There’s an old saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Don’t be like Jack! Whether you engage via the web from the comforts of home, or decide on a more social endeavor, participating in a hobby means a living a fuller and more satisfying life. Below you’ll find some helpful tips to steer you in the right direction, as well as some apps to make picking up and learning a new hobby much easier!

Music Lessons

Playing a musical instrument is a great hobby for people of all ages. Music is a great vehicle for socializing as well as self-expression. Not only can you master a skill to be proud of, but it’s also a versatile pastime you can enjoy on your own or with others. Even if you never play with a band, there are opportunities to perform formally or casually — or just connect with other musicians or aficionados through social media. Whether you opt to play on a street corner, jazz cafe, or your own backyard, you can learn your new skills through convenient online lessons. Fortunately, Paste has a list of 10 apps that can help you learn an instrument with ease.

Unsure what sort of instrument is right for you? One suggestion is to consider what kind of music you enjoy hearing. Also, consider the situations in which you envision playing music. Do you anticipate being part of a quartet, a member of a band, or going solo? Your personal style will help determine your selection. For instance, saxophones, clarinets, and trumpets lend themselves well to any number of situations, but a piano can be more limiting due to size.

Geocaching

Treasure hunting taken to a technologically advanced level, geocaching is a great way to get out and see the sights with a goal in mind. You can get to know the area where you live and it’s an opportunity to be social, or you can do it on your own. Participants hide various items for each other and then search out the cache, which is usually a trinket of some sort, logbook, pencil or pen, and sometimes a disposable camera. The cache is hidden in a weatherproof container, which is stashed under a rock, behind a tree or in another appropriate hidey-hole. As REI explains, it’s a tech-friendly way to get the family together and do something outdoorsy, or you can go on your own, or gather friends to join in. You can usually participate in geocaching for free thanks to most smartphones’ GPS capability. Coordinates for the cache are posted on various websites, and you and fellow cachers seek out the treasures. It’s an ongoing adventure and a great way to get outside and play, no matter how old you are!

If you want to jump right in, HobbyHelp.com provides a list of the four top geocaching apps that will help you get started on your own adventure.

Creative Things

Interested in engaging in some artwork or writing? There are a number of opportunities for budding artists and writers. Some experts suggest honing your writing skills by keeping a journal. Select an attractive blank book and a comfortable pen to start recording thoughts. Is a keyboard more within your comfort zone? You can start a blog for free pretty easily these days, you just need access to an appropriate computer and the internet. If drawing or painting are more your thing, MakeUseOf suggests taking online art lessons or downloading an app. Even if you feel your stick figures are lacking, there is something for everyone on the web. You can learn to draw cartoon figures, animals, landscapes and figures, learn about using color, and learn about various techniques and styles. Media-wise, there are lessons in everything from charcoal to pastels to watercolors — the choice is yours!

Not interested in spending much on supplies? A simple pencil will do fine, too. And you can learn how to shade, create depth, and use space. Some sites offer video instruction, some break things into step-by-step written directions, and some offer interaction with a tutor. Most sites offer several levels of lessons, based on age and/or skill. Whatever your learning style and ability level, there is something for you!

A Quick Note About Technology

If you plan to use your smartphone to help you with your new-found hobby, keep in mind that the older models might give you some trouble if you’re trying to use the latest apps. Are the tutorials and programs you’re using sluggish and unresponsive? Do they often crash in the middle of a lesson? If so, you might need to upgrade your phone. Fortunately, newer phones like the iPhone 11 can handle the newest apps while providing you with all-day battery life. If you’re more comfortable with Android’s operating system, there are several phones on the market right now that can help you make the most of your hobby!

Participating in a hobby is a great way to enrich your life. Play some music, find hidden treasures, or do something creative. Whatever you decide, you’re sure to enjoy a richer and more satisfying life as a result!

About the Author

Cheryl Conklin

Wellness Central

cheryl.conklin@wellnesscentral.info

www.wellnessCentral.info

Dr. Seda Gragossian

Dr. Seda Gragossian is the Clinical Director at the Talk Therapy Psychology Center. She has worked in the mental health field in clinical leadership roles in private practice,  at multiple outpatient facilities, as well as at large psychiatric hospital settings.

