Asklemmy

Whenever I feel this way, which is often, I tinker with my homelab or play music. Oftentimes I don't feel to motivation to, but I know once I start I'll get sucked right in.

Right now I’m trying chess. I absolutely suck at it, but I can play it on demand at any time online and getting better at it. Don’t really play against live opponents often, but rather play bots or solve puzzles mostly. It helps get the mind to think about something else and makes me want to learn due to how bad I was initially. Still bad, just less so.

My hobbies change with the seasons. Woodworking, tinkering with electronics, amd gaming in the colder months. Biking in the summer months. Anything that requires your undivided attention helps forget about depression.

but im probably dreaming too big

No you're not. You underestimate yourself. There is not "too big" when it comes to having a hobby. You don't need to prove anything, just do something you enjoy and that makes you feel good about yourself. The difficult part is getting out of the house, not the actual activity. I won't recommend anything specific here because lots of people in this thread have already, and also the activity does not really matter, only that you do something that engages you.

Wow, you're being bombarded with good suggestions. Although I'd like to add an ingredient that helped me with my constant boredom; if you are going to go exploring or hiking, I found going outside to be incredibly dull personally unless I kept my mind occupied.

For me, that was creative writing brainstorming (plot, character development, etc) almost like organized daydreaming. I'd write it all down when I got home. Although I never did make the game given time constants, I had fun thinking of worlds of my own design.

I’ve thrown myself into competitive powerlifting and my bipolar disorder has been stable for like three years. The exercise can be tough but it really levels me out.

Drawing of course 😁! I think it would help to get your emotions out.

A cat? It forces you to do something useful everyday, which will make you feel good. Maybe a dog is even better, since you'd have to walk it, but a dog is a harsher commitment than a cat. You can't skip a walk with a dog, just because you re having a bad day. A cat however, will be fine for a day of neglect as long as you keep it's bowl full. A cat also enjoys playing outside though, so you could try that as well.

I had a kid, which didn't cure my depression, but it took away all my time. I didn't have time to think about depression anymore, so I kinda forgot about it. Though I wouldn't recommend having a kid for anything besides just wanting to have a kid.

Juggle. You must have 3 similar ball shaped items around the house. There's lots of tutorials online. You get your blood feeling, body moving. Such a nice rush when you finally get that new pattern or trick you were working on.

Whittling is also a good one, low investment and relatively simple.

For me, it was running and reducing alcohol to very moderate levels. I'm at the point now that I crave a run to clear my mind and lower my stress. I rarely ever feel depressed anymore. Total game changer for me.

I'm positively surprised that I've not seen gym suggestion within 10 comments.