Having A Hobbie

A very successful way to reduce the impact of stress is to get a hobbie! So simple, yet so effective.

Many teens (including myself!) think that they are too busy to spend the time participating in extra activities, and may believe it will lead them to become more stressed. There is some truth in this because obviously if you take part in lots of additional interests, you may find that you don't have enough time to complete the things in life that you have to do, such as school work etc. However, involving yourself in one or two extra activities that you enjoy, can be a very efficient way to relax. Don't worry if you find it hard to relax at first, it is a skill that needs to be learned. 

Apart from going out with my friends, some of my favourite hobbies are painting, writing and singing. During school term times, I do have to limit myself on how much time I spend doing these activities, although I always make sure that I have a slot each week to do one of them. In the holidays I have a lot more spare time to do these things and to try out new activities too, such as fishing which surprisingly I really enjoy! When I am participating in these interests, I find that I forget about the other things that are worrying me as I am concentrating on something else.   

Here is my painting of Marilyn Monroe

Doing something you enjoy will help to boost your mood, and hopefully this will help you to see things in a different light and you will realise that perhaps life isn't so bad. Relaxing in this way may even give you the energy to do some of those things which you hate dong but have to do. Maybe spend a day with a friend trying out each others hobbies, you might just find something that you love which you never thought you would! This was certainly the case for me when my friend introduced me to karate! It's the summer holidays now for most of us, so I hope that this will inspire you to get out there and do something you know you enjoy, or to try something new!