What is a good hobby for a depressed person? : asklemmy
What is a good hobby for a depressed person? : asklemmy
cross-posted from https://lemmy.world/comment/2024416
@foggy@lemmy.world advocates for hiking for health:
Hiking.
I cannot stress this enough.
One of the biggest loops of depression is feeling anhedonic and drained of energy, which keeps you from doing stuff, which keeps you anhedonic and drained of energy.
Go for a hike literally every single day for a whole month. Rate your depression on a scale of 1-10 every day a week before you start, every single day during, and then every day for a week after. You'll see the trend, and hiking will be your new antidepressant.
It's easy. It's walking. It's not competitive, you can go hilariously slowly and still accomplish your goal. You can add hobbies to this hobby, like photography or bird watching. You're probably not getting enough exercise, and being depressed all the time blows.
If you're nerdy and depressed, you may have heard about EMDR, where you sway your eyes back and forth rhythmically while you think about trauma. The doctor who came up with the treatment (that's showing crazy good results) went down the rabbit hole they went down because they noticed walking in the woods helping their depression. They currently think the mechanism has something to do with bilateral stimulation (walking) and constant reframing of your perspective (tree on my right, tree on my left, rock on my right, rock on my left).
Other physical activities are great too, but hiking seems literally taylor made for the depressed.
Do you struggle with anxiety and destructive ruminative thought patterns? Guess what you won't have the energy to do when you're panting for air?
Hiking is a legit way to maintain depression indefinitely. Don't get cozy, though. take a break and your brain will find its way back to it's old antics.
Definitely recommend hiking. Due to dumb meatspace obligations I can’t go every day but I do go every week. In my case, it helps that I live in Colorado and there are open space areas and parks slap in the middle of the city I can enjoy anytime without traveling more than 3 miles. I’ve made a small equipment investment (Camelbak, boots) and received a massive return on investment mentally.
That's great, you're fortunate to live near so much great space, but you are also choosing to make the time to get out and see it. Any favorite spots?
I usually have my kiddos with me so for the most part we go to Palmer Park in the Springs, they love it. Since they’re still small dudes we keep it under 5 miles but I’m planning on hitting Barr so I can do my first 14er this year and summit Pikes Peak.
Hiking.
I cannot stress this enough.
One of the biggest loops of depression is feeling anhedonic and drained of energy, which keeps you from doing stuff, which keeps you anhedonic and drained of energy.
Go for a hike literally every single day for a whole month. Rate your depression on a scale of 1-10 every day a week before you start, every single day during, and then every day for a week after. You'll see the trend, and hiking will be your new antidepressant.
It's easy. It's walking. It's not competitive, you can go hilariously slowly and still accomplish your goal. You can add hobbies to this hobby, like photography or bird watching. You're probably not getting enough exercise, and being depressed all the time blows.
If you're nerdy and depressed, you may have heard about EMDR, where you sway your eyes back and forth rhythmically while you think about trauma. The doctor who came up with the treatment (that's showing crazy good results) went down the rabbit hole they went down because they noticed walking in the woods helping their depression. They currently think the mechanism has something to do with bilateral stimulation (walking) and constant reframing of your perspective (tree on my right, tree on my left, rock on my right, rock on my left).
Other physical activities are great too, but hiking seems literally taylor made for the depressed.
Do you struggle with anxiety and destructive ruminative thought patterns? Guess what you won't have the energy to do when you're panting for air?
Hiking is a legit way to maintain depression indefinitely. Don't get cozy, though. take a break and your brain will find its way back to it's old antics.
In other news, I can’t figure out how to cross-post a comment in a straight-forward way
Running. A lot of people find peace through this
sign up for the survival reality show, like "naked and afraid", or "the island"
see if your surviving instinct is much stronger than your depressed one