Snakeadelic
12-28-2015, 05:19 PM
I know a lot of people recommend having a hobby so you can focus on something unrelated when anxiety, panic, or depression get bad. I'm very interested in everyone's experiences with the benefits of hobbies! Mine include:
Rockhounding! LOVE IT. I belong to the local gem & mineral society, which meets monthly in winter and in summer there are meetings every other week AND field trips to good locations. Unfortunately, I'm about to be forced out of my apartment by a neighbor who refuses to respect the term "lethal allergic reaction" and who cannot be compelled to do so, which means many rocks I have found over the years must go (which I'm doing on a lapidary forum).
Wire Trees. I make twisted-wire trees with semiprecious gemstones and glass beads. Amazingly, despite the fact that they draw admiration everywhere they go, they seem to be 100% non-viable in the retail market :(. I had a display at a well-loved local beading supply store, 2.5 x 8 foot table right in the sun where all 76 trees and the little ceramic and glass containers I set them in would sparkle like crazy, for a month. One tree sold. My storage spaces are all so full that I'm leery of making any more, though they are an IMMENSE help with the arthritis in my hands.
Photography. Nature, wildlife, scenery, and stones make up the bulk of a photo archive numbering well over 140,000 images from almost 6 years. I sculpted tiny animals in polymer clay, and painted most of them, for 19 years but had to find something new when 4 of my fingers went numb. I can't hold sculpting supplies or tiny sculptures any more, but the camera has a lanyard.
Magic: the Gathering collectible game cards. Another herd that must be thinned now, under the heading of "people will be much more help moving me out if I reduce the number of heavy objects involved". Got most of that sorted out so far.
Writing! Love it! Decades ago, one of the best teachers I had in high school told me I might find significant stress relief in basically inventing people whose lives I could ruin at will, giving me an avenue for those emotions that would make me want to do the same thing to actual living people. I still work with the same character pool, and some of them have more complete personalities than a few of the friends I've had across the years.
Research. Yeah, what kinda fun could that be? Well, ever since I could read I've been a nature nut, so now I have a sizable knowledge base on things like taxonomy (what's related to what), ecology, biology, and probably a dozen relevant subtopics. Favorites include mineralogy, the genetics and histories of domestic animal breeds, and the ongoing welfare of wildlife. This is how I can spend HUGE amounts of time online when I don't have accounts with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, et cetera & ad nauseam. I have, however explained to two different medical professionals in the last month why their pet-quality dogs are REALLY COOL in terms of color & pattern genetics. One's a lilac sable Pomeranian, and the other a non-dilute red series merle that's supposedly a dachsund-chihuahua cross, but if there's any chihuahua in that dog I can't see it!
What do y'all do, and how does it help?
Rockhounding! LOVE IT. I belong to the local gem & mineral society, which meets monthly in winter and in summer there are meetings every other week AND field trips to good locations. Unfortunately, I'm about to be forced out of my apartment by a neighbor who refuses to respect the term "lethal allergic reaction" and who cannot be compelled to do so, which means many rocks I have found over the years must go (which I'm doing on a lapidary forum).
Wire Trees. I make twisted-wire trees with semiprecious gemstones and glass beads. Amazingly, despite the fact that they draw admiration everywhere they go, they seem to be 100% non-viable in the retail market :(. I had a display at a well-loved local beading supply store, 2.5 x 8 foot table right in the sun where all 76 trees and the little ceramic and glass containers I set them in would sparkle like crazy, for a month. One tree sold. My storage spaces are all so full that I'm leery of making any more, though they are an IMMENSE help with the arthritis in my hands.
Photography. Nature, wildlife, scenery, and stones make up the bulk of a photo archive numbering well over 140,000 images from almost 6 years. I sculpted tiny animals in polymer clay, and painted most of them, for 19 years but had to find something new when 4 of my fingers went numb. I can't hold sculpting supplies or tiny sculptures any more, but the camera has a lanyard.
Magic: the Gathering collectible game cards. Another herd that must be thinned now, under the heading of "people will be much more help moving me out if I reduce the number of heavy objects involved". Got most of that sorted out so far.
Writing! Love it! Decades ago, one of the best teachers I had in high school told me I might find significant stress relief in basically inventing people whose lives I could ruin at will, giving me an avenue for those emotions that would make me want to do the same thing to actual living people. I still work with the same character pool, and some of them have more complete personalities than a few of the friends I've had across the years.
Research. Yeah, what kinda fun could that be? Well, ever since I could read I've been a nature nut, so now I have a sizable knowledge base on things like taxonomy (what's related to what), ecology, biology, and probably a dozen relevant subtopics. Favorites include mineralogy, the genetics and histories of domestic animal breeds, and the ongoing welfare of wildlife. This is how I can spend HUGE amounts of time online when I don't have accounts with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, et cetera & ad nauseam. I have, however explained to two different medical professionals in the last month why their pet-quality dogs are REALLY COOL in terms of color & pattern genetics. One's a lilac sable Pomeranian, and the other a non-dilute red series merle that's supposedly a dachsund-chihuahua cross, but if there's any chihuahua in that dog I can't see it!
What do y'all do, and how does it help?