The Joy of Solitude: How My Solo Hobbies Brought Happiness Beyond Socializing
Solitude can not only impact your mental health but also make you underconfident. It’s the harsh truth that no one remains always with you.
There are times when people are busy, ignorant, or competitive. While getting to know myself better, I understood the complexity of life when solitude overpowers you.
But why perpetuate this feeling when you have a myriad of things around to keep you happy? Yes, with time, the matter of happiness would change but this could improve your situation.
What am I talking about? Let’s be short and come to the topic.
Believe me, until you love yourself, no one will love you. And being an introvert, I too struggled to impress people. I was hesitant to share my problems with others. But, here are the five things that helped me revive again and it continues.
- Gardening
“A beautiful plant is like having a friend around the house.” - Beth Ditto
Being surrounded by lush green can be a great therapy. It can help you reduce anxiety, and stress, and alleviate your mood.
Further, it can even help to lower blood pressure and provide you with a calm working space. You never know how things revolve around you but a serene atmosphere can be a boon for you. And I was lucky though.
The plants turned out to be my best friends when I was in a gloomy phase of my life. I used to sow the seeds, take care, and water the plants with love. Even plants reciprocated the same love by responding to my talks.
As per a study, when a plant is cared for and talked to politely, it responds to you by blooming beautiful flowers. If they are scolded, then the results are simply the opposite.
According to Lead researcher Dr Oliver Aken from the University of Western Australia, “The touch response helps the plants to be prepared for the future.”
This can relate to my situation too. The utter satisfaction that gardening made me feel was so precious. Moreover, the greenery and great blooms paved a heart-welcoming path to incorporate hope within.
Just try once, play with the plants, take care of them, and make them happy and automatically you will find great relief without yourself.
2. Reading Books
There is no friend as loyal as a book. -Ernest Hemingway
Getting through the books, a pile is waiting in the room. I wonder, the more time I spend with it, the more I want to get involved in it. Although my relationship with books was not so good long ago when I understood the importance of it in my life, I never wanted to break this intimate relationship.
Books seem to take you to a fictional world away from your present moment, they can teach you anything and everything that you need to upskill yourself and can provide you with an excellent vision of problems that others face in life so that you can bypass them.
So, books mean a lot for making you from nobody to somebody. An author inculcates all the expertise into the book, so it can be a storehouse of knowledge. I don’t have a more good friend than a book that remains available in every mood I am into.
According to a study, the human brain evolves more when you read more. This can make you way different from others.
3. Writing a Diary or Journalling
“Your journal will stand as a chronicle of your growth, your hopes, your fears, your dreams, your ambitions, your sorrows, your serendipities.”
— Kathleen Adams
My diary knows me more than any person ever. The world might gossip about my secrets but my diary won’t. The beating thoughts that cannot be expressed are always outlined in writing words.
The more I share my secrets with my dairy, the more I feel relaxed. Certainly! it takes a lot of courage to speak about your problems to someone but no worries I have my dear diary with me.
Apart from sharing my feelings, I share my to-do lists, habits, and reading lists with them. This is a precious relationship that cannot be expressed.
Hence keeping a diary to speak up your unheard words and initiating gratitude for it can be an amazing therapeutic event for everyone in solitude.
4. Cooking and Baking
“Cooking is an art form that requires a dash of inspiration, a sprinkle of innovation, and a lot of love.” ― Rachael Ray
India is a diverse country with tonnes of flavors. And cooking and learning more about it makes me so happy. Trying different types of cuisines from different states and countries aids me in soothing my mood.
Starting from the cutting of the vegetables to the garnishing makes me more creative and delightful. It provides a path to instant gratification.
According to the Wall Street Journal, sensory awareness is important in dealing with hot and sharp objects. And that triggers a more concentrated mind.
Healthcare professionals even suggest cooking and baking to be a proper guide for reducing mental stress, depression, and anxiety.
5. Painting and Crafting
Art is my cure to all this madness, sadness, and loss of belonging in the world & through it I’ll walk myself home.”
― Nikki Rowe
This childhood habit of drawing and painting has made a way to utter happiness for me. This is the most effective therapy for me when I am too stressed.
The playful combination of colors and creativity makes me vulnerable to alluring objects around me.
I try different types of colors like oil pastels, watercolors, pencil colors, and many more that make me so happy to deal with.
Another factor that keeps me growing is converting the trashed product into an elegant showpiece. Yes, I like crafting, I like to put all my efforts into giving a new life to discarded things.
A little crafty channel of mine that helps me to show my passion.
Final Words
You may have thousands of reasons to be depressed and live your life in melancholy but inculcating certain habits into your life can be a lifesaver for you. The more you get through your life decisions the more you acquire knowledge.
Habits like gardening, reading, journaling, cooking, and painting helped in coming out of intense stress conditions and taught me a way not to move away from my path.
So, what are yours?
Make a wise decision. Instead of thinking of any negative thoughts, do whatever you like, this can be an amazing opportunity awaiting you. Who knows something big is waiting for you!
