It’s grand to have a hobby, something you can make progress with, learn from and keep you focused on, but I want to talk about hobbies that are good for anxiety.
Sometimes hobbies that are good for anxiety can relax us after being around people all day or they can bring us towards like-minded people when we struggle to make friends.
Sometimes, a hobby can even help our anxiety by encourage us out of our comfort zone.
So, which hobbies are good for anxiety?
10 Hobbies That Are Good For Anxiety
Photography
I’ve talked about being a photographer while having social anxiety before on this blog but I really do believe it’s a brilliant hobby to have.
It helped my anxiety in such a way, that I was able to do it professionally.
The greatest thing about photography, is that there are so many subjects to choose from.
You also don’t have to be massively social. You don’t have to photograph people, but if you do, you tend to end up feeling more confident with a camera in your hand.
If you’re photographing landscapes or nature, it can help give you a little motivation to leave the house and take some long walks in fresh air, which is excellent for your overall mental (and physical) health.
If you want to try your hand at portrait photography, it will give you a push to work with people and build your social skills.
Gardening
There’s something really chill about gardening. Being outdoors in the fresh air, you can recharge and get some Vitamin D at the same time, which would be great for days where you’re recovering from being super sociable or you need to focus on something to distract you from anxious thoughts. Here’s a list of ideal plants to grow indoors if you don’t have a garden.
Even better if you can grow your own veg and put healthy nutritious food in your body.
Walking
Personally one of my favourite things to do to clear my head and make me feel more relaxed, confident and strong. Taking long walks and hikes helped my mental health in so many ways at the darkest times in my life.
Try using a fitness tracker and hitting a step goal every day, surround yourself with trees, somewhere away from buildings and people.
Crafting
Crocheting, making your own clothes or jewellery; Anything crafty can be a great distraction from your anxious thoughts going wild and can be deeply relaxing.
Writing
I’ve talked about how much writing this blog has helped me but I really do think that if you enjoy writing, it can be extremely beneficial to your anxiety and overall mental health.
It’s such a lovely, creative way to process your thoughts and feelings, especially if you write specifically about your experiences and if you choose to share your writing publicly, you can help so many people who are in a similar boat.
The art of journaling is also becoming increasingly popular due to its mental health benefits. Faith from Radical Transformation Project has some great journal writing prompts on her blog to get you started.
Art
Another really relaxing and creative way to process your feelings through a hobby.
You can paint/draw or digitally illustrate pieces that reflect your anxiety and experiences or you can just learn a new skill and use it as a way to escape every day life.
Reading
This is not something I ever do, I’m ashamed to say. Unless articles I found on Pinterest or other blogs count? I’ve heard reading books is very relaxing though! Maybe one day, I’ll give it a try.
Exercise
Any exercise is good for anxiety and stress relief but Yoga is up there at the top for many people with anxiety. Yoga with Adriene was recommended to me by someone following this blog, as she has lots of yoga videos specifically for anxiety.
Boxing can also be ace for relieving all the tension and stress that anxiety causes. Imagine having an awful day and then beating the crap out of a punching bag?! Yes please!
You could also try swimming, which is a good all-rounder or maybe an exercise class where you can meet new people and step out of your comfort zone a little.
cooking
Cooking is another one of my favourites hobbies for anxiety. Yes, it can be stressful when it’s a chore, but when I’m cooking for fun I find it very therapeutic.
Even when it is a chore, as soon as I actually start cooking, I don’t want to stop.
There’s something really satisfying about chopping vegetables and seeing a recipe come together.
The food you eat can also affect your mood. So cooking healthy meals from scratch is also good for your overall mental health, as well as being a hobby.
Playing an instrument
Especially if it’s the Drums! You can relieve so much stress and anxiety playing the drums (I used to have a kit in my room as a teenager) but if it’s another instrument, it still has the potential of being therapeutic.
What are your favourite hobbies that are good for anxiety? Let me know in the comments!
Related:
5 Methods I Used To Overcome Social Anxiety Disorder
7 Questions To Ask Yourself When You Are Feeling Anxious
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Great post!! I’ve been getting more and more into gardening lately and love watching my plants grow :).
That’s great Jessica 🙂 I can’t wait to get a proper garden (we’re looking to move) so I can spend time out there xx
Thanks so much for the shout out! I love your blog and everything that you’re doing. II was so excited to see my blog mentioned in this post!! <3
These are really great suggestions! Some of them, I already do and others I think I might try sometime! Thanks for sharing!
Reading is my go to when I’m really anxious! Helps me escape reality for a little while and calms my brain from the one thousand and one thoughts bouncing around by making me focus on one thing.
That’s brilliant Chloe! I totally wish I could read more, I suck at it because my attention span is pretty rubbish but I watch movies a lot instead, with my headphones on, so I can escape for a while 🙂
I started journaling again with the encouragement of my therapist and also using a colouring for therapy app. I think it’s helped me be a little more present and kind to myself. Anyways this was a great post. Keep up the good work. Love this stuff…much needed in todays world
Oh that’s really good to hear Joseph! Hope the therapy is going well 🙂
Very helpful. Will save pin and try. thankyou
For sharing.