Alcohol is one of the few drugs that most people find acceptable to consume. It is highly accessible, can be inexpensive, is masterfully advertised, comes in a large variety, and is frequently paired with meals to elevate our enjoyment and pleasure. Most stores, including drug stores, are eager to get licensed to sell alcohol, making it more and more accessible and progressively more difficult for people who want to practice sobriety and avoid triggers. You can even find it at the check out counters of some grocery stores, including health-oriented stores, in disposable glasses just in case you want a quick one.In some grocery stores, you can drink as you shop and your grocery cart comes with a glass holder. It is supposed to help you get through the stress of shopping. Really? We need alcohol to cope with the stress of picking up items from grocery store shelves and putting them in our shopping cart.

Hollywood does not help either. Frequently, actors are pouring themselves hard liquor as soon as they are faced with difficult news or adversity. It instantly creates an association in our brains between stress and coping. The variety of ways that consumption of alcohol is normalized makes it difficult for individuals to recognize that perhaps their drinking has become excessive and destructive. Sometimes, this goes on for a long time before individuals either recognize on their own that they are consuming to excess or they experience a negative consequence as a result of their consumption.

If you are the kind of person who does not have an off switch when you drink, then sobriety through moderation can be very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. For those of you you who find yourselves drinking most days and not having any boundaries, it is best to set limits or the world around you will set those limits for you.

I often recommend to my clients that if they choose to drink, they should try to abstain during week days and limit to 1 or 2 drinks on weekend days. Without such limits and standards, you are running the risk of becoming over-reliant on alcohol to cope, socialize, work, or even shop at the grocery store. Take charge and make it your choice when you drink or not.

Here are some tips to help you avoid drinking:

• Do not keep alcohol readily available in the house.
• Let your friends and family know about your intention to abstain or moderate, so they can support you.
• Attend support groups such as AA or SMART Recovery
• Remind yourself that the urge to drink is only an urge and, like any urge, it will pass if you do not feed into it.
• Do not let yourself get too hungry because hunger could manifest itself as an urge to drink. Eat protein-rich nutritious foods to curb hunger urges. Keep in mind that many alcoholic drinks are rich in carbohydrates and, high protein meals curb carb urges.
• Distract yourself by doing something positive such as talking to a friend, going for a walk, or listening to a motivational podcast
• Remember you only need to stay sober one day at a time, do not overthink the process.
• See a therapist to help you identify the psychological reasons why you drink and to work on making changes in your life.
• Consider joining an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) that will help you address various mental health issues, any underlying issues that contribute to drinking, as well as help you gain coping tools, skills, and strategies.
• Receive medical help if necessary. There are anti-craving medications on the market that can be effective in combination with therapy.
• Exercise and meditate regularly.
• Identify and avoid triggering situations such as bars and friends who might encourage you to drink.
• If you find it extremely difficult to break the pattern, consider entering a long-term residential program.

Author: Dr. Seda Gragossian

Dr. Seda Gragossian is the Clinical Director at the Talk Therapy Psychology Center. She has worked in the mental health field in clinical leadership roles in private practice,  at multiple outpatient facilities, as well as at large psychiatric hospital settings.

Cognitive distortions are thought patters we develop over time that are inaccurate and that can contribute negatively to our mental health. The study of cognitive distortions was the foundation of Aaron Beck, who is considered to be one of the founding fathers of the cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) movement.

Beck started investigating our thinking patters after he became dissatisfied with the use of psychoanalysis for attempting to treat depression. His focus was on discovering a common set of thoughts that we tend to have that are either inaccurate or exaggerated. Over time, such thoughts impact our emotions and lead to psychological problems. Once a set of core maladaptive thoughts was identified, Beck and others in this field began creating various techniques to dismantle these thoughts, and replace them with more realistic thoughts.

CBT is used frequently in treating anxiety and depression. When you think about each of these conditions, our thinking mind is at the heart of the condition. We tend to be anxious about facing some future event, like speaking in public, or taking on a new activity. In our minds, we forms such thoughts as “I am always nervous in such situations”, or “I am not good enough to do this activity.” Similarly, depression is often rooted in some thought about the past. We think “I wasn’t loved as a child”, or “I am not good at anything”.

