Tag: Hobbies

stressed-out-woman

Anxiety: A quick tip for my friends with anxiety

Posted on by Karac Avalron

Attacks in Afghanistan are up, Israel and Hamas are fighting, Inflation is rising, Covid is still a thing. Anxiety is still running rampant; it never really ebbs does it? How do you clear the fog of the information wars? How do you escape all this negativity which is fueling your anxiety? The truth? You can’t. I know that’s not what you were expecting was it? I would be lying to you if I told you there was some magic elixir to shut your anxiety off.

Stop looking at screens? Ya sure that will cut it down. Sleep more? You bet you will feel fantastic. There will always be something or someone who is able to contaminate your state of mind with anxiety. They don’t even mean harm most of the time, many of them are anxious too so they talk about some of these issues NON STOP. “Well that wasn’t very helpful Karac, what’s the tip then?”

The tip is to spend more time focusing on your positives. I know that’s broad but let me give you an example. Everyone has something they really enjoy doing, mine is gaming it’s an old hobby that I have loved for nearly 40 years. Do I let it consume all of my time? No but when I focus on it and spend time with it I am able to wall off negativity from other sources.

Glogg
How about learning how to make Glug?

Maybe your thing is golf? Maybe it’s gardening, maybe it’s walking the dog…. Whatever it is accumulate as much energy as you can to identify what it is that you like to do that makes you happy. It can be anything, honestly, staring at fish in a bowl, ANYTHING. Once you identify it you have to commit to making more time for that activity. This begins the long journey of reprograming your mind to start to gravitate toward things you like, instead of absorbing things that make you anxious.

Once you find one thing, look for a second, then a third. Before you know it you will have multiple things you are doing that engender positive thoughts not anxiety. It takes years to accumulate multiple positive activities, maybe a life time. Start working on this today and start fighting back against anxiety with positive actions, deeds, activities and thoughts.

Thank you for coming by and supporting my blog I really appreciate it. Want to see another post like this one? Click here.  

stressed-out-woman

Anxiety: A quick tip for my friends with anxiety

Posted on by Karac Avalron

Attacks in Afghanistan are up, Israel and Hamas are fighting, Inflation is rising, Covid is still a thing. Anxiety is still running rampant; it never really ebbs does it? How do you clear the fog of the information wars? How do you escape all this negativity which is fueling your anxiety? The truth? You can’t. I know that’s not what you were expecting was it? I would be lying to you if I told you there was some magic elixir to shut your anxiety off.

Stop looking at screens? Ya sure that will cut it down. Sleep more? You bet you will feel fantastic. There will always be something or someone who is able to contaminate your state of mind with anxiety. They don’t even mean harm most of the time, many of them are anxious too so they talk about some of these issues NON STOP. “Well that wasn’t very helpful Karac, what’s the tip then?”

The tip is to spend more time focusing on your positives. I know that’s broad but let me give you an example. Everyone has something they really enjoy doing, mine is gaming it’s an old hobby that I have loved for nearly 40 years. Do I let it consume all of my time? No but when I focus on it and spend time with it I am able to wall off negativity from other sources.

Glogg
How about learning how to make Glug?

Maybe your thing is golf? Maybe it’s gardening, maybe it’s walking the dog…. Whatever it is accumulate as much energy as you can to identify what it is that you like to do that makes you happy. It can be anything, honestly, staring at fish in a bowl, ANYTHING. Once you identify it you have to commit to making more time for that activity. This begins the long journey of reprograming your mind to start to gravitate toward things you like, instead of absorbing things that make you anxious.

Once you find one thing, look for a second, then a third. Before you know it you will have multiple things you are doing that engender positive thoughts not anxiety. It takes years to accumulate multiple positive activities, maybe a life time. Start working on this today and start fighting back against anxiety with positive actions, deeds, activities and thoughts.

Thank you for coming by and supporting my blog I really appreciate it. Want to see another post like this one? Click here.  

Beyond the Trees

Your one thing

Posted on by Karac Avalron

Have you done it yet? Have you figured out what makes you happy? I don’t mean the standard “family, kids, my home” everyone says that. I mean you, what makes you happy? Is it miniature golf? Do you collect old pocket watches? Do you wear 1950’s clothing?

Something outside of the norm makes you happy. Me? I like to game. I know “he’s a 50-year-old gamer, GG boomer” I’ve heard it all. Yet, I have been gaming since 1983, longer than most gamers have been alive. Is it a waste of time? Not for me. Is it a silly hobby? Not for me. See I have something outside the norm that makes me happy. I know what it is, I am comfortable with it and most importantly I make time for it.

It’s time to go out on a limb and find your one thing.

