Embroidery, knitting, crocheting(spelling?), scrapbooking, quilt making, card making, painting.. Ummmm, ok I am sure there are lots more but I cannot think right now! Hope this gives you and idea..

Crossword puzzles help your brain. There are games you can play for free online. Yahoo has daily games. Lifetime.com also has tons of games that are free. They have downloadable games for reasonable prices.

Don't laugh, but I am soothed and my brain gets a break when I color. Just like kids I have crayola crayons and a coloring book.

You can download Skype and chat with friends or family for free.

I've had CFS for 14+ years. There are times when nothing appeals to me. Except things I can't do. Take my dogs for a walk. Clean the house. It's a hellish disease.

I just looked at your profile and you live in Pittsburgh! You probably knew that. I grew up in Mt. Lebanon. My mom and brother still live there. Pittsburgh has become a beautiful city. My husband and I have considered that as a place to retire to.

GO STEELERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love my Play Station three. There are all kinds of games that I can play that I consider fun!! They are not expensive, they keep my hands moving and they challange my brain.

Crosswords are good for you too! Talking to someone from your family, or church or Skyping with them if you are fortunate enough to have a computer. Skype has added a wonderful dimension to my life, as I can now actually SEE my grandkids instead of just talking on the phone. I feel less disconnected from them this way.

I cut coupons, read the paper ( for limited amounts of time during bad briain fog days), play online games. I make small project goals for myself around the house, when I complete them, I feel good about me!!

That's the key. We need to do stuff that makes us feel useful. When we water the plants AND put lunch together, that's an accomplishment!! We need to pat ourselves on the back a little more.

Being alone, is very difficult. If you are alone, I am so sorry. But in any way I can, I try to socialize. Even if it's just with one person, on the telephone...it's avoiding isolation, which is just not healthy.

I have friends. I have to reach out to get to them sometimes, but I don't mind. We have to fight a lot for help with this illness. I'm surprised at how happy people are to hear from me, if I will reach out to them first.

Take a step, small one, but take one. Do something for someone else. Make THEIR day. You'll feel better about yours!!

Hang in there Amy! We're all in this together!

Hi Amy,

While I can't due most hobbies due to pain, stiffness, and fatigue, I've found free lectures on line and can view them at any time. I love crossword puzzles too.

I know this isn't a "hobby" for most, but it for me it helps... Bell soft tech resistance band with handles. I do just a few repetitions (whatever my body will allow 2 or 10) here and there throughout the day (not every day).

Also, I couldn't sit or hold books to read so I found a great book holder that enables me to lie in bed to read.

I write. Because of severe ME/CFS, it has taken me forever to finish my book. Can only focus well for a short period after waking in the morning. But it has given me goals. It's a children's fantasy. So, it takes me into another world, where no one has CFS. Because of CFS, I'm almost completely isolated, and rely on social media and phone calls from my children for contact. My writing at least keeps me engaged with fantasy characters. Apart from my commitment to my children, writing is the reason I'm still here; it's the reason I haven't opted out from the dreadful day-to-day existence with this horrible disease.

Having problems with your hands is a problem when it comes to hobbies, isn't it?

If you can walk a block or two, then walk that block or two as often as you possibly can. I love to read. I write. There are things I've had to give up but I do what I can when I can. There are some good suggestions here. For me it is more about restlessness than boredom because there is always something to do, I either don't "feel" like doing or am not able to, but the something is there.

I think a lot of it comes down to chopping things up into manageable tasks. Whether it's a trip to the store, cleaning, cooking, laundry, crafts, computer stuff, gardening, family history, organizing family photos, making music (even if you are unable to play for long periods - composing in your mind?), writing poetry, photography, etc. we do what we can a little bit at a time.

Take care,
katy

Honey... I have been there... I am so so sorry. I know how depressing this point is. I started tching myself how to paint w/ water color and writing poetry and made a blog called pishposh patio. I also created my own website called www.chronicfatiguehealing.com and started sewing and making quilts out of denim and flannel sheets. It was so hard bc I was a very active and type A personality. I wish you the best of luck and love. xo Sun

I am in the same shape you are. My hands hurt but I still can grip a needle much of the time. I lay in bed and cross-stitch while listening to books on CD's. It actually relaxes me. I also love the coloring book idea :)

Oh, I am the Queen Of Activities You Can Do In Bed. There are all sorts of sewing and needle crafts (in my opinion, the more detailed, hand-sewing needed, the better, and if you get good at it, you can sell your works later), crocheting and knitting (both pretty easy and inexpensive to pick up), reading (fiction and non fiction, you can learn all kinds of things!)... really, most crafty activities can be done quietly in bed, sometimes with a little bit of prep to, say, make sure you don't get paint on your sheets.

For me, my big passion is photography, and my style has a lot of post processing work involved, so I often spend whole afternoons editing quietly in bed.

Good luck! I hope you find something you really end up loving.

I do a lot of online games but they are getting dull. I need something more substantial. I have a lot of food allergies and I've become very good at cooking, so I think I'm going to start a couple of food allergy web sites or general food blog. I'm going to explore music in some way also, I don't know if I'll be able to play french horn again,but I had recently purchased one so I'll get that going. Also decided to try to find some sort of drawing, painting or other artistic hobby. It would be fun to explore the painting and drawing, in school I had to chose between art or music, but I love music most. I do love to draw and used to love to water color. I would color with my kids and grandkids. I had to stop doing water colors with my kids because I would discourage them because I was sort of naturally good at it. That might be something to start up with.
I do need to download skype so I can visit with the grandkids until I move closer to them. I live with my boyfriend and visit our friends and his family now and then. I just miss having a purpose in life I guess. It feels so selfish to not work or volunteer.
I like the idea of cutting coupons, someone at our apartment complex does that for military families overseas. I used those when I was in the military, they come in handy because at some locations the only have the name brands and no store brands. Coupons make a huge difference to when the local exchange rate suddenly makes your monthly off base rent take a huge bite our of your budget.
Thanks for all the tips, I need to find where I put those crayons now!

I enjoy using Dover Publishing's coloring books. They are a little more "sophisticated" than typical coloring books. They have one's geared toward nature, fashion, history, etc. So, for someone like me who's very UNTALENTED artistically, they make me look better at art! And, if you are artistic, I think they would provide a lot of possibilites as well.

A way I cope with all of my limitations is to "trick myself" into making boring or routine activities into projects or goals. For instance, if I can only watch movies, I try to watch them in a specific group. For instance, I'll watch several James Cagney movies in a row, and then do a little online research about him and about the studio he worked with. That way I"m not just passively watching movies, but also reaching a goal and learning something also. Then I can also spend some time thinking or writing about his films, or learn more about the era in which the gangster films were made, without exerting too much effort. Netflix offers a lot of old movies for a pretty reasonable price.

Also, audiobooks are a great way to "read" without working too hard. Some public libraries are starting to offer audiobooks for rent. Audible.com also has a subscription service. Again, I try to create a goal based on author or theme so it's a little more
"active."

i would paint. not the fancy stuff. more abstract. go out and buy some cheap paint supplies and brushes and a canvas or two and go for it. paint on the canvas it is that simple you will be surprised at how fun it is. i took a couple of cans of spray paint and tempura and came up with a painting that it on the wall in our livingroom and gets good comments.