been depressed but now i feel better and don't know what to do with extra time?

Question

i'm 14 (9th grade) and i have had depression since at least 6th grade. i am on a new medicine and am now not depressed and feeling great. but i am going insane becuase i have absolutley nothing to do. all i do is watch tv and lie down on the floor looking at the ceiling. i desperatley need a good hobby that i can do day after day when i get out of school. dont really like sewing or anything like that...i read all the time and i am getting bored with that...i dont like jewely or making it, i've tried scrapbooking and its ok but it bores me. i need something that not everyone suggests. i like art but it still bores me. i have pets. see what i mean? nothing sounds good because everyone suggests the same things. please help me out here!!! i really need it!

Answer 1

I'm glad to hear you are no longer depressed. Painting ceramics is out of the ordinary and also a fun way to spend time. Some places have special shops where you can do this. But if there's none near you, you can buy ceramic pieces and paints at your local craft store.

Answer 2

It sounds like the hobbies that you've tried are not interactive, I suggest finding a club or group that does things you are interested and join it. Even join more than one, you can always decide which you like best and keep them. Groups that involve making things that you could also work on at home, or maybe a hiking or sports club.
I also suggest physical exercise. If you have a dog take it for a walk every day. If you don't have a dog, go for a walk anyway.

As for things you can do at home, what about polymer clay? It's really cool, and working with it you can hone your fine motor skills as well as your color combining skills. I was making beads with polymer clay several years ago, now I use the skills I developed to make glass beads with a torch! Making glass beads is a really cool hobby (in fact I'm taking a short break from it right now) it does take a bit of an investment in equipment tho...

Drawing is a wonderful artistic outlet, if there isn't anything available at your school look for a local art league or art center, they often have drop in classes. Ceramics is also great if you have a resource where you can do that in your community.

You could also start investigating colleges on line, just to see what's out there, in four years you'll be making decisions about that and it won't hurt you to start thinking about it now.

Answer 3

Hey! The above answers are great ideas. I carve wood, and I can do it for hours. Stop anytime and start again when I want. I suggest the Girl Scouts. (I presume you are a girl. If not then join the Boy Scouts) Learn to cook. Needle point. knitting.

The list is endless! I like the one of volunteering. I do that too! I teach arts and crafts at a senior center. Plus a Scout leader for 38 years. Plus church work.

I also like the one of being with others at a group setting after school. Like a Boys/Girls club, YMCA etc.

If you live in a small town or the country, get a book about trees. Learn to identify them, their uses, and things like that. Start a bug or butterfly collection.

Make a 72 hour evacuation kit. And help others in your family to do the same. Set up and practice evacuation. Learn about this at the Red Cross and FEMA web sites. Start a blood drive! Contact the American Red Cross. They will be tickled to help. Get your neighborhood, church, your friends parents to all sign up.

Become a Amateur Radio Operator (Ham operator) and talk to others around the world! Go to the ARRL web site. You can find the books for exams, where exams will be given. (Very easy especially after February because the FCC is dropping the morse code tests.) I've been one for over 30 years! Confirmed communications with over 100 countries! Exciting!!!

Ya see Missy! There are great things to do! Just open your eyes and ears. You will find you're nitch for a hobby somewhere.

Answer 4

learn photography, go help someone else to take your mind of your problems. go visit the elderly or sick kids, learn a new language, read a book, write a book about your experience, learn web design and create a website for your friends and family to post on, write a blog, get a part time job, read the bible, volunteer at a soup kitchen, go to the library, learn about different animals. there's so much to do.

Answer 5

im 14 and i have depression and i was on the verge of suicide many times if the town or city you live in has a boys and girls club go there after school for a few hours it doesnt cost that much or go outside and draw a picture of something but dont worry you will get through it remember "How to save YOUR life"
~Nikolas~
e me [e-mail]

Answer 6

Check out your local community college or phone book for local artisans and see if they have a stained glass class and make and design your own windows or suncatchers.

Answer 7

Maybe become a volunteer helper at an old folks home?

Answer 8

This is something I wrote before to someone who asked a similar question:


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Having a hobby is supposed to allow you to spend some of your "extra" time doing something you like, so the first thing is to figure out what *YOU* might like (...these things may be quite different from things you're supposed to like btw, or things that other people in your life think you should like).

Knowing what you truly like is often hard though for various reasons. I do think that generally the older you get, the more you know yourself and what you like/prefer (in all kinds of ways), and you'll just also be exposed to many more things the longer you live (unless you're really isolated, or don't "help" with the exposure)... learning those things is part of the "job" of growing up and getting older too.

So first, what *kinds* of things (of any type) have you been drawn to in the past even if they were very brief, or have you enjoyed when you did them?
E.g., maybe you've liked making things or working with your hands or dealing with people or reading (esp. certain types of books) or moving around or exercising a lot (or not moving around a lot) or thinking and analyzing or being involved with groups or being alone or being outdoors or pretending (acting) or certain types of technical or information things like cars/trains/computers/bridges/... animals, or topics like the Civil War or history or just the history of a certain field, politics, or playing cards or board games, etc., etc.

If you can discover what some of those things might be, or just begin paying attention now and noticing when you like something, or put yourself in those situations as an experiment to see if a flicker of interest or fun appears, you can then begin to think of some kinds of "hobbies" that will engage you in those things, or will allow you to do things in ways you prefer (for example, in groups, alone, online --which is partly relating to people but not in-the-moment-immediate and face-to-face, activist vs. just-a-member, etc.)

Having a hobby can mean loads of things... making something, or interacting with something, or joining others who enjoy the same things (in groups, or as teacher/student/online/volunte... or just learning more about it or writing about it oreven teaching others in some way, etc. The trick is to find which topics, and which ways of interacting with them, bring you the most satisfaction.

You might also give some thought to exactly what it was about the hobbies you mentioned that you didn't like. That could give you some hints as to what you might like better, or at least what kinds of things you don't like. It could be also that you'd be interested in a certain topic, but just not the way you did it the first time around.

If you're life is "really boring," it could also be that you're depressed (temporarily, or longer term because of events or limitations in your life, or just by throw of the dice genetically). One of the major symptoms of depression is a feeling that nothing is interesting or worthwhile, and maybe too overwhelming... and that one doesn't have the energy to be proactive. If any of those are the case, there are things that can help (therapy or just expressing those feelings to yourself or others or even getting insight about what's happening and what might help from reading or talking to others, medication if needed, forcing oneself to get out of a rut if in one and just get out and do different things, feel connected, etc.)

Amazingly too, a lot of hobbies also feel quite different when one is *in* them vs. what one thought they'd be like, so it can be helpful to actually try some of them out before rejecting them out of hand due to preconceptions about them. Think of it as an adventure or an experiment/reconnaisance ... don't think you have to stick with anything just becuase you're in the process of checking it out.

There may even be books at the library or other ways to get lists of potential "hobbies" (hopefully with full descriptions) so you can peruse and see if any strike you to check out first.

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You may want to read some of the suggestions given by other respondents to that thread too:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061215084652AAaHu8b&pa=FZB6NXXtFWMW0cLWwu0a8EHe75UeVZRwD_UjGCpbqqaH57sfPbEg3fd7zJGEBvjsADNMhIfY.BavQ0RTBa8-&paid=add_watch



HTH and good luck!

Diane B.

Answer 9

try playing runescape on your computer. its fun and occupies lots of time.