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Quiet Hobbies of PF Patients
Adjusting your hobbies from physical activities (i.e. sports) to quiet, less-physical activities is an important step following a patient’s diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis (PF). That being said, it is a very difficult step and one that I struggled with as an active, sports-savvy young adult. I did not want to give up the things I loved to this disease, and I felt as though my illness was stealing my joy right out from underneath me. Once I had some time to adjust to this, I learnt to enjoy quiet hobbies that bring me equal amounts of joy as the sports that I once loved. However, it took me a while to be able to re-frame my views on this, and adjust my attitude.
As my disease progresses, quiet hobbies have become a gift. I have learned to enjoy crafting and making things for people that I love most. Not only are these therapeutic in nature for me, they will some day act as something I can leave behind for my close friends and family members. My quiet hobbies currently include: scrapbooking and card-making, writing and home decor projects.
For others who are looking to transition to quieter hobbies as their disease progresses, I thought it might be helpful to compile a list of hobbies that other PF/IPF patients find therapeutic and beneficial despite their disease progressing and physical abilities changing.
Please share below what some of the quiet hobbies are that you have adopted since your diagnosis of PF/IPF. I’d love to hear from you!
Warm regards,
Charlene. -
4 Replies
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Hi Charlene, my quiet hobbie is Knitting, I have made hats and scarves for family and friends.I also like to read. I used to do more crafts but my eyesight isn’t as good as it was. Sheila
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Hi Sheila,
Thanks for sharing…. knitting is on my list of things to learn someday! I have tried before but never really given it another go, and always appreciate the items and talent that comes from someone who knits. Someday when I try again, I may ask for a few pointers! I also would love to make things for family and friends 🙂
Enjoy!
Charlene. -
I am doing as much genealogy on the computer that I can. I think I need to consider a list of to do’s. I need to organize a closet filled with boxes of unorganized photos. How does one begin? Also on my mind is to make an inventory of household to help with their disposition/value by my children. What to do with my mom’s stamp collection? These are quiet activities that I cannot seem to get my head around so I escape to computer genealogy. Anyone have a way to lists beginning steps? I find this overwhelming and depressing.
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Hi Patricia,
Thanks so much for joining the PF forums and contributing to this thread 🙂
Genealogy – how interesting! What made you want to start looking into this? I know some people do simply because they have more time since their diagnosis, while others want to understand more about their family history as it pertains to illness. Usually when people do the latter, they share with me that they are looking for others in their family with interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) or PF. What a great idea to consider doing this online though…
It is hard to decide where to begin, especially when tasks or hobbies feel daunting when just getting started. What about inviting a friend over for tea/coffee, and just asking them to help you initiate a few things you want to ‘cross off your to-do list’? I find when I have friends helping me with projects where they aren’t as invested as I am emotionally, it can be easier for them to start and me to just join in. Or, if you’re like me, you might work better with structure. Sometimes when I have big tasks that I don’t want to tackle and/or are overwhelming, I write a list of things I need to do and put “complete by” dates across from the tasks. Usually that “complete by date” is several weeks to a month away. This helps me stay on track and know that it needs to get done, but it also allows me a bit of flexibility not to have to do it in a short turnaround, in case I don’t feel upto it one day. Does this help at all?
Hang in there, completing tasks like organizing and planning/preparing items for the future that can feel unknown to us can be overwhelming and depressing as you say. Please know that you’re not alone and feel free to reach out any time.
Warm regards,
Charlene.
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