Go Ahead, Pin It: Have A Hobby For Your Health
Handmade Jewelry
My hobby is making jewelry. I’ve learned to use different kinds of tools such as pliers, wire, beads, etc. to express my creativity, and I often give them as gifts to friends and family, and I also improve my health and learn about my own work ethic in doing so.
This is about more than the sheer satisfaction of making something and learning from what I like to do. While this is not intended to be an ABC after-school special on self-discovery, the things that people do in their spare time do matter and often shape their personalities for reasons that many people might not realize.
While life is filled with obligations such as school, a job of any kind, and taking care of yourself physically (eating, exercising, etc.), it’s easy for anyone of any age in any circumstance to feel overwhelmed and/or out of control. Health professionals from nearly every subset have found that focusing on unrelated activities to that stress and tension can bring people joy and be therapeutic, and as such those activities become a part of their identity. It’s best to illustrate this perspective with common hobbies that you might be participating in right now, or perhaps some that you might like to try.
Video games are incredibly interesting to watch and to play. Even though some may not consider it a “hobby,” it most certainly is, and a beneficial one for many reasons. Jane McGonigal, an author and game designer who participated in a Ted Talk about gaming in relation to the world we live in, describes video games as “the neurological opposite of depression.” Diana Vilibert, author for Care2Healthy living, cites McGonigal’s work, explaining that “playing games activates parts of the brain that don’t usually get activated when you’re depressed — the ones associated with motivation, learning and goal orientation.”
These effects are amplified when you involve another or others to participate, as participating in any activity with another person can help. In a study done by the Department of Clinical Psychology in the University of Zurich (that’s in Switzerland, for the Googler for whom the location of Zurich was on the tip of their tongue) it was found that “the combination of oxytocin and social support exhibited the lowest cortisol concentrations as well as increased calmness and decreased anxiety during stress.”
For long-distance friends, or really anyone, there’s an online game of Battleship where all you need to do is send a link to someone to participate in a game with them. It’s a simple game that allows anyone to connect with anyone they choose. Click here to try it out.
This is also to show that though a game can be complex and have a lengthy story attached to it, a short and simple game can also be effective. Let’s explain this another way. For a child facing impending surgery, researchers have been trying multiple methods to decrease anxiety, whether it’s having a parent in the room, an entertainer, or medication, but nothing was quite as successful as giving a child a hobby in the form of a handheld game. A good hobby helps to relieve the mind and slow [even stop] the cycle of attention and perpetual worry, and different kinds of video games (remember that there are multiple kinds, so do try more than one) provide different kinds of mental diversions that are more than able to break those cycles for a more optimistic outlook on life.
A very common and all-encompassing hobby is crafting, whether it is through music, photography, decorating something, or making jewelry like I do. CNN’s Jacque Wilson says, citing the work of an occupational therapist, “Our bodies are in a constant state of stress because our brain can’t tell the difference between an upcoming meeting with the boss and an upcoming bear attack. The repetitive motions of knitting, for example, activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which quiets that ‘fight or flight’ response.”
Any hobby that involves creating something can also help you learn more about yourself, help others learn more about you, and can give you a sense of accomplishment knowing that you’ve made something. When I have writer’s block, I like to pull out my big box of beads and wire and make a pair of beaded hoop earrings or a necklace. While I’m doing this, I’m relieving my mind of frustrations and concerning myself with creating a pattern. Because I have my hobby, I feel as though I review more of my writing more often and more thoroughly. Not only that, but I have beautiful new jewelry for myself or for family and friends, and I might have found a new method or pattern that I like.
Some readers may be aware of the brain’s release of a neurotransmitter known as dopamine. This release happens while doing an activity that is pleasurable. “Scientists believe dopamine was originally designed to make us repeat activities that would help the species survive, such as eating and having sex. Over time, we’ve evolved so that the brain can also release dopamine while we’re staining glass or decorating a cake” (Wilson).
For crafters, there’s creating a work, and the after-effects of that creation — when it is given to a friend, when it receives compliments, when the crafter sees it and takes pride in making it. According to Catharine Carey Levisay, a clinical neuropsychologist, each of these stages of the experience of crafting is like taking repeated hits of this natural antidepressant. Like video games, having a craft related hobby can provide greater motivation to tackle life’s challenges and disappointments.
Having a hobby or diversion of any kind helps relax tension in the mind, and focuses it so that it is better able to conquer life’s obstacles. Video games and crafting are two multi-faceted hobby-types that have been proven to help people from all walks of life in any set of circumstances, but that does not mean that one must limit themselves to those. Hiking, dancing, gardening, volunteering, visiting museums: there are so many options to consider. Take your best interests to heart, find enjoyable activities, and immerse yourself in them. You might learn more about your own personality by doing so.
Sources:
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/9-hobbies-proven-to-help-anxiety-depression.html
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/25/health/brain-crafting-benefits/
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/dr-meghan-walker/video-game-anxiety_b_8584134.html
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