I would probably say that any interest or hobby that you are enthusiastic about, is worth its weight in gold for your emotional health. This post will feature three that we tend to see over and over again in the research as contributing to sustaining optimum emotional health:
- Walking. Walking is probably our most natural form of exercise; we are moving forward (optimal to growth, what a wonderful way to make that concept physical!) When we walk outside, and in nature, we have tripled its effect; we are able to absorb the calmness of our surroundings, allowing our minds to simply process what needs to be worked out. We reset our system with even a daily, 10 minute walk.
- Gardening. There is just something about gardening that is therapeutic. Perhaps it is the act of literally “grounding” ourselves in dirt, perhaps it is the feeling of helping something to grow that contributes to an overall sense of well-being. Gardening brings us a sense of feeling settled and accomplished.
- Writing. Over and over again, we hear how journaling can lead to healing. When we write, we automatically use both the left and right side of our brain, we are releasing our thoughts and feelings onto the paper, and we often find the much needed tears in the forming of a letter to someone who has hurt us (as an aside, it is often the writing of the letter that truly heals us, not the sending of it.)
Tomorrow we will look at three more hobbies that we can consider when working towards optimum emotional health.
Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@sincerelymedia