6 Hobbies to Boost Mental Health
Hobbies have long been found to help improve mental health and enjoyment in life. If you don’t have something in your life that you do simply for enjoyment, chances are you aren’t feeling as fulfilled as you could be.
The beauty of hobbies is that they can be anything you want them to be, as long as they fulfill that one requirement – enjoyment. Technically speaking, a hobby needs to be something outside of your general activities of work, parenting, education, etc. However, even if you enjoy all those aspects of your life, having a hobby on the side is still essential.
If you’re struggling with your mental health or you just want to feel happy and have something to look forward to, read on for some suggestions.
Music
Music has proven to be a great way to boost your mental health. The rhythm of the sounds and the words you engage with can have a powerful and uplifting impact on your body and mind.
Listening to music is wonderful, but you don’t need to stop there: try learning to play it. Playing the piano has been a soothing way for me to relax through the years, and I have just begun getting back to it, recently. Even if you never become extremely skilled at playing an instrument, simply doing it can be beneficial.
If you love the sound of the piano, there are inexpensive keyboards that have that beautiful piano sound, even if you don’t want to invest in a piano. Writing music or lyrics can be fun, too. If you have a dream to produce your own music, the Morningstar MC8 midi foot controller alternative could be exactly what you need.
Dancing
Dancing is a fun, relaxing form of expression. You don’t need to be trained to dance, and you can dance any time in your own kitchen or bedroom. Allowing yourself to move to the music and get lost in the rhythm can be liberating and therapeutic.
Reading
If you want to forget the world around you, pick up a book. These days, you can read just about anywhere on any device. Reading is a perfect form of escapism.
Aside from exposing you to new worlds, ideas, and concepts, reading is also a way you can escape for a bit. Reading fiction can invoke a range of feelings, from pure joy to sadness, and if you want a way to help you process your own emotions, a powerful story can help with that. Nonfiction books can allow you become immersed in one of your interests, a period of history, someone’s memoir, etc.
Puzzle Games
Often, people struggling with mental health can become detached or despondent. Puzzle games or strategy games allow people to concentrate on solving other problems outside of their own.
Having to concentrate on a puzzle or develop a strategy to complete a game, be it crosswords, sudoku, chess, or absolutely anything, can be a great way to focus your mind. The sense of achievement this can bring can be enough to give you a boost and a sense of accomplishment. That, in turn, impacts your mental health.
Plus, brain games or games you need to think about are excellent for improved brain health and might help to ward off conditions such as dementia.
Exercise
Exercise is often touted as a miracle cure for people struggling with mental health, and while some people might misconstrue the message, it can be true that exercise will help with that.
Where some people go wrong is thinking you need to do a specific type of exercise or that it will instantly cure your problems from the very first session. It won’t. But, ongoing commitment to exercise can bring massive health benefits, both physical and mental. When you exercise, your brain releases endorphins, the feel-good hormones. While this might be short-lived after one session, if you commit to exercising regularly, you can improve your mental health alongside other beneficial changes and give yourself the support you need.
Exercise doesn’t have to mean going to the gym and pushing your body to its limits unless, of course, you want to; it can be as simple as walking. The exercise and enjoyment that walking outdoors offer you should never be underestimated. You could also try yoga, a dance class, aerobics class, or swimming.
Cooking
Cooking has long been proven to be beneficial to mental health. Not only does eating good, nutritious food make you feel better, but the act of cooking itself can offer emotional release, be relaxing, and give you confidence in your abilities. The more confident you feel when you do something, the better it is for your mental health, and the happier you will feel.
Pick up a recipe book, get in the kitchen, practice making new dishes, perfect your cooking skills, and see what cooking can do for you. In the end, you get to indulge in a delicious home-cooked meal.
I hope some of these suggestions give you the boost you need to spend more time doing some things you truly enjoy. You’ll get hours of enjoyment and might just boost your mental health!
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