Another day, another blog post relating to another day on the calendar. Today’s day is a fun one. Today, January 4th, is National Trivia Day.

Do you like games that require you answer questions on a number of subjects, like the TV game show Jeopardy! and board games like Trivial Pursuit? I know I do. In fact, I like those kinds of games so much that I’m a member of a team that competes in trivia matches. It’s kind of nerdy, but a lot of fun.

Hobbies can do so much for us. For people in recovery, hobbies allow them to focus on activities that don’t revolve around alcohol or drugs. Hobbies give people something to do with their time. Perhaps most importantly, hobbies can introduce us to new people. These new friendships could make us feel better and not want to use drugs or alcohol, especially if people in these new peer groups don’t use drugs or alcohol themselves.

The social aspect of hobbies has helped me. As someone who is introverted, I sometimes find it difficult to meet new people. Hobbies are an icebreaker, because talking about the hobbies and similar interests is a good introduction for people who might not want to talk about themselves a lot with new people. As someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety, meeting friendly new people has helped alleviate this depression and anxiety.

We all know, too, that depression and anxiety often go hand-in-hand with drug and alcohol abuse, so much so that there’s a term, dual diagnosis, for people who have both a condition like anxiety or depression and also drug or alcohol problems. Treating both conditions is the best way to treat a dual diagnosis, since both of these conditions often influence each other.

One component of this treatment involves exploring new ways to spend time. After all, using drugs and alcohol can dominate one’s life. Hobbies are a good way to spend this time. One of these hobbies could be trivia, so happy National Trivia Day!