Hobbies to fend off stir-craziness

[Baratus]

Been a player of video games and lover of DooM for all my life, and that's not going to change. Still, I'm a bit of a social recluse and don't spend a lot of time trying new things and I think it's taking a toll on my general well-being. I find myself with very little to do and very little energy and motivation to try to do something about it. I guess I'm looking for suggestions on how to lead a more interesting life.

 

It might be completely counter-productive to ask on a Doom discussion board, but I'm sure some of you have a life outside of playing Doom. What can a person do besides eating, sleeping and playing Doom to stave off any feelings of monotony?

[Misty]

Well you can always start to do such things like:

• Getting job/studies(they can be on the net)
• Writing book
• Create midis or music overall
• Draw stuff
• Adopt animal from shelter, so you would care not only about yourself
• Stream gaming
• Do workout 
• Start mapping for games
• Learn how to make more interesting dishes.
• Try go outside of your place to look how everyone rushes to live everyday each minute. 

Not sure what I can add more. These are just common ideas, but it could help shrug off some monotony. 

[Nine Inch Heels]

1 hour ago, Baratus said:

I'm a bit of a social recluse and don't spend a lot of time trying new things and I think it's taking a toll on my general well-being. I find myself with very little to do and very little energy and motivation to try to do something about it.

[Freudmode]
Have you considered the possibility that you may have at least a mild depression?
[/Freudmode]

Here's how you get energy:
Regular sleeping schedule. No going to bed whenever, no waking up whenever, avoid that as much as possible. No sleeping for 12 hours straight and spending another 2 in bed after waking up. Also don't sleep during the day and be awake at night, not good for your psyche.
Healthy diet. Stay away from fast food as much as possible, learn to cook properly if you haven't already. Three meals per day, and don't overeat until you can't move anymore, avoid "food coma".

Go outside, take a walk, bicycle, whatever, leave the house for at least an hour a day on average (not counting time spent at work). If possible do sports, nothing is better than exhausting yourself, it makes you feel better and it also makes it easy to sleep properly.

 

Socializing is a different beast. Ideally you should have some friends who motivate you to leave your cocoon every now and then. If not, meet people while you're out the house, have a chat with them. If there are any activities in your area which involve interacting with other people, see if there's something you're interested in and start socializing.

[MFG38]

I second what @Myst.Haruko listed off, and I'd like to add to it by suggesting that you take a week off all digital distractions - that is video games, TV, social media, the Internet, all of that. I did that myself recently, and it was one of the best decisions I'd ever made. By doing so, you're essentially forcing yourself to spend your time more productively, and you can even find a new kind of appreciation for things you wouldn't usually do.

[elend]

Apart from mapping my other hobbies include: photography and scale modelling (building space ships, not weird WWII battleships or tanks). Especially photography might be something interesting. It‘s creative, you can be „productive“, you get ideas for Doom maps, you get out, etc.

[geo]

Work out. Hike or jog on a trail. Just being around people will help and you will get the random people asking you questions. You'll look better and feel better.

[pritch]

Get a hobby-grade radio controlled vehicle, probably a truck or buggy to begin with. It gets you out exercising and the maintenance / driving has a lot of skills in common with video games. There's great online and local communities in the hobby.

[Gez]

Take up gardening. It's a good hobby and it can provide you with food. No chemical fertilizers or pesticides, though, learn to work with what nature gives you and that'll be a lot more rewarding and healthier as well.

[Deleted_Account]

I like to exercise my creativity and write short stories to keep my mind busy.

[Danlex]

You can start collecting rubik cube modifications  :)

 

 

You will have hours of frustration and suffering fun with them ;)

[Gaia74]

if you have imagination do what I do

 

write a story, I at least i make 8 notebooks of 100 sheets full, even if they are from the same characters are different stories

 

anyways, others have already given better things so I will not say things like do exercise or going out to know

 

although I would also recommend that you propose a goal, I at 14 years old have my goal to go to camboya and know the wonderful angkor wat

[kb1]

Life is far too short. And the fact that we are alive and self-aware is nothing short of miraculous. Out of all the atoms in the universe, you are a living being - the odds are truly astronomical. Also, there are 1000 reasons to stay inside and play video games. I think of them more as "excuses", really.

 

Socially speaking...statistically speaking, most interactions with people suck. There's a lot of jerks out there, and, of the nice people, most don't care, and/or are, well, boring.

 

*But*

Many people feel the same way. Many people have the same reasons/excuses to stay in their comfort zone. That's what it is really, right? A comfort zone?

 

Social skills are the conduit to get from here to there..."there" being "where you might like to go, if you weren't in that comfort zone."

 

(Note: When I say "you", I mean "whoever might read and benefit from this, myself included").

 

Now, video games, and other solitary hobbies are great, and healthy, positive activities, but they only exercise certain areas. The whole package includes:

• Physical - Physical exercise keeps you healthy, but also causes your body to produce endorphins - which are like natural opiates that lift your mood, regulate sleep. Exercise strengthens your endurance and your heart, makes you look and feel better. Why feel like shit if you don't have to. Of course, there's many more benefits. The body is the vessel from which you perceive and experience life, so it must be maintained.
• Mental - Video games improve mental health, as does reading, building with your hands, arts like drawing, playing music, building Doom levels :) Our mental abilities afford humans a power like no other life - the ability to be self-aware, the ability to reason.
• Spiritual - Spiritual health means a lot of different things to different people. For some, spiritual health comes from belief in a particular religion. Some people believe that all life connects through spirit, through a means unknown to science. To some, spirit is a sense of belonging...to the world, to all other life, to nature.
• Emotional - Emotional health affects the 3 other areas, in a most profound, least controllable, least understood way. Luckily, maintaining the first 3 goes a long way towards emotional health.

So, why do I mention these 4 key areas? Because maintaining these critical resources and "having a life" is most well served by having keen social skills. Stated differently, a lack of keen social skills inhibits one's ability to tap into and maintain these resources to the fullest.

 

Yes, you can physically and mentally exercise in an isolated manner. But at least one of those spiritual definitions above *requires* a connection to other life. And, emotionally, humans are social creatures, built to share, to reproduce, to protect, to nuture, to thrive socially.

 

Step 1: Recognize that 99% of people in the world have some level of social hangups, just like you (unless you're/they're psychopaths). Everyone gets nervous, everyone hates rejection, everyone feels inadequate, awkward, unnoticed, lonely, etc., at some point in their lives.

 

Step 2: Use the suggestions in this thread to get yourself into situations around other (non-destructive) people! And not necessarily romantic situations either. Get out of the comfort zone, and seek activities, especially those that involve other people.

 

Step 3: Interact! Remember you are around a bunch of social wannabes (cause most everyone is, even if they know how to fake it). Eventually, you'll learn how to "fake it", and then you can help teach others to open up and share.

 

Step 4: Practice. Talk to your cashier, to your waitress/waiter. Some of them will really appreciate it, even if they don't tell you so.

 

Learning to positively interact with others directly benefits those 2 elusive resources: Emotional and Spiritual health. Interaction also ties you into a network that can help you discover more activities that you may find that you love. These skills should be taught in school - they are that important. Life is too short. Get yourself involved. Invest the time in yourself, to get a handle on your spiritual and emotional self, before your physical and mental self run out the clock.

 

Best wishes!

 

[Maser]

Well, my outdoor activities mainly involve dirt biking, shooting guns, hunting, and fishing.