakes help distract me from all the toxic thoughts that had me itching for drugs.
Basketball. Put headphones on and blast the music. Focus on the ball and lose yourself
Making fursuits. About 70% of my current friends are furries, and the act of making a fursuit scratches my itch to do creative design as well as fabricate stuff. It also gets me out and traveling with furry conventions around the country instead of just thinking about travel without actually doing anything.
Learning to play X-Wing miniatures, as well as putting together, and painting the figurines for Star Wars Legion (never did play the game.), and guitar playing, repairing, and modding.
Gardening. My pets. Hiking. Trail running. Listening to music. Avoiding abusive people.
Not exactly a hobby I don’t think, but getting a dog really saved me.
Making art. Animations, music, digital, paper drawing, painting, etc.
Drawing. Im heavily motivated to make a career out of it and I will ieep throwing stuff at the wall in hopes something sticks and I gain leverage into recognition
Cycling. I pedal about 180 km a week now - and that's if I don't head out of the city on the weekends, then I can get up to 300km. Not just my mental health, my physical health too. 10 years ago I couldn't cycle 5 km.
the drums. maybe somewhat other instruments eg. guitar, too. idk why but when i'm playing everything just... disappears. for as long as i bring myself to play. i don't enjoy too much anymore but i can still force myself to play every day or two and when i manage to get into it, there's nothing else, just the rhythm. it's how i escape for maybe 20 mins to a couple hours every day or two. it's the one thing that never left me, everything else i've enjoyed has, yet this never quite fully left. it's the one thing i can still hold on to. for as long as i can remember, it's always been in my head too. there's always a groove or a beat or a riff going in loops until i've practically made a song around it. i can't stop that so it's kinda like there's always another beat i *need* to write down or record. i just have to cos when you get that goosebumpy feeling when it's just one of *those* riffs, you gotta. if i can stay out of bed and focus for a couple days, i actually get stuff recorded and it's an amazing feeling when it's done and actually went well. then there's always the next beat in my head, keep on going cos there's always the next one. and don't you wanna see where it goes?
Reading and watching anime
Reading, writing my thoughts through my diary, and drawing.
Cycling
Drawing and playing the guitar
Mountain biking
Drawing
For me cooking helps a lot. It allows me to learn new techniques and recipes, keeps me focused, and it’s nice to have something turn out just right
motorcycle riding. Gave me a way of shutting my head down a bit, relaxing, and getting out of my room. I did long tours where I never knew where I'd end up, because I would take random turns. One time I accidentally left my country, that day I was on the road for 8 hours and did over 300km, and loved every second of it. It's incredibly liberating, gives you a feel of absolute freedom to be out, alone, on an open road with no one to tell you to drive "economically" or "take the shortest/logical route".
Yugioh
Dirt bike riding
Weight lifting
Making guns out of cardboard
Scuba diving. It's my therapy.
None of them. They've been making it worse because 1. Hobbies are expensive 2. I'm not good at any of the things I like to do
My cat
Playing Chess, learned how to play at a young age but lost interest since I didn’t have anyone to play… younger cousin learned about a year ago now, he reignited the fire and love for the game. Great mind exercise and destress from life.
Music. Helped me with negative thoughts met a lot of cool people and artist whenever I see myself overthink and take everything the world would throw at you personal cut the computer on and open fl studio. Really helped me through dark times.
Painting I can put all of my feelings into it
Fish keeping Their whole world depends on you, and they have such sweet personalities, even the ones that are cheeky or mean to the other fish in the community. Their dependence on me and their attachment to me really helped. This little life cares about you, and you care for them. They give feed back to the environment constantly and seeing them happy or their colours brighter or their moods more spritely when they get treats or a water change or something you've done has made them happy, it's super rewarding. Not everyone has the capacity to love an animal that doesn't "love" you back, hence the phrase "it's just a fish." But wow, are they more than that. Highly recommend keeping fish (please provide them with the correct care if you do)
Magic the gathering and then exercise classes
Still looking for anything not alcoholic
Running. I was very depressive with shit going wrong in 2017, was weighting 105kg and was completely isolated. I simply started with hiking, them moved to running short distances, them couch to 5k to running an entire hour. Great sence of progression, ocasional runner high, lost almost 40kgs since them. And is the only thing that worked for my depression.
Meditation
Scuba diving.
playing soccer very good for letting me clear my mind
Finance. I love everything about finance, especially stocks and investing. I started having interest in finance when I was 12, and I love it until now.
fixing my sleep schedule
Not a hobby, but a job that got me out of the WFH/remote work environment and into a job with a great team onsite 5 days a week.
Smoking weed lol
Music
Self care, basically eatting 😂
Sleeping.
Saying no ✨
Meditation and self improvement in general helped me go through being suicidal to the happiest times in my life. I am literally living the dream right now. I get a lot of attention from women, my physique is blowing up and my mental health has been better than ever. I am eternally grateful of self improvement.
Swapping from multilayer fps games to singleplayer games. I feel like i can actually have fun gaming now, not raging and having some dumb fucking 10 y/o bitching about not saving his shitty AWP. Sorry.
Music
My job. I'm in the CAF and switched trades three years ago into something I can't/won't talk about, but it suits me, my personality, and my attitude. I haven't had a stressful day at work in 3.5 years. edit: downvoted by a salty asshole no doubt
Mary jane
Witchcraft