Why Hobbies can Improve your Mental Health (E67)

Happiness for Cynics podcast

This week, Marie and Pete talk about why hobbies can not only improve your mental health but they can also boost social skills and wellbeing.

Show notes

During the podcast Pete refers to Charlotte Hespe as being a chairwoman of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners when in fact she is the Director. We apologise for this error.

We also apologise for the incorrect use of feminine pronouns when referring to Professor Alex Haslam in this podcast.

Transcript

[Happy intro music -background]

M: Welcome to happiness for cynics and thanks for joining us as we explore all the things I wish I’d known earlier in life but didn’t.

P: This podcast is about how to live the good life. Whether we’re talking about a new study or the latest news or eastern philosophy, our show is all about discovering what makes people happy.

M: So, if you’re like me and you want more out of life, listen in and more importantly, buy in because I guarantee if you do, the science of happiness can change your life.

P: Plus, sometimes I think we’re kind of funny.

[Intro music fadeout]

M: And we’re back again.

P: Hello 😊

M: Hello 😊

P: How are we? How’s your work going, Muz?

M: Yeah, not too bad. How’s yours?

P: It’s, it’s bang in there, it’s back on the treadmill, you know, going hard going home. Actually I’m not going home.

M: Laugh! Just going hard?

P: Yeah, just going hard, two assignments due this week. So, bring on human anatomy and physiology, I’m already, laugh!

M: I’m kind of in a different head space where I’m trying to look after myself and have some downtime. I’ve just been running too fast for too long and I just need to add a bit of self-care into my week this week.

P: Oooh, lovely. Well, we’re very good at that.

M: Yes.

P: We’re good at prescribing that on here. I hope that we’re good at applying it?

M: Every now and then, sometimes I’m just too busy to do it.

P & M: Laughter.

M: This week, I’m feeling my resilience slipping.

P: Oh, what’s your self-care go to?

M: … Netflix.

P & M: Laugh.

P: So, you’re a Hygge person?

M: Yes, yes, yes.

P: It’s good weather for that at the moment.

M: Yes, it’s been raining and miserable hasn’t it?

P: Yeah, it’s been a good day to get out your… I was going to say galoshes.

M: My Uggs! Yes.

P: Get your tracky pants and watch cartoons.

M: Yeah, definitely.

P: But that’s not going to talk about today. We won’t talk about Hygge, we’ve done that one.

M: What are we talking about today?

P: Oooh, today we’re talking about… what are we talking about?

M: Hobbies 😊

P: Laugh, hobbies, yes.

M: And we’re talking about hobbies and the importance of hobbies on our mental health.

P: Oh, how many people forget their hobbies when they get out of school? Most people forget, they go to university [and] they drop all their hobbies.

M: I think, because when we get busy, we forget that we need those other things to create balance in our life and to keep our resilience.

P: Mmm, absolutely.

M: And one of the best things that you can do when things get tough is double down on your hobbies and sports and those other things, self-care activities.

P: Yep.

M: To help create that balance and to help you through busy times. Unfortunately, though, when we get to university and it becomes exam time or you get to work and you’re in your twenties and you’re trying to –

P: Yeah, trying to cranked it up.

M: – make a career for yourself. We drop those things.

P: We, so shouldn’t.

M: And it actually hurts your mental health –

P: It does.

M: – rather than help you achieve those career goals or study goals.

P: It does, very much. So, take that afternoon off. Go and play that tennis game or play some basketball, and I don’t feel bad about it.

M: Mmm hmm, absolutely. And it’s even more important, you know, we talked about it, university and exam pressure and then work pressure, but we’re in the of a global pandemic.

P: Yep.

M: I don’t think anyone’s forgotten that. Laugh.

P: No, not recently.

M: But it has severely impacted many people’s mental health. And a lot of the reasons why we’re not coping is that we haven’t been able to participate in our traditional hobbies.

P: Activities.

M: But there are so many other hobbies that you could replace it with. That may not be a first choice.

P: True.

M: But it’s still just as interesting and just as beneficial to our mental health.

P: Absolutely. It was very funny when my father died and we were concerned about our mother and my sister actually stepped up and said, Mom, you’ve got to find a hobby. And mum wasn’t a hobby person like she did things because she had to or she was expected to.

M: Mmm hmm.

P: She was very, very good at them and she found orchids. She became the orchid whisperer. She invested [in it]. She joined the local orchid society. My mother doesn’t like people.

M: Laugh!

P: And yet, she went over the orchids society. Admittedly, there are a couple of people that she goes ‘oh I don’t like that person.’

M & P: Laugh.

P: But you know, she took on this role of orchids and she got right into it. Now she knows people all over the country with orchids.

M: Ohhh.

P: It’s a big thing, who would have thought.

