No, the report does not say that the hobby activity reduces suicides. It says that there is a correlation. The study specifically says, "Therefore, the analyses do not reveal a real causal effect, but rather a correlation between type of social contact available and leisure activities."
So you don't know if hobbies are the cause of reduced suicides, or the kind of people who are not inclined to suicide are also interested in hobbies.
This is important, friends. The first question that you ask yourself when reading about some study, is "Does it claim cause & effect, or just correlation?" The next question is, was it a well-designed experiment, with peer review?
Critical thinking is an important part of being an informed citizen.
Genesee Terminal, freelanced HO in Upstate NY ...hosting Loon Bay Transit Authority and CSX Intermodal. Interchange with CSX (CR)(NYC).
CP/D&H, N scale, somewhere on the Canadian Shield
I have always found this hobby to be beneficial.
When I was working, it was a way to unwind from the stresses of work.
Now that I'm retired, it gives me a goal - I'm finally building the big one.
One thing I have found (for me anyway) is that it's not important how efficient or fast I do it. Part of the benefit for me is working at my own pace and doing things my own way. I also do things just because they interest me at the moment like building a model in a different scale or setting up a loop of track just to run a train in a different scale.
I enjoy this hobby whether reading about it, working on a layout, building a model, just running the trains in a circle, etc.
Paul
One of my late friends/operating crew members was a physciartist. He said he never had had a Model railroader for a patient. He retired at 78, and went back to work a few months later because his professional colleags called him and said their waiting list were getting too long.
Sadly he pass at age 84. RIP
Dave
SeeYou190 I dread replacing my truck.
I did that last fall. There are very few choices out there for us compact truck folks
Cheers, FWIW, Ed
BigDaddy,
My wife had a patient who had attempted suicide multiple times, the last attempt was with a shotgun in the mouth. When he came to and found he hadn't succeeded, he decided it wasn't worth the effort and gave up trying. It took severall years, but he did die from that attempt when one of the pellets that had bounced off the inside of his skull finally migrated and worked its way to something vital.
You never know, let's hope watching trains or working on them keep us all in good health.
Have fun,
Richard
BigDaddyEveryone who is retired has time to exercise for 45 min. It's easy to come up with an excuse, as I do, too often. Just do it.
The mental health benefit of having the discipline to work out every day is as big a benefit as the physical benefit. That is often discussed in the literature of the day.
My Mom and more recently my wife's Uncle were helped on their way to the next world as they were in horrible pain. I am glad a shotgun is not in my future if I am in pain. A little extra Morphine can work wonders administered by those that know what they are doing.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
BigDaddy I know three people who divorced after 45 years of marriage. How do you get back in the dating scene after 45 years?
.
I have been married for 32 years, had the same employer for 30 years, and lived in the same house for 20 years. My truck is 12 years old.
I cannot imagine dating, job-hunting, or house-buying ever again. I dread replacing my truck.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
BATMAN I don't think they included Royal Hudson owners in that study.
I don't think they included Royal Hudson owners in that study.
That is funny, and as a doctor I appreciate black humor, but it's not a funny subject. If you are reading this, you already have a hobby. You also have enough finances to participate in "this hobby is too expensive"
What happens when you get old? You have money problems, health problems and loneliness. You may be estranged from your children, or they have been met with an untimely early death for any number of reasons. I know three people who divorced after 45 years of marriage. How do you get back in the dating scene after 45 years?
It is also sad to see people work beyond their mental or physical ability to do the job they used to do, but their job totally defines who they are and their reason to exist.
I know 5 senior citizens who committed suicide. All had terminal cancer. As I know many doctors, 4/5 were doctors. 3/4 doctors used shotguns. whoa! That wouldn't be my choice of weapon but it does eliminate the failure rate. Sherlock Holmes said, "When a doctor does go wrong he is the first of criminals. He has nerve and he has knowledge." I suppose that applies to suicide too.
My father died in horrific pain in Marcus Welby's hospital in the early 70s because they were afraid of giving him too much. Pain then became a "vital sign" and we have the addiction crisis. But the pendulum has swung back and getting refills for narcotics is not easy, especially if you live a long way from the doctor.
If I got the Big C and was looking at weeks or months of intractable pain, all the brass or Rapido trains won't keep me from becoming a statistic.
We have to turn the mood around. Physical activity and mental activity are the important in lessening the risk of Alzheimers. Everyone who is retired has time to exercise for 45 min. It's easy to come up with an excuse, as I do, too often. Just do it.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
No matter how bad a day is at work, hobby-therapy is the best thing there is to get my head back into the right place.
Wargame figure painting works best for me.
As Richard said, sometimes the trains can be a little frustrating at times.
When you are painting something like this, you simply cannot think about anything else. Add some smooth jazz, and soon all will be well in the world.
Then there are the times when you get frustrated because something just won't go right, no matter what you do. Case in point, I currently have two, nice sound equipped locos that I can[t get the coupler height right, driving me nuts. If I were succeptable, I might jump in front of the train. ( An HO loco probably wouldn't do much damage.)
Maybe that's why a lot of us have continuous runnihg, it's therapy just to watch our trains going round and round.
I have long professed the need for a hobby so individuals can "cast their worries aside" and enjoy a favorite pastime.
Every time I buy an expensive addition for my layout I justify it by saying, "It's cheaper than therapy".
Cheers, Ed
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-012-0097-6
https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/56/Suppl_3/87/2576913