There are many cognitive distortions. Here is a list of some of the core ones, though not an exhaustive list:

• Black-and-White Thinking. This refers to taking a position of extremes on the matter and not allowing for an in-between scenario. Thoughts like this always include “always” or “never”. For example, “I always do poorly in social situations”. Is that really true? Chances are, even if you are very introverted, there are certain social circles in which you do just fine – perhaps, around family and close friends. By taking a black-and-white approach, you close yourself off from the reality that you do have some situations in which you are perhaps in the middle of the two extremes of “good” and “bad”.
• Using “Should” Thoughts. This type of thought can be diverted at ourselves or others. We may think that “I should have done this or that in the past”, or “he should be treating me this way or that”. When directed at others, it should be noted that we can’t really control others. By creating a “should” thought, we often set ourselves up for disappointment. When directed to ourselves, we create an unfair situation because we are often referring to something that has already happened and, therefore, we have no more control over. If it’s about the future, we may create an unrealistic expectations that can further perpetuate our frustration.
• Catastrophizing Thoughts. This is related to black-and-white thinking whereby we can only see a worst-case-scenario about some upcoming event. I may be unemployed and may entertain a thought of “I will never get a job again”. That’s quite an extreme scenario. No matter the situation, it is very unlikely that the absolute worst-case scenario will come true. Maybe you won’t get a job right away. Or maybe you won’t get an amazing job. But to think that you will never get a job again is very unrealistic. Such catastrophizing thoughts can relate to many areas of our lives, such as relationships, career, and health.
• Magnifying Thoughts. This takes place when we blow things out of proportion. You carry out a task not to your full potential and you have the thought that it was the worst performance of your life. This is related to catastrophizing and is tied to thoughts where you overamplify a certain situation.
• Minimizing Thoughts. This is the same as magnifying thoughts but on the opposite direction. You get recognition from your supervisor at work and yet you minimize the event but thinking “well, I didn’t get that much recognition”. This type of thought undermines the potential positives in an event.
• Thoughts of Discounting the Positive. This is related to minimizing thoughts and has to do with focusing unevenly on the negatives versus the positives.
• Personalization Thoughts. We are susceptible to attributing various events to something we may have done. You are in a work meeting and the supervisor leaves the meeting unhappy. You have a thought that it must have been something you said or did. And yet, you don’t really know for a fact what may have contributed to the person’s dissatisfaction.
• Mind reading and Fortune Telling Thoughts. This occurs when we jump to conclusions in our minds about what someone is thinking or about their motives. This often happens without direct evidence or external confirmation. Such a thought may spring up because we are trying to sustain a certain belief we have about a person or situation.
• Filtering Thoughts. This type of thought is related to discounting the positives and having minimizing or maximizing thoughts. A filtering thought is more generally a type of thought that filters out some information when making an assessment.

There are many others, including blaming, always being right, and various false thoughts about how the world is and what level of control we have over it. At the heart of each of these is a thought that is not grounded in reality, or at least is not backed by external evidence. Regardless of the type of distorted thought, there are some steps we can take to help loosen their grip on us.

In a future article, we will look at various techniques that can help identify, and address such distorted thinking.

References

Here are the books we find to be most influential and great resources in the field of CBT and working with cognitive distortions:

• Robert L. Leahy, Contemporary Cognitive Therapy
• Aaron T. Beck, A. John Rush, Brian Shaw, Gary Emery. Cognitive Therapy of Depression
• Aaron T. Beck, Arthur Freeman, Denise D. Davis, and associates. Cognitive Therapy of Personality Disorders
• Keith S. Dobson. Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Therapies.

Author: Dr. Seda Gragossian

Dr. Seda Gragossian is the Clinical Director at the Talk Therapy Psychology Center. She has worked in the mental health field in clinical leadership roles in private practice,  at multiple outpatient facilities, as well as at large psychiatric hospital settings.

By now, many people have heard that our body produces various chemicals that significantly influence our mental state. While this is a very complicated subject, there are four specific chemicals that are of predominant importance. These are serotonin, oxytocin, dopamine, and endorphin. There a many products in the drug industry based on the manipulation of one of these chemicals. For instance, one of the first popular drugs in mental health, Prozac, is based on creating an environment where there is ample supply of serotonin in the body. Zoloft attempts to do the same.

When looking at the research, it is interesting to find that there are non-prescription approaches that can impact the supply and function of these chemicals in the body. While it’s hard to find quality research that compares natural approaches to ones created in the laboratory, it certainly does not hurt to be aware of what role these chemicals play and how you can influence them.

Please note that we make no statement about the effectiveness of drugs provided by the pharmaceutical industry. This is not the purpose of this article.

Let’s look at these four compounds a bit:

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter and is directly linked to your mood. Both good and bad moods have serotonin in their underpinnings. Neurotransmitters are used to govern emotions, and other cognitive functions, including memory. It is believed that they are tied to the human’s perceived availability of resources. Resources could be food or something more complex like social dominance. In other words, serotonin is directly tied to survival.