M: And you know what? She’s probably getting so much joy out of that, and such good benefits from a mental health perspective.

P: She talks to them. She does, she talks them. So, I think it’s actually really good from a mental health perspective. People probably think she’s batty, but she’s actually having a good old conversation. Laugh!

M: Gardeners do talk to their plants, don’t they?

P: It works because apparently oxygen is really good for plants, you’re supposed to talk to your plants.

M: Laugh! That would be carbon dioxide if you’re talking to your plants.

P: Oh, I don’t know, I’m not a science person! …much.

M: Laugh, then go ahead and talk to your plants.

P & M: Laughter!

P: I’ll just keep that in mind for my anatomy exam, laugh.

M: So obviously, let’s not forget that in times of stress and pressure, it is really also really important to keep regular patterns of eating, sleeping, hygiene and exercise.

P: Oh, very much, yes.

M: The four.

• So eat well,
• Get your eight hours of sleep –

P: Seven.

M: – or seven or nine, whatever it is that you need, I need nine.

P: Oh wow.

M: Or I don’t function. So yeah, I need sleep, yep. Anyway,

• Exercise, and
• hygiene.

P: Mmm.

M: Keep, keep yourself in check. Laugh.

P: Pluck and wax, laugh.

M: Not necessarily. But there’s something to be said –

P: Brush your teeth and all that sort of stuff.

M: I’ve had so many conversations with people who have been going back into the office about how it’s actually nice to put a bit of lippy on.

P: Oh, ok.

M: And to do your hair and actually feel presentable and nice about yourself. Put on a pair of earrings or something.

P: There was that wonderful movement in the middle of the pandemic when they hit last year, people mowing their lawns in ball gowns.

M: Laugh! I missed that!

P: Did you! It was every Friday, it was where your ballgown day!

M: Oh!

P: And people were mowing lawns and doing the dishes in these full-on like debutante dresses. It was hilarious.

M: I have to go google that.

P: There are images of it, very funny, yeah. People posting on social media it was great. Laugh.

M: So, if you are having a difficult time and you’ve dropped your hobbies, the research is showing that having a hobby is linked to lower levels of depression, and it may even prevent depression for some, and one of the things that people who become depressed often do is they withdraw.

P: Yep.

M: So, they stop doing things that they love. So, it makes sense to me, I guess, that what the research is showing is a way of preventing depression is to add these things into your life.

P: Get active, mmm. Definitely. There is a whole movement about this in the health circles as well. About a social prescription.

M: Yes.

P: And they talk about being the third tier of health. And it’s actually UK invention that’s been around in the UK for a while, and we’re kind of picking the ball up here in Australia. We’re starting to do it. GP’s are starting to push for it a lot more, and it has come out of a Brigham Young University report, which is about Loneliness and Social Isolation and the Risk Factors for Mortality. And this was done in 2015 and it quotes figures ranging from 30% in the UK to 50% in the U.S. of people who lack social contact, having higher rates of mortality than those who have good social interaction.

M: Oh.

P: Now the part of social prescription is getting people in touch with local community groups; that can be debate teams, orchid society’s, –

M: Laugh.

P: the local dance classes and getting people, [actually] prescribing them memberships to these organisations so they go and join, its like ‘you will go and you will be social!’

M: Laugh.

P: Can you imagine your GP saying that to you in the middle of the medical university. But the research shows that it’s actually really beneficial. It creates positive interactions. It’s a co design for non-clinical medical prescription. Black Dog Institute in Australia is very much for it.

M: Mmm hmm.

P: They’re very much about promoting it. It came about in the NHS [National Health Service] in the UK around the 1990’s in the Bromley by Bow Centre was one of the first ones in East London. And it was a non-medical referral system, the idea being that social connectedness became a community-based operation in an effort to prevent issues being a strain on the public health system. So the NHS in England, was saying, ‘We can’t deal with the influx, let’s bring in the community organisations.’

M: And this is so aligned to the positive psychology movement which says it is cheaper to have people proactively take care of their happiness and well-being rather than to fix it once it’s broken.

P: Exactly, it saves so much money in the health system going into mental health disease prevention, definitely.

M: And all that we’ve learned in the last 30 to 40 years with the positive psychology movement shows that you can take control of your happiness and your well-being, and you can influence it. So, having a hobby is such an easy way to safeguard against all of the crap that’s going on in the world today.

P: Laugh! Absolutely, yeah.

M: And whether it was to combat loneliness, like the studies that you’re showing or to keep your mind active and engaged in to help find purpose –

P: Yes.

M: – like we discussed last week, and meaning in your life; Or to help keep your mind active as you age and find a hobby that can, you know, make you grow and learn and continue –

P: Gives you tasks and new skills.

M: Yep, goal and achievement.

P: That that’s a really big way of offsetting… ageing diseases?

