12 Micro-Adventures to Feel Alive When You're Chronically Ill | The Health Sessions
When you’re losing sleep over scary surgical procedures, medical bills and overburdening your family, adding adventure to your chronic life is the last thing on your mind. You’re just trying to get through. . .
When you’re losing sleep over scary surgical procedures, medical bills and overburdening your family, adding adventure to your chronic life is the last thing on your mind. You’re just trying to get through the pain with as little symptoms, stress and sadness as possible. But if you’ve been seriously sick for years, you do start to miss that sense of excitement that comes from having fun and exploring new things. Maybe it’s been ages since you’ve been able to go on holiday, ride a rollercoaster, explore a national park or simplyenjoy your hobbies. When you can no longer fully express parts of yourself, chronic illness can slowly chip away at youridentity. That’s why I’ve always loved planning micro-adventures, even when I was too sick to do much. From tiny twists to my usual routines (like getting up at sunrise and having indoor picnics) and adding fun elements to boring to dos (music and audiobooks make most things better) to making wish lists of all theseasonal activitiesI would like to do, anything thatbrightens up your mood, allows you to make happy memories with loved ones oradds meaning to your lifeis like medicine for your soul. Because don’t we all want more than just survive the day?A sense of novelty and fun makes you feel alive again, while doing something meaningful for yourself can provide a sense of ownership in times when you don’t have much control over your body and life. The great thing is, you don’t have to hike mountains, go city tripping or dance ’til dawn to add a dose of excitement to your days. You can have your own micro-adventures with chronic illness from the comfort of home. During the pandemic, when we all had limited options, country-themed days and backyard competitions became favorite activities in my family. And I still like to turn ordinary meals into mini celebrations with exotic ingredients, a different setting or extra elements like matching music or movies. If you’d love to bring back some enthusiasm, pleasure and sense of adventure to your life, take a look at these enjoyable accessible activities that you can easily adapt to your situation. Some of the micro-adventures mentioned require a little preparation, but that only adds to the anticipatory fun, right?Get inspired by these 12 types of micro-adventures to feel alive when you’re chronically ill!This article contains someaffiliate linksto resources you may find useful, at no extra costs to you. All opinions are my own. 1. Have a country-themed dayEven if you’re stuck at home, you can still explore the world by submerging yourself in another culture. For example, you could virtually travel to Japan by sippinggreen tea, eating miso soup or noodle bowls, playing Pokémon Go on your walk, reading manga comics or a cozy mystery like‘The Kamogawa Food Detectives”and sing karaoke. But you could also ‘visit’ Spain through paella,(sober) sangriaand churros while watching‘La Casa de Papel’,enjoy a South-Africanbraaiplus wildlife documentary, or have a ‘Sweden day’ reading‘Beartown’,listening to ABBA and eatingSmørrebrød(open-faced sandwiches). 2. Leave everything up to chanceChronic illness involves a lot of self-management, with little room for spontaneity. So if your health allows, let fate decide what you’ll do today:Roll a dice to determine what you’ll have for lunch, which movie you’ll watch, which outfit you’re wearing and/or the route you’re taking. Write10 accessible activitieson pieces of paper, fold them, put them in a bowl and draw one blind. That’s what you’ll be doing today. Go to the movie theatre and watch the first film that’s on. Let your dinner partner order food for you (unless you have any food allergies or dietary restrictions of course!). Explore new art based on the first letter of your name. Listen to Janis Joplin or Janet Jackson, watchJumanji, study Jackson Pollock’s paintings or read James Joyce’s masterpieces if your first name starts with a “J” like mine. Of course you should adapt these ideas to work around your personal limitations, so you don’t overexert yourself or worsen your symptoms. 3. Enjoy some sporty competitionThere’s nothing like cheering for your team to bring out a sense of belonging and excitement. Even if you can’t do any sports yourself, you can still enjoy some friendly competition from home. Make an event out of watching major gameslike the Super Bowl, World Cup or Olympics. Wear your team’s jersey or paint your face, sing along to the national anthem and bring out festive snacks, like agame night nacho boardorspicy cauliflower bites. If you like, you can track games with printable schedules and add your own predictions. Just stay away from betting on sports to protect your walletandyour wellbeing. Got more energy to spare? Play e-sports like car racing or golf, or set up your own low-energy competition ofair hockey, table foosball or pingpongwith family and friends. All photos by Jennifer Mulder. 