You’ve heard it before. I’ve heard it before. I’ve said it before. We all know that mental health matters but that only gets us so far. How can we work on our mental health? What proactive steps can we take? What’s the difference between protective and reactive strategies and why does that matter? That’s what today’s episode is all about!
When we look at strategies, they are either proactive or reactive. Proactive is something you do ahead of time to try and ward off a problem. Reactive is something you do after the problem has happened. Let’s take a real-life example: hangovers. Most people who consume alcohol have experienced a hangover at some point in their life. Most people don’t set out with the goal to have a hangover, but the lack of proactive strategies can land you there.
When you use proactive strategies when drinking, you are more likely to avoid a hangover. Proactive strategies can include limiting the number of drinks you have, drinking water between each drink, eating a meal before drinking, and other measures meant to help you not feel as many effects.
When you dive headfirst into drinking too much and end up with a hangover, that is where reactive strategies kick in. Think taking alcohol, eating greasy or whatever your version of hangover food is, copious amounts of coffee, and spending time on the bathroom floor. If you have been there, that sucks. Now let’s take that same concept of proactive and reactive strategies and apply it to your mental health.
A proactive strategy is something you do to try and help manage your mental health, whereas a reactive strategy is what you do after your mental health has slipped. I can do a future episode on reactive strategies that I use but today, we are focusing on proactive strategies. That might sound complicated but really, I’m just talking about hobbies!
So what is a hobby? It’s any activity regularly done during spare or leisure time that is done for your enjoyment. The activity can be relaxing (reading) or high-energy (playing sports) but the purpose of it is to be pleasurable. It’s not for work. It’s not required. It’s just because you want to do it
You might be wondering why I explained that. It’s because I thought hobbies were complicated. I thought I had to spend a ton of money, find a group, and drive to a location for it to be a hobby. I didn’t really think the simple things I did at home like reading a book counted. I saw reading as a waste of time during a busy life, so instead of reading a leisure book, I overworked myself. I thought I had to be productive all the time. That only hurt my mental health in the end. Hobbies are whatever you want them to be and they are crucial to your overall well-being.
Research shows that hobbies lead to reduce stress, enhanced well-being, improved social connection, decrease depression and anxiety, and improved mental health. I cited an article from Utah State Unversity and have it linked in the show notes. It summarizes some of the benefits of hobbies but here is a recap of the research:
- Reduced Stress: They cited a study that showed 75% of participant’s cortisol levels (a hormonal marker of stress) was lowered after making art
- Enhanced Well-Being: They cited a New Zealand study that shows that creative activities lead to a sense of enhanced well-being. The participants felt a higher positive affect and sense of flourishing after days where they complete a creative activity
- Social Connection: If you struggle to initiate and maintain friendships, group and team hobbies (book clubs, recreational leagues, etc) can help you feel more connected
- Mental Health: Research shows that hobbies can lead to fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety. Even 10 minutes outside can help with your mental health.
- Physical health: Hobbies that include physical activity can help reduce blood pressure and lower your heart rate
Need to make time for your hobby? Here are some ideas
- Build it into your everyday routine for 10-20 minutes (going for walks, reading a book, playing a video game)
- Carve out a chunk of time during the week (playing on a volleyball rec team, painting a picture, baking a cake)
- Have long and short versions of the hobby (we like to hike. We have some trails close to our home around 1-2 miles. This is great if we have just a weekend morning free. We have other trails that would take an hour to drive to and are 3-4 miles. This is better if we want to spend the whole afternoon outside)
Still don’t have time? If you have an iPhone, take a look at your screen time (under settings). You might be surprised at what you find. I analyzed my data and got data from three different friends as well (Ashely, Kim, and Kayla). We all have very different lives and yet each of us had time we could pull to a hobby instead.
My point is I’m not telling you to ditch social media! I literally tell my husband “it’s my ticky tok time” and he knows I get to go on the app for 45 minutes. But I also wanted to show you that if you really really want to start a hobby, that’s a great place to go search for some time in your schedule.
Need some ideas for hobbies? I do have a couple of ideas for 4 different vibes. Click on the image below to download the printable sheet!