M: Dementia and Alzheimer’s.

P: Yes, neurological diseases.

M: Yep.

P: Sorry, I got my terminology mixed up.

M & P: Laugh.

M: Absolutely. So, having a hobby or being social, or if you can combine the two, we always talk about how they nearly always intersect. All of these activities it can be a real tangible way to avoid, they call it anhedonia, which is when people get depressed and they stop finding joy in things that they like. So, it’s a symptom of poor mental health. So, it’s about turning that around.

P: That’s a really easy measurement to check in with yourself, isn’t it?

M: Mmm hmm.

P: Am I still finding joy in decorating cakes or cooking the evening meal? Like if you did find joy in that, that’s a bit of a that’s a bit of a warning signal, isn’t it? It’s a bit of red flag.

M: Absolutely, and we all get bored.

P: Yeah.

M: Novelty is such a powerful thing. But if you do something day in, day out for years on end, of course you’re going to get bored if it eventually, unless you’re still growing in that activity and mastering a skill.

P: Yeah.

M: You know, cake decorating might be great for five years, but you might want to move on to playing tennis after that.

P: True, it’s a different skill base, maybe.

M: Or if you’re like me, just trying to keep a plant alive for more than a month.

P: Laugh!

M: So what hobbies do you have Pete?

P: What hobbies do I have?

M: Mmm.

P: Well, interestingly enough my blog, it turned into a hobby, so the blog was started as a business venture. It was started as a business development tool and for client engagement and all that sort of stuff. it turned into a hobby, I actually started enjoying reading about science and articles and then researching things in my basic understanding or way. And really, it kind of led me to going back to Uni.

M: Mmm hmm.

P: Because I decided, Hey, I’m actually learning this stuff, maybe I should take it a step further and do the next formal bit, which is going into formal training again.

M: Getting a degree, getting that piece of paper.

P: Yeah.

M: It’s funny how you spend so much time trying to get that piece of paper.

P: Laugh.

M: And then you never look at it again.

P: True.

M & P: Laughter!

P: The achievement is always there, you can look at it and go ‘ahhh’ [positive sigh]

M: It’s about the journey as we know.

P: Yes.

M: About the journey of learning.

P: Yes.

M: Absolutely.

P: My other hobby is cooking. I love cooking, like I love making a meal for myself, a 10:30 at night, if that’s the time that I’ve gotten home.

M: Mmm hmm.

P: Known to do a roast at that hour.

M: Yes, you have. I like them.

P: Laugh!

M: For me its writing and teaching.

P: Teachings a great one.

M: Yep.

P: Teaching brings so much joy and so much goodness because it ticks so many of the happiness boxes.

M: Mmm hmm. Yeah, absolutely. And so, the reason that hobbies are so good for our brain is that it effects the reward system in the brain.

P: Ooh yes.

M: Yes.

P: The limbic system.

M: So when we take part in a hobby that we enjoy, all the chemical messengers in the brain are released. So, dopamine, which helps us feel pleasure; All the feel good chemicals that make us want to do the hobby again and feel motivated to do so.

P: Mmm.

M: So this is why and I think we’ve spoken about the book Atomic Habits by James Clear.

P: Yep.

M: He talks about if you want to get more fit, find activities that you actually enjoy –

P: Oh, gosh yes.

M: Where maybe going to the gym isn’t your thing. But you really love having a chat with the neighbour. Have your chat with the neighbour as you walk around the block three times.

P: Yep.

M: And that’s going to actually make you want to do it. So, finding that thing, that hobby or that activity that you actually enjoy, don’t force it because you just won’t do it.

P: Exactly.

P: I’ve seen that firsthand with clients. When you give them exercises and they’re like ‘I’m not going to do that.’

M: Mmm hmm.

P: So, you’ve got to be creative. It’s like, Ok you got a baby, I want you to roll around on the floor with Bubs for 10 minutes a day.

M: Yep.

P: Get down and up off the floor. It’s being creative with that and I think that’s really important is finding that blend.

M: The other thing to remember is that getting started can be one of the hardest things when it comes to a hobby taking that first step and if you can just make yourself get there, then those chemicals will kick in that keep you going. But it’s getting yourself there in the first place. That can be really hard sometimes.

P: It’s hard to get going when you haven’t for so long.

M: Yep, absolutely. Or just, you know, to get up the motivation to just go to the gym or something. Again, going back to the more you can do to make it an activity that you enjoy, the more likely it is you’ll actually do it in the first place.

P: Laugh.

M: And then, of course, physical hobbies. If you have a hobby that can improve your fitness, there are so many benefits there, so many another thing, especially as you get older. We talked about cognitive functions, so playing a musical instrument can improve your memory and also artistic hobbies and board games and reading things that engage your brain in a certain way. They, again, can prevent dementia later in life.

