Last Updated on 28th July 2023 by Caroline Haye
How having fun could improve your skin
Spring 2020 (when I wrote this) had, so far, been a strange experience for virtually everyone on the planet. For a majority of us around the world it was a time for staying home and relying on our own resources and imagination to fill our time… A situation that proved more challenging for some than for others. Social distancing meant that a lot of leisure activities were off limits. As a result, some people did without their favourite pastimes, whereas others actually welcomed extra leisure at home to spend on more solitary activities. Whatever your particular preferences, one thing is certain: doing things that interest us and bring us satisfaction is good for our health and for our spirits. So, with that in mind, my question to you is, are you having fun yet? And, more specifically, have you found any hobbies that help your vitiligo?
Why do we have hobbies?
Why do hobbies even exist, and why do we pursue them? Because we want to… and isn’t that really the whole point? We do them because we want to, not because (like so many other aspects of life) we have to. This is one of the many things that make them so pleasurable. No one is pressuring us. There is no one setting us deadlines or breathing down our neck. (Unless, of course, we have employed a personal trainer to do exactly that, by choice.) Hobbies are fun, absorbing, fulfilling, interesting, relaxing… and good for us in more ways than we even realise. And the reason we don’t fully appreciate how good for us they are is because we are too busy enjoying ourselves to stop and think about it… Which is as it should be.
What do hobbies have to do with vitiligo?
Of course, hobbies don’t have anything directly to do with vitiligo. But enjoying ourselves in a positive way has everything to do with the state of our physical and mental health. And this, in turn, has a significant impact on our skin… Not to mention the benefits to our quality of life, which is something that often suffers in the case of vitiligo and other incurable, chronic conditions.
Research suggests that emotional stress can trigger the spread of vitiligo and that reducing stress is therefore helpful in controlling that spread. So the question is, how do you reduce mental stress? Well, there are only two ways that I know of. One is to remove the sources of your stress (e.g. ease your workload, mend a broken relationship or end a toxic one). And the other is to spend time doing things you love… In other words, pursue some activities that make you happy… Hobbies.
How to choose a hobby
You probably already have at least one hobby. (If not, I suggest you find one fast because you are at serious risk of being unhappy… and boring.) So you may not be looking for any more. But if you do fancy something new, how do you choose? The possibilities are endless, aren’t they? (Well, right now, that’s not quite true because of social distancing. But, normally, yes – they are.)
Sometimes you don’t have to choose a hobby because the hobby chooses you. For example, if you love to read or walk in the countryside, as I do, then you have probably been doing these things for as long as you can remember… Simply because you enjoy doing them. Or a friend may have introduced you to a particular pastime that you might not otherwise have considered. But, failing that, if you are sitting there, scratching your head, wondering what might interest you, here are a few ideas, along with some of their health benefits.
Pastimes and their health benefits
Yoga
The ancient practice of yoga famously exercises the entire body, including internal organs, as well as improving mental health by nurturing a calm and serene outlook. Not only that, but you can practise it alone (during the current lock-down) or in a group if social contact is important to you.
Music
Whether you play an instrument, sing in a choir (or in the bath) or write music, creating a pleasing sound is one of the oldest and most fundamentally satisfying human activities. As well as making music, listening to it is something most of us find enjoyable and deeply therapeutic. And again, a musical hobby is something that you can pursue alone or in company.
Meditation
There are many types of meditation. Some are quite spiritual and mystical, others are purely intended as mindfulness therapy. The scientific and anecdotal evidence to support the mental and physical benefits of meditation would fill more than a few blog posts on their own. But I would suggest the simplest way to test its effectiveness is to try it for yourself.
Reading
Those of us who love to read know that books allow us to escape to another world and leave our stresses and sorrows behind. In fact, the state of mind we enter when we are reading is similar in some ways to a meditative one and has similar benefits, depending on what we are reading. It can soothe, fascinate, entertain, thrill and empower. Personally, I find that reading a few pages of a favourite book last thing at night helps me fall into a restful sleep… Something that is extremely important for skin health.
