get out a colouring book

i know someone who loved plants, houseplants because she couldn't have an outdoor garden. She tended them, cared for them, fussed over them. Then at some point life got hard, she got tired for a bunch of reasons and eventually she decided the plants were all "too much work" and she gave them away. She now has one tiny violet, a creeper and a christmas cactus.. all plants that are pretty fuss-free. She doesn't have the "work" of caring for the plants anymore... nope, her time is completely free to worry, fret and complain about all the time she has with nothing to do.

i'm impressed and boggled by that... but she isn't alone.. i see it a lot. People who are feeling depressed do it the most i think. An activity seems like a terrible amount of work, too much effort, too much bother... and yet, the person spends their time dwelling and being more physically and mentally inactive and unengaged with their world.

it's paradoxical, but it's a case of DO IT ANYWAY

a big clue is when something you once enjoyed now seems like too much effort to bother.... do it anyway.

the "work" of her former hobby, the plants, WAS the source of joy and meaning, not the plants themselves. When i bake the outcome isn't the real point, even if it feels like it is, the act of baking, the work and the engagement with my world is the point.

doing it anyway is a key in overcoming things like anxiety and depression

i have a relative who has also followed this pattern and now spends her time driving herself further into depression and worry while watching tv gameshows. She gave up reading, gardening, playing cards or jigsaw puzzles... she had focused on the "fact" that they didn't "cure" her depression and anxiety, but neglected to notice that she did a lot better when she had hobbies.

An activity won't cure you. No one is going to take up tending a bonzai plant and be suddenly depression-free. But tending that bonzai plant will give you one way to bring yourself in contact with the real world, settle the mind chatter and be engaged with something - not to mention allow some of the healing infuence of your right hemisphere to help you.

the last thing one should do is give in to doing nothing... the best thing to do is find an activity and do it anyway.

if you are anxious or aggitated, or some other difficult emotional state, get yourself some coloured paper or magazines... try this out...

*scrapbook paper is great for this, but even colour newsprint is ok

* get some scissors and begin to cut out shapes from the coloured paper

these can be any shape... simple circles and triangles to polymorphous blobs, it doesn't matter. Take your time though... think about the shape you want and take your time cutting it out. If you are the ultra-tidy type then by all means plan it, draw it and cut it neatly. If not, then do free-form.

give yourself a good 20 minutes or half an hour to do this... spend the entire time just cutting out whatever shapes you want to

if you're state of mind is really bad, just pick one shape,maybe a circle and keep cutting circles

forget how perfect they are or aren't

if you want to, you can think about matching colours or patterns from different papers... play with the idea. You've got no big decisions to make, just choosing colours and shapes... let yourself just fully engage with that and nothing else.

make sure you just do it for the whole time frame

i am guessing that if you do, and you dont wander off into your head somewhere, you will likely feel calmer at the end. The act of manual tasks, especially those engaging colours and shapes, will focus you in your right brain and that has an inherent calming effect. If you keep doing this, and just gently remind yourself to think about the paper whenever you find yourself drifting in your thoughts, you will begin to see that your head gets "quieter."

there's tons of reasons for this, but the simple explanation is that your speech center is in the left, more analytical side of the brain. Everything we "hear" ourselves think is going through there. It isn't all we think however. We think tons of nonverbal thoughts but they seem mysterious to us. Creative activities are in that realm. If you find yourself engaged and meditative, then chances are it's your right brain calling the shots in that moment. Neat, huh?

so... seriously... go cut paper and test it out. If you find any measure of comfort in this, start seriously looking for more interesting creative hobbies. Your brain has the ability to help itself more than you might realize.

peace

I find colouring in very soothing. I even posted some Mandalas that I had coloured in here once.

(((little*rhino)))--there you are! Missed you, how are you feeling?

What a great post---I call it my "stinkin thinkin" when I start analyzing and over think things-----What a great tool!!!

I do a bit of this--just mindful knitting or crocheting, these days.
It helps tremendously, keeps me busy, taking different colours and blending them
into patterns and shape that seem to come out looking okay!

I send you out positive energy--and thoughts------theo