I had to admit he was very happy and seemed well balanced in that healthy path we are all searching for. And it wasn't the question as much as the way he asked the question, in a very serious searching way. My response at the time was, I was too busy for any hobbies.
He shook his head, and in an almost preacher like conviction stated, "you got to have hobbies or your job and family will suffer."
Escaping the real world seems to be critical to our mental health. The brain needs down time. But if you sit in an empty room and try to relax, a million issues will invade your thoughts.
The brain is designed to operate and deal with the input it is given. If there is no input, it will go to the last problem it was addressing, the very problem we are probably trying to escape from.
So a hobby does become critical, as a focus for your brain to deal with, that does not have the stress your everyday life is producing.
For men this seems to be going out and doing something physical, such as taking a Jeep through a rugged country road. Women often like a warm love story that has a happy ending. This input works different parts of the brain.
As described in more detail in this link. Worry or work stress, works one part of the brain. When we change the input to a different situation, such as trying to see the best way to get through a difficult road environment or trigger the emotional aspect in a love story, we are letting the part of the brain that was working so hard rest, while another part of the brain is being used.
- Frontal Lobe- associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving
- Parietal Lobe- associated with movement, orientation, recognition, perception of stimuli
- Occipital Lobe- associated with visual processing
- Temporal Lobe- associated with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory, and speech
So a Hobby becomes a very important aspect of our brain and emotional well beings healthy path.
