New hobbies are exciting. Suddenly, we have something that makes us feel happy and fulfilled, and want to do all the time. Quickly, however, something that once interested you can turn into a huge burden. Hobbies can both be born and die in a surprisingly short amount of time.
cancerous-potato asked: What killed your interest in a hobby?
You can't force something like that.
"Music production. My god parents pushed me to sell my music as much as possible despite the fact I only had a few years under my belt and wasn't really good at it yet.
It stopped being a fun hobby of producing crazy things and uploading them to show my friends and became an unrewarding process of starting a project and scrapping it when I knew it wasn't even worth a dollar."
Gotta hate those kayaking cliques.
Giphy"I was getting in to whitewater kayaking and none of my friends or family had any interest in it. For obvious reasons it is dangerous to kayak gnar alone.
The people involved in kayaking clubs are the weirdest, most uncomfortable, strange power trip, passive aggressive people I ever met in my life. And I tried a few different groups. Plenty of nice people, but the group dynamics were awful.
I guess it wasn't meant to be."
It gets boring once it becomes work.
"After years and years of sewing gifts for children in my family and friends' kids, I finally launched an Etsy, then transitioned into IG and my own website.
It was stressful, customers were frustrating, custom orders were fun but could be problematic. Stock and supplies filled up our second bedroom in a small house. I had to be on my phone/computer/IG whenever I wasn't sewing. Collaborations were flaky.
It wasn't worth the stress and long hours to make very little after an entire year+ of work. Shut my shop down, gave most of my leftover stock away.
Tl;dr- turned my hobby into a business. Hated it."
Um...they said WHAT?
"I used to make cheese and cured meats. Like cheddar and prosciutto etc. I have a basement cheese cave, a curing chamber, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, temp controls, alllll of that.
I used to enjoy making it, aging it for months, then sharing at a big dinner party or something. Then people started, like, expecting me to make it. And would get pouty if I didn't share. Hey, sorry, that small Gouda is $25 in ingredients and 9 months aging, I'm not giving it away, I want to save it for myself this time.
Then someone close to me said I could give them the homemade stuff and go buy my own cheese from the store if I wanted more for myself. Annnnnd, I'm out. All the fun and joy of the process is gone so I've found new hobbies that are 100% mine alone."
That's so extra.
Giphy"I was really into comics growing up. Probably 15 years or so. Then they started CONSTANTLY restarting the universe, restarting the title, and doing major events that required massive tie-ins.
It just got to the point where you could not just read a fluid, consistent story about a character or team for longer than like 4 months."
Keep it drama-free.
"I used to do community theater in a small town. Just a lark really, but there was some real talent.
A group if us would put together a show every couple of months, often well received by audience members. Soon some of the actors and crew started to think they were something really special. Egos grew out of control. There was talk of "my art, as an actor".
People took themselves WAY too seriously. Took all the fun out of the whole thing."
Didn't even know that was a thing.
"Used to love baking. Then I moved to a high altitude. You can't bake the same at a high altitude as you do at a low one.
All my recipes that I had spent years perfecting were suddenly terrible. I would try to find high altitude recipes on line, but they were always still for a few thousand feet lower than I was, so even on specifically high altitude recipes I'd have to adjust for the altitude, and even with a billion guides I just never was able to get the hang of it.
It was worse than starting over from scratch, because at least when I first started I could follow a damn recipe. So I just quit. Maybe I'll get back into it whenever I move back closer to sea level."
That's when you know it's time to switch to Red Dead Redemption.
Giphy"I burned out on GTA Online because of a friend that was OBSESSED with it. I'd get game invites if I was playing something else or watching Netflix.
If we did play he'd spend up to an hour trying to exploit glitches to get more money, and maybe two or three missions afterward. I play video games to relax in my off time, and he turned it into a second job.
I ended up getting a PS4 and promptly refused to get Playstation Plus to avoid online entirely."
TRUE FACTS.
"Pretty much every hobby: The community.
Like, you find something that's fun to do, and you find other people who like that thing too, and it's great. But after a while it starts to 'congeal' for lack of a better word, and there start to be a lot of unwritten rules that define an in-group and an out-group and the "right" way to enjoy the activity. And then somebody comes up with a way to extract money from enthusiasts and it just keeps going downhill from there.
After a while, it seems like every new hobby becomes an elaborate performative activity where people buy the right things and do the activity in a particular way for the purpose of being seen by other people, to demonstrate to them that you're part of the in-group. The actual activity around which the hobby is based becomes secondary.
And of course it's an endless feedback loop that keeps escalating as more people get into the in-group and the people who are already there raise the stakes to maintain the exclusivity."
That's DISGUSTING.
"I joined a very large online forum for people involved in the hobby. It spawned a few "name and shame" secret forums where people could anonymous ridicule and insult other members. It went way too far.
People becoming "secret agents" and befriending other members to gain their trust and confidence, then come back to the secret forum to "spill the tea" about health issues, family problems, financial difficulties, etc... Posting personal information, photos of houses and cars, photos of kids and spouses to ridicule their appearance.
Screenshotting pics taken inside houses from social media accounts, zooming in to try and see prescription bottles, and other items in detail to make up theories and "lore" about targeted members. Making up insulting names for members. Even contacting employers, neighbors, and other people to try and cause trouble. Occasionally they would have random stuff mailed to a person.
It was really disgusting and actually ruined my interest in the hobby."
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.