People Who Need To Keep Their Mind Busy At All Times Usually Have 9 Hobbies That Bring Comfort
shurkin_son | ShutterstockWhen people are intelligent and seeking to learn new things, or just feeling anxious and preferring mindless entertainment, they need distractions to get out of their own head.
When they don't have the space to get lost in a rabbit hole or overthink for hours, they need hobbies to bring them comfort when their minds are constantly busy. By focusing on something else, they can distract themselves from their anxious thoughts and complex emotions.
Comforting hobbies for people who need to keep their minds busy at all times
1. Adult coloring books
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According to mental health counselor Shainna Ali, coloring books can be incredibly therapeutic for adults, especially with pages and images that have mandalas. It brings a flair of creativity into the routine that's powerful for happiness, but it also keeps the mind busy.
When we're focused on coloring in between the lines or turning our minds off completely to accomplish a task, it can be the perfect hobby on the most stressful days.
2. Knitting or crocheting
Anything that requires some sort of bodily focus, like using hands to knit or crochet, is great for managing a busy, overthinking mind. The brain focuses on the task your hands are completing, settling the nervous system down and reducing stress in the mind.
For people who don't always want to leave the house or use social interactions as a crutch to distract themselves from spending time in their own company, these kinds of activities are perfect. They're a distraction, but they rarely become a crutch.
3. Reading
In addition to all the other benefits reading books offers, they can be a comforting escape from reality. For fiction readers immersed in a new world, carving out time to dive into a book when you can't get your mind to stop racing is a very comforting hobby.
Using anything to avoid your problems or dwelling on your thoughts for too long can create a lot more stress than it's worth, but a short-term fix can be re-energizing.
4. Stretching and movement
With a busy mind, bringing awareness back into the body and grounding themselves in their physical state can regulate the out-of-control thoughts of people. Whether it's stretching before going to bed to release tension or practicing yoga to make peace with a busy mind amid a chaotic day, well-regulated people manage a busy mind with intentional movement.
While many make a hobby out of going to the gym and doing intense workouts, movement can also look like taking a slow walk outside or stretching in bed.
5. Playing an instrument
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Much like other creative hobbies that require some level of hand-eye coordination, playing an instrument is the perfect hobby for someone who needs to keep their mind busy constantly. It takes a lot of focus and concentration, but also a clear mind to truly read music and feel it as you're playing.
Playing and listening to music is incredibly therapeutic for trauma and complex emotions, making it a good alternative to dwelling in our own pain. When we learn how to play an instrument, we're busying our minds. When we learn to play music, we're healing ourselves.
6. Gardening
The physical act of caring for plants and cultivating living things is powerful for emotional health. However, the active part of gardening that requires you to use your hands and connect with the earth adds a whole new level of benefits.
If you're trying to keep your mind busy all the time, movement and natural light are all you need to come back into your body. You don't have to run from your mind with distractions. Just find things that require some level of focused awareness and ignore thoughts as they arise.
7. Writing stories
Writing is a significant way to boost mental health and well-being. Writing doesn't necessarily provide an escape from inner thoughts all the time, but it does keep your mind busy because you're using your hands and creating a story.
As you're writing, you're forming new neural connections in your brain. You're making sense of subconscious thoughts and pent-up feelings that might be easier to avoid, but you're also focusing your attention on something external. You're literally processing things as you're writing.
8. Meditation
While it might seem counterintuitive, putting all of our energy and attention on coming into our physical body or focusing on breath is the best way to busy your mind. You're releasing the need to filter and acknowledge every passing emotion, instead grounding yourself in how you feel.
It's somewhat "woo woo" to practical people reliant on business and urgency to avoid their overthinking spirals, but it makes quite a difference.
9. Junk journaling
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Junk journaling is a creative hobby that encourages people to keep track of memories by putting "trash" into their journals. Whether it's receipts and photo booth prints, or even random paper items from meals at restaurants, collecting these items and thoughtfully putting them into a journal brings comfort.
When you're simultaneously reflecting on these memories and clearing clutter out of your space, you busy your mind while also releasing things not meant for you. It's a lot like visual "brain dumping," where you can get everything out of your mind and onto the paper, so it doesn't feel like a burden.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor's degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
