Link – Fighting Depression With Hobbies Like Photography

Many of you already know that I love photography, so clearly when I saw a link to this article, I was immediately intrigued. There’s much to agree with here.

First I will be honest. There are periods of time when depression makes me feel like hobbies and interests are meaningless to engage in and anxiety frightens me too much to even consider pursuing them. I feel selfish for choosing to spend time on something I enjoy, as if I’m not worthy of it and should instead give all my time for the benefit of others first and always. Or anxiety hits with its fake reminder people will talk down and hate me for doing it. What could be a more perfect barrier?

 

However, there are those days and moments when my strength is a little more on the plus side of things. This is when I really miss being out shooting pictures with my camera. What I’ve learned is I need to pay attention to those emotions and act on them. If I can manage to get out of the apartment with my camera in hand there’s so much to be gained.

Andreas then goes on to talk about the benefits of going outside, walking around etc. Those are true, but I think there’s a simpler reality at play.

I think the simple act of doing something that you like, JUST BECAUSE YOU LIKE IT, is the exact opposite of what our depression tries to tell us about ourselves. Depression tries to convince us that nothing is worth doing, that we won’t enjoy anything, and there’s no hope of us ever feeling good about anything. If I can find something that consistently shows me the opposite, I’m going a long way towards fighting that, and the more I do it, the less effective those lies are going to be.

Of course, there will still be days we can’t, or won’t, have the strength to get up and be involved in a hobby, but the more we can, the more “normal” we’ll start to feel about our lives.

https://themighty.com/2017/02/fighting-mental-illness-with-photography-depression/