Sport and exercise
Not only does regular exercise keep our muscles, internal organs and cardiovascular system in good condition, it also gives our brain a workout. It also takes our mind off our everyday worries. And it rewards us with a sense of accomplishment and – in the case of team sports – cameraderie. Whether you are athletic or whether you prefer activities like dancing, golf, swimming, zumba, archery, fishing or hiking, there are active hobbies to suit every taste and ability. And many of them have the added health benefit of taking place outside in the fresh air, surrounded by nature.
Gardening
You may or may not have green fingers (or a “green thumb”, if you are from the other side of the Atlantic). Personally, I am hopeless. But having a garden, or even growing some indoor plants, is always wonderfully therapeutic. The very acts of planting, nurturing, watering, feeding and generally pottering in a green space, or simply creating some colour and foliage on your balcony, are soothing and satisfying. So much so, that whole organisations exist to promote and deliver social and therapeutic horticulture.
Art and crafts
In the same way as some people find pleasure in gardening, others derive satisfaction from creating works of art or transforming existing artefacts into new ones. The possibilities here are limitless, from painting, pottery, photography, quilting, knitting and woodwork to mending clocks, jewellery, motorbikes or virtually anything else you care to think of. Some even turn their hobby into therapy for others, as well as making it their own… A perfect example being the lovely man who makes vitiligo dolls for his granddaughter who has the condition. So why not explore your creative side with some Art Therapy For Vitiligo yourself?
Writing
Writing isn’t everyone’s idea of the perfect hobby. Some do it all day for work and don’t relish continuing in their spare time. But others of us find it absorbing and stimulating. We like to play around with words in the same way as musicians enjoy playing with notes and sounds. Creating a journal, story, poem or blog gives us the same kind of enjoyment as an artist or craftsman gets from their creations. In fact, the blog site you are looking at right now began partly as therapy. Being able to write and publish my vitiligo story was a cathartic experience for me and there are many others who feel the same way about the written word.
Animals and conservation
Anyone who keeps animals will tell you how rewarding the relationship between human and animal can be. And anyone who loves to study birds, or other creatures in the wild, knows the sense of wonder and fascination that comes with learning about animals and their habitats. An interest in animals offers endless opportunities for hobbies, from birdwatching or volunteering at an animal sanctuary or conservation project to horse riding or bee keeping. And, if you want to talk about the therapeutic benefits of having pets, then look no further than my previous post entitled Pet Therapy For Vitiligo?
The list of hobbies goes on and on…
I haven’t even mentioned yet the therapeutic benefits of baking, amateur dramatics, puzzle solving, colouring in, quilting, learning a language, flying kites or drones, wine making or playing video or board games… Never mind building model railways. Whatever rings your bell or floats your boat (there’s two more I forgot), the important thing is how your chosen hobbies make you feel inside. And how they improve your quality of life.
Will my chosen hobbies make my vitiligo better?
As far as I am aware, no one has done specific research on this. In reality, it would be difficult to come up with a scientific experiment that would yield measurable results… Even supposing the funding were available. After all, proving that happiness contributes to re-pigmentation would be virtually impossible. And no drug company would have any reason to pay for proof that hobbies help vitiligo (or any other condition).
So no one is going to promise you that playing the piano, practising pilates or learning upholstery will bring your skin colour back. But there are solid physiological reasons why it might contribute to a stabilisation, or even a reversal of your vitiligo. And, on the other side of the coin, I guarantee that living a joyless, stressed existence with no interests outside of your responsibilities or work can only make your skin worse.
Hobbies as medicine
The very word hobby used to make me think of stereotypical obsessions like stamp collecting or train-spotting… Activities that thrill some people but left me cold (no offence intended to anyone who loves these). So, if you happen to share that image, maybe hobby is the wrong word to use to describe what I am talking about.
What I’m talking about is finding something that you can blissfully lose yourself in for hours at a time… An activity that makes you feel like the person you were always meant to be… Something that soothes you, exhilarates you or fills you with passion, fascination and satisfaction… An interest that gives you a sense of freedom… A sense of furthering a cause, being part of something or creating something uniquely beautiful. If you have ever had a hobby like that, you will know what I mean. So, now you tell me whether or not we even need scientific proof that activities like these are powerful medicine. I think that anyone who has ever experienced such feelings will instinctively know that they most definitely are. 🙂
