I’m GeekMom Elizabeth and I have mild to moderate anxiety and depression. My journey in getting that diagnosis and in spending two and a half years in therapy is something that I have been pretty open about and even covered over a series of GeekMom articles. As anyone with either or both of these conditions will tell you, you don’t really cure depression or anxiety so much as you learn to manage it in a way so that the symptoms have as low of an impact in complicating your life as possible. Obviously, there will be times that this is easier to do than others. Due to circumstances out of my control, we’ve had a longer high stress period which means my anxiety is running higher than it usually does and my depression has started making guest appearances a lot more. In order to alleviate those symptoms, I tend to lean into certain hobbies and activities during those times. Here’s what my anxiety and depression friendly hobby list looks like.
Sitcoms for TV Shows
There was a time that I didn’t stray out of sci-fi fantasy shows for watching except The Big Bang Theory, but most of the characters in that show were geeks so it still sort of fit my theme. I think I just associated the genre in general too much with the Adam Sandler and Jim Carey movies of the 90’s and 00’s and I’m not a fan non-stop crude humor. Over the years some of my friends have let me know there’s comedy shows that are much more to my taste and I found those hitting my watch rotation a lot more. Sometimes I think you need a show that’s funny and non-threatening and just sort of fun. It’s not like they don’t have substance to them either as many more recent offering have shown. Lately, my watch list has included things like Young Sheldon, Schitt’s Creek (I think I rewatch it about once a year), Brooklyn 99, Only Murders in the Building, Abbott Elementary, and What We Do in the Shadows.
Humor and Romance for Books
My audiobook/drama of the year was clearly the very humorous Third Eye from Felicia Day backed up by a delightful cast. As for reading, I admit I’ve been leaning a lot more into Historical Romance. It’s always been one of my favorite genres, but when my anxiety and depression run high, I find I like that comfort of knowing in advance that the two main characters will be okay and that everything should work out for them in the end. Is it predictable? Yeah, maybe so, but during those low mental health points, sometimes predicable is exactly what you need and there should be no shame in that. If you think you might also be one of those readers that sort of self-soothes with a guaranteed happily ever after, just know that you’re not alone and there’s probably a pretty good reason for it too.
Cozy Video Games
In thinking back on things, I realize that except for a period of playing World of Warcraft with my friends pre-kids, I tend to have a particular taste for the sort of games I like to play, and most of them lean a lot more towards cozy games. I know a certain section of the gamer population tends to ridicule people that prefer cozier type games as not being serious gaming, but there’s a reason that cozy type games sell so well. Back during my therapy days, I brought up the kind of games I played and what they were about and my therapist noticed at the time they were games with a certain nurturing theme to them like Planet Zoo where you do something like create a zoo and are then in charge of the welfare of the creatures that live there. I realized at that time that my brain doers not like high stress games. I don’t do well with first-person shooters and I prefer something sillier in competitive games. Seriously, the best $15 Wii game my gaming group ever played on a night when too many people were out for D&D was this medieval themed Mario Party like game which was great for groups but also hit that right line between silly and fun.
So what cozy or lower stress games do I like to play? Like many people during the pandemic, my sanity was sponsored by Animal Crossing, and if they were still releasing updates, I would still be playing regularly. I still love and play Planet Zoo, but I also like games like Cities: Skylines, The Sims, and Palia. Palia is my favorite cozy little MMO and updates are released often enough to keep things new and fun but if I take a break from it at times, I don’t feel like I’m overwhelmingly behind. If a game has a lot of farming, exploring, crafting, and/or cute animals to it, I’m probably playing it or it’s on my wishlist. Games for me are supposed to be relaxing and fun, and so that’s what I pick. I want to reemphasize that there is nothing wrong if you enjoy cozy and/or open sandbox games to competitive games.
Crafting Activities
There’s been a lot of articles and research about the impact that art has on mental health. I’ve also caught a lot more chatter about various fiber arts and their impact on mental health as hobbies like knitting and crocheting seem to be on the rise. I cross stitch myself, and the past two months I have really worked on catching up with a few cross stitch projects that were partially done. I love that feeling of accomplishment, I feel like there’s something soothing about the repetitive motions in the stitches, seeing the little pictures and scenes come to life is so much fun, and I love the feeling of accomplishment when something is done. It’s easy enough that it’s not too mentally taxing where keeping up with things is overwhelming when I’m already overwhelmed. I’ve promised myself that I will continue learning to crochet this year because I want to be able to make cute little plushies and such.
I recently found myself teaching one of my kids how to to do different knots to make friendship bracelets. Once again, I found it’s one of those quick little crafts with a repetitive action that’s sort of soothing when anxious energy needs an outlet of some sort. Kiddo was also decently impressed at how quickly I can knot a bracelet when I properly get into the zone.
Coloring books are often a hobby I find myself circling back to. There’s a reason that coloring books for adults have become such a popular thing and once again, there’s a legitimacy to art therapy.
So if you’re struggling to find things to engage in during high times of depression or anxiety, I hope that this list has given you some ideas on things that might help. Take care of yourself!