How about you? What’s your one odd thing? The time is now, stop screwing around attempting to measure up to whatever the societal norm is today. Everyone has that one thing they think is cool that they keep within themselves and don’t reveal to others. It’s time to let it out and start investing time into it.

No one else is going to come along and do this for you. You have to be honest with yourself, no matter what this “thing” is. Maybe it’s a kink? Maybe it’s wearing horrible shoes? Stop hiding, let yourself out. Let yourself have fun, let yourself do that one thing more. Some examples:

  1. A coworker of mine breeds snakes
  2. My niece every year plays a character at a medieval renaissance fair
  3. My wife does stain glass
  4. My friend Shane collects Wrestling Memorabilia
  5. The football coach in my town is part of a Mazda Miata owners club

Time is slipping away, what’s your one thing?

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Atari 2600

One of the tools I use to deal with Anxiety: Gaming

Posted on by Karac Avalron

Yes I am a gamer. As a proud card carrying member of Generation X I can tell you that in 1982 I got an Atari 2600. I actually got a “sears” version, back then Atari sold directly to Sears (who was still a major, if not the biggest retailer in the country in the 80’s) my FAVORITE uncle got it for me, LOL. I’ve been hooked ever since. Back then you had to hook it up to the TV, graphics were horrible by today’s standard but god was it fun.

I’ve gone through many iterations of games and generations of gaming consoles in the last 38 years. I’ve been gaming probably longer than many of you have been alive LOL. I’ve recently started playing some of my older games again. This my hobby of course, I work full time, I have a family I have a normal life. Hobbies allow you to disengage from reality, more over it allows you to escape from things you don’t necessarily enjoy doing.

As an example do you hate your job? Are you having a stressful situation with your family? Hobbies are a refuge, and allow you something you enjoy that’s exclusive to you. Sure you can share your hobby with other people but having something that is YOURS is very important for your mental health. It’s almost like a safe space, it’s a place you go that you exist as you like. At least that’s how it is in video games, and I truly appreciate that aspect of it.

Hobbit Hole
So does this mean I can be a Hobbit?

Your hobby can be anything, cars, golf, pets, writing, and video games. In the end though it’s a great way to have something that is just for you, that you can be selfish about and not share if you don’t want to. It’s indulgent and people in your life may find it threatening to their relationship with you that you have something personal that doesn’t include them. It’s important to make time for everyone in your life and to make sure they don’t feel ignored.

However it’s just as important to make sure that you make time for your hobbies. This will make you a better overall person and far more relaxed and happy. Remember to not over indulge and to be clear with the people in your life what your hobby is and what you are doing. As an example, I game wed evenings 8-10 and Friday night 9PM – to whenever I go to bed. My wife and kids know I do this, and it doesn’t create an issue for us. I game with my son from time to time actually, LOL.

The point is, find something you like for you. Be selfish, but don’t let it consume you.

Thanks for supporting my blog! Want to see more posts like this? Click here.

Atari 2600

Hobbies

Posted on by Karac Avalron

I am a gamer. As a proud card carrying member of Generation X I can tell you that in 1982 I got an Atari 2600. I actually got a “sears” version, back then Atari sold directly to Sears (who was still a major, if not thee biggest retailer in the country) my FAVORITE uncle got it for me, LOL. I’ve been hooked ever since. Back then you had to hook it up to the TV, graphics were horrible by todays standard but god was it fun.

I’ve gone through many iterations of games and generations of gaming consoles in the last 37 years. I’ve been gaming probably longer than many of you have been alive LOL. I’ve recently started playing some of my older games again. This my hobby of course, I work full time, I have a family I have a normal life. Hobbies allow you to disengage from reality, more over it allows you to escape from things you don’t necessarily enjoy doing.

As an example do you hate your job? Are you having a stressful situation with your family? Hobbies are a refuge, and allow you something you enjoy that’s exclusive to you. Sure you can share your hobby with other people but having something that is YOURS is very important for your mental health. It’s almost like a safe space, it’s a place you go that you exist as you like. At least that’s how it is in video games, and I truly appreciate that aspect of it.

Your hobby can be anything, cars, golf, pets, writing, video games. In the end though it’s a great way to have something that is just for you, that you can be selfish about and not share if you don’t want to. Its indulgent and people in your life may find it threatening to their relationship with you that you have something personal that doesn’t include them. It’s important to make time for everyone in your life and to make sure they don’t feel ignored.

However it’s just as important to make sure that you make time for your hobbies. This will make you a better overall person and far more relaxed and happy. Remember to not over indulge and to be clear with the people in your life what your hobby is and what you are doing. As an example, I game wed evenings 8-10 and Friday night 9PM – to whenever I go to bed. My wife and kids know I do this, and it doesn’t create an issue for us. I game with my son from time to time actually, LOL.

The point is, find something you like for you. Be selfish, but don’t let it consume you.