4. Take yourself on an artist dateIn‘The Artist Way’, Julia Cameron introduced the idea of ‘artist dates’, asolo outingthat sparks your imagination and nourishes your creative side. On good days, you could browse the bookstore, visit a local art gallery or admire the architecture in your area. But you don’t even have to leave home for an inspiring artist date:Go on avirtual museum tourto soak up history and inspiration from the Louvre, Smithsonian or Van Gogh museum. Try some mess-free crafting, likeadult sticker books, stringing beads andhand lettering. Listen to a genre of music that’s new to you, whether that’s jazz, hiphop, hard rock or country music. Bake (healthy-ish)chocolate chip cookies,strawberry muffinsor whatever you fancy. Create a vision board to fuel your goals and dreams. You don’t have to be creative in the traditional sense to open up your mind to new sensory experiences. 5. Set up backyard micro-adventuresWhether you have access to a rooftop terrace, tiny balcony or a lush garden,having an outdoor area creates new opportunities for micro-adventures with chronic illness. You can get some fresh air, sunshine and fun with all the facilities you need to function well still closely. Depending on your circumstances, you can take your usual activities outside for a change of scenery. Rest on a daybed, roll out your yoga mat for some (literal) sun salutations and have lunch on the patio. You can also add some low-energy activities like water coloring,origami puzzlesorgiant Checkers. Want more excitement? Let water play on warm days bring out your inner child, play a game of badminton or bocce, set up a ‘backyard safari’for your kids, watch fireflies at night or have an outdoor movie night. You can take more inspiration from these21 backyard adventuresfor a fun summer at home. 6. Play tourist in your own townIsn’t it funny how sightseeing tourists sometimes know more about your town than you do? We get so used to passing by the Golden Gate Bridge or Eiffel Tower that we don’t really ‘see’ it anymore. So visit some (not too busy) places you haven’t been before. It doesn’t have to be a famous landmark or local museum, you could also explore a (national) park, vintage market or cool architecture you haven’t been to before. Walk through a new-to-you neighborhood and try a new coffee shop or trendy restaurant, whatever you’re up for. Too exhausted to head outside?Browse online archives for old photographs of your area and explore the local history. Chances are, your city is famous for a traditional dish, hand-made product or historic event, that you only know superficially. Look into whatever sparks your interest: learning how to perfect that Floridan key lime pie, studying the craft of Delft Blue ceramics or artisan French soaps, or watching a (virtual) reenactment of the Gettysburg battle. Playing a tourist in your own town adds story and depth to the ordinary places you see every day. Photo by Jennifer Mulder7. Bring out your detective skillsDo you love a good mystery? What better way to keep your mind engaged while your body rests than sharpening your observation skills, investigating and deductive reasoning!Get aMurdle mystery puzzle book. Read cozy mysteries like ‘The Thursday Night Murder Club‘and‘The Maid’. Play a (solo)escape gameor get together with friends for a round of‘Codenames’. Watch‘Sherlock Holmes’,Agatha Christie’s ‘Death on the Nile’or a true crime series (if you can stomach that). Whether you like cracking codes or writing your own secret massages withinvisible ink, release your inner Nancy Drew for some low-key fun. 8. Go on a food adventureMost of us eat multiple times a day, so that makes mealtimes the perfect settings for accessible micro-adventures. Depending on your dietary preferences and energy levels, you could:Have a (blind) taste test. Get a wide variety of your favorite ingredient and place it in bowls or cups for you to try. You could have a fine selection ofartisan teas, luxury chocolates, whisky or unusual potato chips flavors, whatever you enjoy. Star in your own Masterchef episode. Pick a cooking challenge that’s doable for you: making something spectacular from whatever’s left in your fridge, ask your partner to prep a ‘Mystery Box’ for you with 3-5 ingredients you must use, or have your own pressure test, following a challenging recipe within a certain time. Enjoy breakfasts from around the world. Have a French croissant with a café au lait one Sunday, andTurkish eggswith flatbread the next weekend. Try American blueberry pancakes,Chinese congeeor Mexican huevos rancheros, whatever seems tasty to you. No energy to cook?Order something slightly different: a new flavor from your favorite restaurant, a familiar dish (like a rice bowl) but from an exotic cuisine, different toppings on your usual burrito or burger, anything that spices up mealtime for you. With a little creativity, you can turn any meal into a feast. 