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Finding new hobbies or getting back into old ones

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simmeredmedulla

Greenlighter
Joined
May 28, 2013
Messages
5
Hey guys, I WAS clean for 9 months and although i relapsed slightly I have been trying to live clean. Anyway I wanted to ask the good people of BL about finding or rediscovering things to do clean. I always struggled to find things to do clean, not because anything made me want to get high, but just because I lost interest in a whole lot of things, or rationalized not getting back into things e.g. i used to love to play guitar back in high school but I can't seem to make myself learn.

I would like to hear if you guys have any experience picking up new hobbies or getting back into old and how you did so or it helped you. Theres always things I wanted to learn (martial arts, coding, gardening, ect) but either was too afraid to do or didn't know where to start or was too damn high. I want to hear from y'all who have been trying to live a cleaner side. Sorry if this is a repost I'm new here call me out if I'm messing up mods.
 
Start with people?

After a relapse we often have to go back to finding the things that make us happy and feel productive and valuable, because we've forgotten what these are. I suggest if you're having trouble with your old hobbies that you try to meet some like-minded people and hang out with them, see what they do, see if you like it. Take a class, join a group on Meetup, hit the open mic night at a coffee shop. Whatever seems like it would attract the type of people you want to know.
 
I also want to just say that gardening is incredibly therapeutic for me. There's something about closing the loop on your food cycle... planting a seed, nurturing it and watching it grow, harvesting it, preparing it with the knowledge that your love and work went into this. Things taste better when you've seen it come up from a seed and you appreciate it more. Then you compost the leftovers and use them on your garden, thus closing the food/waste loop. Try it out!
 
cool thread.. for me i have surfing and its the only thing in life that gives me joy. i think finding a hobby that you are extremely passionate about is very important like the person above me mentioned gardening, doing anything outside would definitely be a plus. do u live near the beach? why not learn how to surf.. or maybe try snowboarding or skating
 
i enjoy writing. i got back into it after i experienced trauma.

definitely go for the martial arts!! i want to do that too, but i've been afraid because i would feel anxious being alone and not having a "partner". however, i was emailing the instructor and sharing my fears with her and she seemed very understanding and said that it is a fear that many do have and it's nothing to be embarrassed about, and they usually do a good time accommodating different circumstances. i say go for it :)
 
Sometimes your self esteem has taken such a beating from months or years of using that new sobriety can be a hard time to be new at something. If you are not feeling too fragile you could tackle something that is new or challenging but maybe also try something simple or an old skill that just needs to be relearned.

I second, third and fourth gardening if you can do it where you live. Working outside in the dirt is incredibly healing.

I used to teach art in a prison and one of the things that became really obvious to me was how much the guys appreciated it when I brought in clay. It is tactile and forgiving and there is something so childlike about it. Those classes were always the most enjoyable for all of us. The great thing about messing around with clay is that you can just mush it up if you don't like it and start over. Even if that is all you do for an hour it is meditative and comforting. There are a lot of clay-like substances on the market now that air dry but real clay is available in bags at any art store and most communities have somewhere that will fire it if you do make something you like. Better yet--take a class and everything is provided.<3
 
aq. said:
i enjoy writing. i got back into it after i experienced trauma.

definitely go for the martial arts!! i want to do that too, but i've been afraid because i would feel anxious being alone and not having a "partner". however, i was emailing the instructor and sharing my fears with her and she seemed very understanding and said that it is a fear that many do have and it's nothing to be embarrassed about, and they usually do a good time accommodating different circumstances. i say go for it :)
Click to expand...

This!!!

I am writing a novel

I have over 400,000 words on it

I have a significant other now

I make music, listen to a lot of music

Go to museums , parks, try new food!!
 
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