I agree with all of those. Walking, exercising and just getting fresh air really helps me out a lot.
It’s amazing what a bit of fresh air can do for your mental health 🙂
I am so glad that I ran across your website. It is such a comfort to know that there are others like me. I don’t feel so alone and at times paralyzed. I have suffered from anxiety and depression for years, but I am just now trying to get the help I need. Hopefully one day I can live a full, worry less happy life. Thank you for having the courage to post your struggles in being your true self
I really hope you can Karin, all the hard work is so worth it and I’m so glad you are trying to get help.
Great article. I would also suggest meditation and breath work. Take care Heather
As a singer-songwriter, when it comes to my anxiety, I sing and let it all out. And if I can’t find a song that express my anxiety at the moment, I write one. The only time this doesn’t work is when I’m having a panic attack. I’m glad to see creativity being a suggested outlet for anxiety.
I’ve just started to learn to play the ukulele, which I have to concentrate and need to do each day to harden my finger tips up, so find this a great help. I also like colouring in, love the results. Jigsaws are another good way if becoming fully absorbed in something. Thanks for the article.
Ohh jigaws are good for anxiety for sure, I love any kind of puzzles to distract my mind. And wow the Ukulele, that’s amazing!
I love this post so much! All of your tips are great! The idea of gardening is my favorite. Unfortunately, I live in an apartment so I can’t plant a garden but I do want to start a mini indoor garden hehe 🙂 I’d love to grow a veggie garden one day when I buy my own home, though!
Writing and blogging helps my anxiety SO much as well. I was having pretty bad panic attacks last week and working on my blog relieved a lot of stress. Listening to and playing music is another great hobby. I personally enjoy making playlists and playing songs on my guitar. 💛
Fantastic post! Thank you so much for sharing all of these awesome hobbies!! x
A mini indoor garden sounds amazing! Indoor plants are useful for so many things. And I’m glad writing helped relieve some of your stress, I can definitely understand that 🙂
This post was really helpful for me. Thank you for putting out the amazing content.
These are some great ideas, some of which I’ve tried myself like reading, writing my blog, walking and photography. But I think I’d enjoy doing something artsy or creative too.
I love the suggestions but where’s number 10?
Photography
Gardening
Walking
Crafting
Writing
Art
Reading
Exercise
Playing an Instrument
What comes next?
Whoops! I’d updated the post a few months ago and must have deleted a block by mistake. I’ve added it back in 🙂
What is number ten?
What a lovely post Kel. Thanks for sharing.
Tilly.
I do a few of these. I’m do Muy Thai, you’re totally right punching a bag is very cathartic. I just started writing a blog it’s definitely helping my social anxiety.
I think any creative hobby is good for stress in general. You can look up “list of creative hobbies,” and you’ll find a lot.
Other than that, personally I like to do:
1. Reading / Writing
2. Puzzle games / Puzzle apps
3. Board games
4. Card games
5, researching all the details of geeky fandoms of TV shows and novels. Not just the details, but all the theories, reviews and analysis of different fandoms.
6. Nerdy documentaries / Books (Though I know it’s not always people’s idea of “fun” to read a book on physics or chemistry, but still, I think it’s important to recognize having fun doing something which is not socially accepted as “fun” is still important)
7. Watching history videos online. They can make it much more exciting than your history teacher likely did it. Look up “Extra History,” on YouTube, for example, or “Crash Course World History,” for another. Looking up “educational videos,” on YouTube, they tend to make it more fun (for some) compared to a normal school class, such as Vsauce with his fascinating oddball facts, and Smarter Everyday that includes a lot of science experiments with a lot of explosions involved.
8. Watching videos on dog training, and attempting to do it with my pet buddy, but I’m not good at it as a professional trainer. Even if I don’t use the advice, watching animal training videos is just oddly relaxing. I like Zak George’s YouTube channel for this, and there’s this habit of choosing a different animal each time to look up fun facts on online.
9. Rucking. This is walking, running or hiking with a heavy backpack involved, which is a practice from the military, though of course, I don’t do it for 3 hours for 12 miles like they do. I often pace around when I worry, and so I just decided to incorporate this when I have my “worry walks,” to make it a bit more physically demanding. I add my books into an average backpack, really.
10. Watch comedy shows, web comics and books. (Search mental health web comics for example). I’m told I was always good at making silly jokes, even if I don’t believe it sometimes. It’s just for much of my life, I said those jokes to myself alone as an inside joke, but after laughing for unexplained reasons suddenly with other people around, people had to ask what in the world am I laughing about. So I guess. . . I’m learning to show that side of me more. Even just looking up jokes online is simple enough, or at least it works for me because I can laugh at the dumbest things.