All of the Hobbies

Crochet and Knitting

Drawing and Painting

Sewing

Bellydancing

Flute

Guitar and Bass

Clay sculpting

Makeup Art

These are just a few of the hobbies I've picked up along the way and try and do a little bit of every now and again. They have been things I've just enjoyed. I've read about them, seen them out somewhere or heard about them from someone and thought "Ooo, that sounds fun." and picked it up.

Even though I did not pick up these hobbies as something to be helpful, turns out they are! I've always found crafts and being active fun and it was a happy coincidence that the ones I picked up had therapeutic affects.

A coat I have sewn as a hobby

Distraction

Hobbies are a great way to distract yourself. When I feel a little bit down and can't seem to motivate myself I often turn to one of my hobbies. It helps me to combat a lot of the feelings that depression pushes upon you. It makes me feel like I'm doing something a bit productive and I feel less useless.
When my anxiety cranks up and my mind can't let go of a thought train, hobbies are a great shake in the mind to distract myself from this.

There are some studies that show links between knitting and decreased anxiety, which is awesome!
Here some articles I've linked about that:

http://blog.lionbrand.com/2014/05/20/10-most-important-health-benefits-of-yarncrafting/
http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/health-therapeutic
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/25/health/brain-crafting-benefits/

An amigurumi Chihuahua I have crocheted

Focus

Being able to focus is a common problem among people who suffer from bipolar. I have found that crafts, especially crochet, help to combat this. It gives you something easy but not too easy for your brain to put its energies into focusing on. Practicing focus this way could eventually help with other things because it is exercising that ability in your brain. With practice your brain is able to make neural connections that act a certain way and this why it could help.

Without crafts or something to focus on, there are times when I feel close to tears at how disjointed my thinking is and how fast the thoughts are building up in my mind. This is often described as 'crowded thoughts' or 'racing thoughts' and can be a common symptom in many mood disorders.

Some drawing

Self Discovery

In the process of creating things I have found it can be a side effect that you learn a bit about yourself.  The colours, fabrics, materials and line types you choose to use in different hobbies can relate to something about yourself.
There have been moments where I find out things I tend to do, little habits in creating, and with reflection they can teach me a bit about myself.
This can be a very beneficial process for everyone. It can help you to become more self-aware. Being more self-aware can allow you to know where you are at and where you could be heading in the future.

The start of a free form crochet piece

Purpose

Hobbies that are creative can give you a sense of purpose.
One of the hardest feelings I deal with when bipolar starts affecting me is existential depression. The only way to really combat this kind of feeling is by creating purpose within your life.
Hobbies can give you a structure to build a purpose around. They can offer you the opportunity to discover skills and talents you have and from there, something to do in life.

Ultimately our purposes are created by ourselves so hobbies are a perfect platform to start with.

I hope this gives you a quick overview of hobbies and how they can help with bipolar (and possibly other health issues). I really dive into my hobbies whenever I'm feeling a bit off and I try to encourage everyone around me to do the same.

Till next time I sit down for more than 5 minutes.

Bipolar Is Not Me (But it Does Affect Me)

Most of the time, I find it very difficult to talk about my illness. I don't even like writing that word "illness". It doesn't really feel like an illness to me because I've learnt how to manage it. It's more like something I have to be aware of during the week. Like knowing my pants size when I'm shopping. It just makes it easier to be prepared when I have to go try things on. It also informs me of my limits and my minimum effort. I don't want to be lazy! But I should't be overextending myself either.

Learning your pants size takes time. It takes mistakes. I'm sure plenty of people have gone into a change room with pants that really DO NOT FIT. But it's all part of the process.

There are people who become their illness though. I guess those people haven't noticed that it's their pant size. They think those pants are the only ones they can wear, EVER. And they don't even know what size they are. They keep wearing these ugly khaki trousers with giant canvas looking pockets all over them in a size too big.

This happens when you learn your pant size

When people invite them out they are all like "sorry, my pants are really not appropriate for that". This is different to knowing your pants size. For different events you can try to wear pants in your size that are closer to appropriate. Like, maybe your pink pants aren't exactly perfect for this event, but they work for a little bit so you adjust how long you stay, or who you go with. Your pants shouldn't stop you from living, but you can't go around wearing pants that don't fit.

Analogies and all that aside, what I'm saying is, you might have an illness. You do not have to define yourself by your illness. BUT people, including yourself, should recognise and actively manage the fact that it will affect you in ways. It's tricky to do this. People around might never understand this. But if you persevere and learn about your minimums and limits you can manage to be your true self and not your illness.

Personally, I find this difficult to talk about because I don't like accepting that I have limits. It has been a slow process for me learning that I need to rest. I am still learning about some of my limits. This is something everyone goes through, but with an illness it is a different experience with its own challenges and can be more frustrating in ways that not everyone will understand.

