A Passion for Hobbies ~ Guest Post by Nikki Albert

Today I am bringing you a guest post from another chronic illness blogger, Nikki Albert, who blogs at Brainless Blogger. Nikki suffers from chronic migraines, fibromyalgia, asthma, hypothyroidism, depression, and hypermobility syndrome. You can read more about her here. Despite her pain and chronic illnesses, Nikki has a passion for hobbies. In this post, she shares some of her hobbies and explains how they help her.

Related Post: How to Make Hobbies Work Despite Your Pain

Nikki’s Story: A Passion For Hobbies

I have lived with chronic pain for as long as I can remember. It became more problematic for me by the time I hit twenty because, in addition to the pain caused by my hypermobility syndrome, I added on fibromyalgia and then, Boom, chronic migraine disease. I think that was entirely uncalled for my body to compound it like that. Then, you know, various other assorted chronic illnesses stacked on there.

Once it really layered on the pain like that, it became quite difficult to cope with while trying to work full-time and have a career. Push through the pain, if you want to, but it will push back, hard. This can crush your self-identity and self-worth because I felt like a failure, as a person, for not being the perfect employee and just pushing through enough.

Hobbies are things I have a passion for, yes. They help distract me from the pain, yeppers, at times. More so they help me emotionally and give me that sense of fulfilment outside of normal ‘productivity from work’.
I need things to keep me occupied. To distract myself from the pain and help me maintain my mood. To keep my mind engaged and to help reduce stress. To me, that makes hobbies fundamental to my coping strategy.
My hobbies fall into two categories: All things writing (blogging, poetry, freelance writing, and novel writing) and art (drawing, some painting).

Writing

Blog

I have run a blog for well over a decade (Brainless Blogger) and it is a pretty consuming hobby. Not only content for posts, but making graphics, promoting via all my social media and learning new skills like upping my SEO. It isn’t just writing. It is interacting with an audience of readers in a meaningful way and providing information I hope is useful. It is fulfilling not because it is for me but because I do it to contribute in some way to the chronic illness community.

Poetry

Poetry is something I write only when I am in the mood. I’m not even sure what the mood is but I have to be in that ‘zone’ to write it. It is a cathartic release and emotional form of expression.

Passion’s kiss

We all burn by our own blazing fire
Loved by passion’s bittersweet kiss
Toss ourselves into that joyful pyre
What a horror and bliss

Loved by passion’s bittersweet kiss
Thought is but a whim; reason’s little knot
What a horror and bliss
Desire and passion are all we got

Thought is but a whim; reason’s little knot
Toss ourselves into that joyful pyre
Desire and passion are all we got
We all burn by our own blazing fire

Freelance writing

My freelance writing is perhaps the one thing that is under the ‘work productivity’ category. I only do a small amount per month. I suppose people now call it gig work or side income. It is that. I don’t have much income on disability so every bit helps. I do research, brainstorm and try out different topics. It keeps my brain interested. It is fulfilling because it is mentally stimulating.

I currently write for: Restless Leg Syndrome Health Info & Community which is a part of Sleep-Disorders.net

Novels

I am an indie author who writes fantasy fiction novels under the pen name Lil Hamilton. I love reading fantasy fiction and that is likely why I am obsessed with writing my own stories in the genre. It is a bit of escapism I suppose. Creating my own world and characters, diving right into the story I created and losing myself in my writing. For many years this was my primary pain distraction. My main passion.

Artwork

This is a recently added hobby. I needed another creative outlet and this one is one I can dig into because I had little skill so it would be a long-term hobby as I slowly develop that skill. I have a bit of a knack for it in that people tell me my progress in one year is impressive. However, like with all creative pursuits I am never quite satisfied. It is more about the journey for me. A way to get beyond words to express myself.

How My Passion For Hobbies Helps Me

All my hobbies are deep passions that compel me to do them. However, with chronic pain, there is a massive emotional toll that creates a lot of suffering. I need to put that suffering somewhere. I need to get it out. I need to express it. Maybe this is because I am so prone to depression that this outlet is so essential to my mental and emotional well-being.

Life Satisfaction

I do know they have helped increase my life satisfaction. There are several factors for life satisfaction and they have helped with some of them over time.

The ones my hobby has helped boost my contentment with life are:

Satisfied with who I am as a person (self-esteem).
A solid sense of self-identity and value who I am.
Meaning or purpose in my life.
Contributing to society, family or in my personal life that gives me makes me productive in a way I value.
My self-worth when I was working was at an all-time low. I felt like a failure as a person and completely worthless. Since I have been off work I have slowly been building my self-esteem back up. Partly by understanding what I Can do has Worth. Who I am has worth. This has also helped me adapt a sense of self and self-identity not based on what I ‘do for a living’ but rather re-structured around what qualities in myself I value, including my creativity. I find fulfilment, productivity and a sense of purpose in my writing that have nothing to do with income. And I find joy in my art.

---

Thank you to Nikki for sharing your post and your passion for your hobbies. I have enjoyed reading your post and I am sure my readers will too.

Please take a look at Nikki’s blog and her social media pages.
Blog ~ Facebook Page ~ Twitter ~ Instagram