Depression and anxiety are the most commonly diagnosed mental illnesses in the UK with almost 8% of the population meeting the diagnostic criteria. This means that in a large lecture hall, 200 strong, at least 15 students are likely to be struggling with a mix of depression and anxiety.
Many of the symptoms of anxiety and depression involve a lack of enthusiasm, motivation, and self-esteem, and a rise in feelings of hopelessness.
A large and very damaging consequence of anxiety and depression is the loss of interest in your hobbies or a fear of continuing them. It can be very disorienting to suddenly feel that you cannot enjoy what you always have.
It is a similar feeling to writer’s block. Suddenly, half way through a story you’re stranded in this world you have created and you no longer know your way around. You don’t know where to go or what to do with yourself or the people in your story.
But it isn’t the end.
Of course, if this happens regularly, please see a doctor for the proper mental support, but there are little, regular things you can do in order to help yourself develop or regain interest in hobbies.
1. Create Routine
Affinity writer Megan Glenn has written here about how writing helped her struggle with depression and anxiety by providing an outlet for her emotions.
This is such an incredibly important aspect of depression and anxiety to address, feeling like you cannot express how you feel and who you are. Often the ways that you can best express yourself seem alien even to you when you are in a particularly bad bout of depression. and this is where the importance of routine comes in.
Sometimes you will have to force yourself to do something or else it won’t get finished. And it does feel wrong forcing yourself to “be happy”, but it may help in the long run.
Try and make arrangements with groups or people to meet at a regular time every week. This could be a writing group, a dance group, or even seeing a movie or having coffee with a friend.
The difficult aspect of creating this routine is that it requires free time which isn’t always compatible with a job or studies, but taking a little extra time out beside your responsibilities where possible can be very rewarding.
2. Keep Routine
Once you have created your plans, try your best to attend them every time. This is where it becomes easier if you have signed up to a regular class such as dance or yoga where you cannot reschedule for the week if you aren’t up to it.
It might seem difficult, especially if your depression and anxiety are accompanied by fatigue, but a plan for a couple of hours a week will not take too much out of your energy if they are well accomodated for.
After your schedule plans you may feel down or tired, so it is important to relax during or after you have done them.
3. Keep In Touch
You’re likely to have made these plans with a friend or to have made friends from these plans, and it is beneficial for both you and the plans you have made to stay in contact with these friends.
If you feel like an outsider with nobody to talk to, the friends gained from your routine can offer advice, support, or even just a distraction.
It may feel like you can’t make friends, but the people you have become friends with won’t see it that way. Nobody sees you as a burden. You’re not a burden.
People have this great tendency to fear judgment from people around them, even when it is likely that they have been through, or supported a friend through, the same situation.
But you have no need for fear. The friends you have created, and the routine you are upholding, should help you feel more connected to yourself, to your hobbies and to your friends.