Seeing a psychologist was one of the most important things I did to discover my minimums and limits. If you are suffering I highly recommend seeing a professional.

I have to say at this point too, that not every day will let you change the pants you have on. Some days with bipolar your pants are sewn onto you. These days it especially important to know that bipolar is an illness you have and is not you. These are days you can truthfully say "I am not feeling well" and let yourself have some time off. Knowing that it is an illness you suffer from, and not some sort of intrinsic quality you have, can let you relax and avoid blaming yourself for not being able to be "normal" that day.

Those days that your pants are sewn on are not just useless days. It is your body and mind letting you know it is not well and that needs to recover from the affects of the illness. It is like waking up and having a broken leg. You would (hopefully) not get up and start walking around on that leg. That would make it worse. You would take the day to rest. Mental illness is the same.

Do not be ashamed to admit that you need a day off. I always think 'maybe I don't need a day off, maybe I can push through' but I know deep down I need to rest. If I don't rest I usually pay for it later. Find people you can trust enough to say to them 'hey, I'm not feeling so great today'. They are the best friends and will be there to support you through the rough patches.

Speaking about your illness is not just beneficial for yourself. You may be around someone suffering who has not had the courage to face it yet and you may give them the inspiration to get help.
Getting help is one of the hardest things to do in our society. But it is one of the most important.
I really believe that more people need to start asking for help with things. Not just people with illnesses, everyone. You don't have to go through this life suffering alone.

That's all for now~
Till I sit down for more than 2 minutes again.

Welcome and 'Have I Done Enough With Life'

Welcome to my blog. I am writing this with a focus on how my Bipolar II condition effects my life, how I deal with it, and hobbies I do that help.

Here's a pawsome photo of my furry friend, Bobby, to make you smile before the hard bits

I've been inspired to write this by my friend who writes at http://www.chronicallywhimsicaltales.blogspot.com.au

Some amazing work by Helena on her blog

I have a lot going on in my life and it never seems to stop. Every time things start to slow down, I ten to add something new to it. Currently, I'm almost in my third trimester of pregnancy, about to start a Masters of Design degree, planning on buying a house in the next twelve months, trying to build a clothing store on Etsy, and learning how to make oil paintings, knitted socks and clay dolls in between all this. I should probably add that I keep house pretty well in amongst it too. Keeping house is never given the credit it should have. Oh, there's other things I do that I've forgotten about but I'll write about them next time.

My attempts at oil painting

It's a bit bizarre but I never realise I am doing a lot until I write it out and it's in front of me. I constantly feel like I should be doing more with my life and I feel pressured to add more "productive" things to what I do. I'm really hoping that in the process of writing this blog I can begin to see that I do things and they are productive and I can rest. Resting is possibly the only thing I struggle with being good at.

Maybe a bit of context about myself is appropriate right here. That's another thing I'm not terribly good at. Constantly doing things tends to drive me to start stories in the middle. Let's just begin with the past year.

I finished studying a Bachelor of Design (Fashion) last year with pretty good marks and a couple of good friends added to my life. I've been married to an incredibly supportive and wonderful and kind and funny husband for a couple of years. I can't really say how much I appreciate him because there aren't words and sometimes I still sit there wondering how he puts up with me. Most marriages to people with bipolar fail, unfortunately. They aren't that easy to live with, I guess.

Clothing designs by me in my final year of University

I have an incredible support network of friends and family who have helped me get to where I am, through my courses, my jobs, my everything. It's dumb luck that I managed to meet and keep so many of them.

Friends includes my furry companion, Jasper

I'm making it all sound like I'm just super productive 24/7 and don't stop. But that's only me some of the time. Part of the time I struggle to get out of bed, or eat, or sleep, or do much at all. The rest of the time I'm pretty "normal" if you can claim there's such a thing.

I've experienced a variety of things throughout life too. I've finished school all the way through despite depressive episodes, moved around places quite a bit, dealt with a divorced family and extended families, started and finished courses, started and not finished courses, worked in very, very different jobs, struggled through an abusive relationship, and quite recently been working my way through the many emotions of my Dad taking his own life.

Dad and I when I was little

I think that's pretty much where I'm at? There's so much going on in my head today that's it's hard to tell. Just to give you an idea, while I'm writing this I'm watching youtube, playing yoga retreat and knitting a sock in bits. Focus is not my strong point, most of the time.

Today I just wanted to write this "background" piece.
I'm doubting if I can concentrate for much longer to write more, but I hope you find it at least interesting so far.

Next time, who knows what I'll write about. Tangents are just a natural part of my thinking. I'm considering starting to write about my hobbies that I use to help with everything though.

I really want to write about my way through the Masters course too but I should probably make that a separate blog.


Thanks for reading,
Until next I sit down for longer than 2 minutes.

P.S. Sorry if there's any typos.