What’s particularly interesting about serotonin is that, while it is created in a couple of areas in the body, it is estimated that about 90% of serotonin is generated in our gastrointestinal (GI) track and is directly involved in our intestinal processes.

Serotonin is made from the essential amino acid tryptophan. This amino acid enters our body through our diet and is found in various meats, nuts, and cheese. A tryptophan deficiency, therefore, can result in a bad mood and feelings of anxiety.

• Cheese
• Eggs
• Turkey
• Salmon
• Nuts
• Pineapple

Oxytocin is a neuropeptide hormone that is created in a gland in the brain. Oxytocin plays a role in the feeling of social bonding and is also released naturally during childbirth. One of the reasons this is tied to mental health is because this social bonding sensation is tied to the feelings of trust and belonging – both of which are very important in our mental state. Oxytocin, in fact, is often referred to as either the “bonding chemical” or the “love hormone”. It is also a natural antidepressant.

The feelings of trust and belonging influence the secretion of oxytocin. One interesting study found that oxytocin levels role both in humans and in pats, after a petting session. Other research has shown that increase in oxytocin reduces fear and also increase the feelings of empathy between people.

• Loving touch
• Participating in close relationships
• Hug (just 20 seconds a day releases enough oxytocin)
• Cuddle while watching TV
• Pet an animal
• Spend time with someone you trust
• Start building trust by meeting the expectations of others.
• Engage in sexual activities with your loved one
• Get a massage

More recently, research is being done on the effect of oxytocin to the metabolic functions. It appears that oxytocin plays some role in weight loss, though researchers are not yet in agreement on what is taking place.

Endorphin is another neuropeptide hormone created in the brain. It is a type of morphine that is created in response to pain and is considered nature’s pain relief. It is believed to be a part of the survival instinct of humans and is created to allow us to go on under pain, particularly in life-threatening situations. Endorphins also bring about a feeling of well-being and even euphoria.

Many have heard the so-called “runner’s high”, which is supposed to be the equivalent of endorphin generated in response to strenuous exercise. In recent research, it is not so clear that endorphin is what causes this feeling of well-being. Rather, there seems to be some more complex function happening during exercise that also reduces stress and releases serotonin.

• Some aromas can increase the production of endorphin, including the smell of ginger, vanilla, and lavender.
• A good laugh from your belly (e.g., watching a good comedy)
• Rigorous exercise, especially to the point where you are feeling challenged.
• Walking 30 minutes per day

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is synthesized in the kidney and brain. It is tied to the motivational component of the human reward-motivation system. The anticipation of any type of reward releases dopamine in the body. While it was believed that dopamine is tied to pleasure, the latest research suggests that it is more precisely tied to the pleasure received from achieving a certain reward. In a survival situation, dopamine helps with the motivation of the organism to achieve certain rewards, such as hunting for food, or fighting for securing a mate.

Dopamine, similar to serotonin, is derived from amino acids. Dopamine, in particular, is derived from L-Tyrosin. Tyrosin is found in protein-rich food sources and is also tied to improved memory and general cognitive functions.

Low levels of dopamine in the body are linked with procrastination, self-doubt, and lack of enthusiasm.

• Protein-rich foods, such as eggs, chicken, avocados.
• Tyrosin supplements.
• Set goals and work towards achieving them.
• Create small and frequent rewards tied to activities you undertake.
• Acts of kindness.
• Volunteer work and acts of giving.
• Vitamins B6, A, and C
• Magnesium

As stated in the beginning of this article, the chemistry of our bodies is quite complex and the impact of these chemicals on mental health is a very broad subject. In fact, we are still learning through new research about the effects of various chemicals in the body, as well as their interactions.

There are many prescription drugs in the market that look to optimize various functions in the body. What we are highlighting above is that many of these same functions can be optimized in natural ways through various foods and actions. Broadly speaking, our mental health is closely tied to what we eat, our gastrointestinal processes, as well as what we do. Various actions, such as exercise, hugging someone, and volunteering our time, are also closely tied to improved mental health.

When it comes to general mental wellbeing, our recommendation is to stack the odds in your favor with maximizing all these areas of your life.

Author: Dr. Seda Gragossian

Dr. Seda Gragossian is the Clinical Director at the Talk Therapy Psychology Center. She has worked in the mental health field in clinical leadership roles in private practice,  at multiple outpatient facilities, as well as at large psychiatric hospital settings.