9. Step into a literary worldBooks can be the portal to a whole new world. Even if you can’t leave home, you can still travel to Middle Earth, Jurassic World and Ancient Greece through stories. You can make your armchair journey even more special with small extras. Go all-in on Jane Austen with theclassic novelsand movie adaptations, a themedjigsaw puzzleor dressing up for a (store-bought) high tea at home. Project the galaxy on your ceiling and listen to NASA space sounds while rereadingProject Hail Mary. Make yourself a Capitol-worthy cocktail before taking aHunger Gamestrivia quiz. Whether you’re into Narnia or the Lord of the Rings trilogy, you can come up with a fun activity to match your beloved book!And whenever you do feel good enough to go out, you can have more literary micro-adventures like browsing the independent bookstore, attending an authors talk or going to a book festival. Pin and save these ideas for later. Photo by Jennifer Mulder. 10. Soak up the beauty of natureThere’s nothing like the great outdoors to make you feel alive again. Even if you’re chronically ill, you can explorelow-energy ways to enjoy nature:Learn to identify thebirds in your backyardor outside of your window. Grow your own herbs in your kitchen and experiment how to cook with them. Evoke aweby staying out late at night to watch the stars, constellations and the grandeur of the Universe. Watch live cams or wildlife documentaries to see the beauty of nature from bed. Visit a botanical garden or have a low-key picnic in your local park on relative good days. Spending time innatural surroundings, or simply looking at greenery, is one the easiest yet powerful ways to support your health and happiness. 11. Go on a photography walkSee the world withfresh eyesby bringing your (phone) camera with you on your daily walk. Take pictures of interesting architecture or street art in your town. Zoom in on all the flowers you see as you stroll through the neighborhood. You could also focus on a specific color, like photographing yellow traffic signs, school buses, daffodils or window displays. And what about looking at everyday life from a new angle, like turning your camera up towards the sky or from a bird’s eye view?Alternatively, you could channel your inner Monet and head to your usual spot, but under different conditions: at dawn, on a rainy day, during golden hour or in the midst of winter. Going on a photography walk doesn’t just add a touch of fun to your usual routines, but it also helps you to keep noticing the good and beautiful things in life, even when you’re having a tough time. You can find more ideas to turn your daily walks into micro-adventures in’25 Exciting Ways to Get Your Daily Steps In’. 12. Start a projectTake inspiration from the ‘personal curriculum’ trend and start your own project to learn new knowledge and skills! What kind of project is right for you depends on your interests, abilities and mental alertness, but here are some ideas for educational micro-adventures:Music listening. Really listen to your favorite album from start to finish, without digital distractions. Explore the best music from a specific genre or era. Listen to the full discography of one artist, whether that’s Prince, Taylor Swift, Beethoven or Aretha Franklin. Whatever brings you joy!Historical figures. Learn more about the lives ofCleopatra, Christopher Columbus, Marie-Antoinette and Winston Churchill through books, documentaries and podcasts. Culinary skills. You can keep this simple by making one new recipe or learning a new cooking technique. But if you have the energy, you can go all-in by cooking your way through one cookbook like‘Julie & Julia’,studying a specific cuisine,watching food-loving moviesor reading up on the elements of any good meal with‘Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat‘. Botanics. Whether you want to take up (accessible) gardening,natural journalingor studying medicinal plants, the plant world offers tons of options for an interesting project. Whatever project you choose, sparking your interests can reignite parts of yourself that have been pushed aside by chronic illness. Adding micro-adventures to your life when you’re seriously sick might seem like a luxury. But when you’re dealing with pain, fatigue, health anxiety and heavy emotions every day, making room for fun new experiences can boost your mood, keep your body and brain active in gentle ways, and fuel your motivation to keep fighting. You don’t even have to leave home or spend a lot of money, time or energy to bring back some excitement. With a little planning and creativity, you can turn everyday events like eating dinner, relaxing in bed, sitting in the garden and watching screens into your own micro-adventure. For more inspiration, check out’21 Mini Adventures to Spice Up Everyday Life (Even If You’re Chronically Ill)’and’55 Ways to Have an Amazing Summer at Home with Chronic Illness‘. You can also download the free‘Bored and Sick Guide’with 130 low-energy activities you can do from home:Download the Bored & Sick Guide