P: There’s some interesting research supporting that dance is actually one of the best ways to assist with reducing the onset of dementia because you are using your brain in a way that actually includes movement. But you’re also interpreting music now that’s accessing the hind brain have got non-dominant side and that coordination of processing movement with the body. Plus, applying it to musical interpretation triggers more synapses. It triggers more involvement of the brain. And so that’s why dancing is so good because you’re using two different motor unit systems.

M: So, I guess that would be dancing in a structured way where you’re learning patterns and learning new ways of dancing.

P: Yes, yes. It is the learning of the patterns, unfortunately. Improving and going off on the dance floor. Still good, maybe not as good as learning some salsa or some waltzing or some contemporary dancing.

M: I learned the Pride of Erin, laugh.

P: Oh, yeah. You can turn the Pride of Erin into a 100 metre sprint. My sister did it at her deb[utante] ball, it was hilarious.

M: Laugh. I did mine at the deb ball as well. Does anyone ever learn the Pride of Erin any other time in their life?

P: I can still remember 1 2 3 kick, back 2 3 kick, 1 2 3 turn around, back 2 3.

M: Yes!

P: There we go! Laugh. My education wasn’t wasted, laugh.

So, just for all those cynics out there, this is an opinion and a way forward that is being supported by the medical practitioners. We’ve got Charlotte Hespe, chairwoman of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. She’s out there calling for the conversation to go forward with social prescribing and getting people being more social, to prevent mental health and physical health from becoming an issue and a strain on the public health system.

M: Mmm.

P: This is also supported by Professor Alex Haslam, who is leading Australia’s investigation into the social indicators in relation to health. She thinks, I can quote her saying that all the research shows that “a lack of social integration and support are the most important determinants of mortality, we found that people tend to see them as among the least important.”

So, if you’re cynical about this line of reasoning, don’t be because the science says it’s not right.

M: And otherwise, you’ll die!

P: You will die! Laugh.

M: Which is what we always circle back to.

P: You, shall not pass!

M: So really, again it comes back to, you know, the three foundations that we keep talking about:

• Strong social connections;
• Finding purpose and meaning; and
• Healthy mind and body.

And really, a hobby can satisfy all three of those and bring all of the science together.

P: Really and it’s fun. Hobbies are meant to be fun. I challenge people to go back to a hobby they haven’t done for 20 years, if they can. If your hobby was rock climbing, maybe you can’t do that. If you’re a 75 year old person.

M: I challenge that!

P: Ok.

M: Do it safely.

P: Laugh. But how many of us have gone back to a hobby? I went back to volleyball after 17 years of not playing, maybe there’s something that we could challenge our listeners to do. Try and find a hobby that you did as a kid. It could be, choose your own adventure. Remember those? They were fun, laugh.

M: You know what I found the other day? You know those murder mysteries where you host a dinner party and you’ve got to work out who done it?

P: Laugh, yes.

M: I actually bought one at the hobby shop the other day.

P: Oh, they’re fun. I think I did one recently to be honest and it was, it was really fun. Yeah, it’s good.

M: Absolutely.

P: It’s play acting and that’s social. But you could, you could even do that in covid time.

M: Absolutely. And I think that that is the point to come full circle back to the fact that we’re in a global pandemic. And it’s time to re-engage with hobbies that you might have enjoyed in the past, or try new ones as a way to balance out the negative mental health impacts of the pandemic.

P: Yeah, I couldn’t agree more.

M: Definitely.

P: Get out there and find, find those old things that you used to enjoy, do it!

M: Or new things.

P: Yes. Say yes, you know the whole concept about saying yes?

M: Maybe we need to just have a week of saying yes?

P: Yeah, that could be a way of doing it. You never know what you’re going to get yourself into.

M: Absolutely. Or just go to Google and Google hobbies, there’s so many interesting things out there and find the weirdest and wackiest one.

P: Laugh!

M: And give it a go.

P: That could be dangerous, laugh.

M: Or find a buddy and go through a list together of 10 new hobbies that you’re going to try this year.

P: 10! Oh my lord, laugh.

M: You don’t have to commit to a whole year of doing it. You just have to try.

P: Okay, alright. Ten new hobbies for a year, let’s start them now.

M: All right. Deal.

P: On that note, we’ll see you next year.

M & P: Laugh!

M: And… That’s the end of our podcasting.

P: Laugh!

M: All right, Have a happy week everybody, we’ll see you next time 😊

P: Bye 😊

[Happy exit music – background]

M: Thanks for joining us today if you want to hear more please remember to subscribe and like this podcast and remember you can find us at www.marieskelton.com, where you can also send in questions or propose a topic.

P: And if you like our little show we would absolutely love for you to leave a comment or rating to help us out.

M: Until next time.

M & P: Choose happiness.

[Exit music fadeout]

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