Hobbies offer stress relief from work, diversion

Everyone needs an interest outside of regular work. Hobbies provide pleasure and diversion from the boredom, tedium and hectic work patterns that many people experience.

Most people have at some time or other collected some objects or specimens such as stamps, coins, autographs, art, antiques, postcards, nature objects, or relics. Other people develop a talent. Photographers spend hours waiting for the right light and the right moment to click the shutter. Artists sketch, paint, and seek new ways to express their talent on canvas or in some other medium.

Hobbies can serve as a way of bringing family members together in a common endeavor. Learning some new and different skills can provide family members with an enjoyable and pleasant time, as well as open avenues of communication that may not be used during other times of the day. Family camping or backpacking trips are excellent means of diversion.

An often neglected topic in the area of stress management is the use of hobbies as an aid in helping individuals relax and find an escape from their hectic pace.

Some people who are perfectionists never develop a hobby they enjoy because they expect their hobby to lead to an end product equal to Van Gogh, Beethoven, or even Julia Childs. They set a goal of being No. 1 in work and in play. But a hobby should be something that we enjoy whether it produces accolades from anyone else or not.

If a hobby ends up feeling like work, it probably isn’t a hobby at all. Although a hobby may eventually become a source of economic gain, the approach to finding one should be for pleasure. The more a hobby interests you, the more pleasure you will derive from it.

A good rule of thumb to follow is to try to develop a hobby that is completely different from your line of work. For example:

A physician might find that farming, building fences, riding a tractor, or plowing a field are relaxing diversions from the day-to-day practice of medicine. Those who work in relative isolation may find being around groups of people enjoyable and choose to become scoutmasters or join a bowling league.

If you have no hobby or interest, this might be a good time to find one.

Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 2002