Activities to do when you are physically unwell

[Kat1901]

Hi,

Probably not the right place for this thread but hoping someone might be able to suggest some ideas ...

My DH is very physically ill at the moment, he cannot walk and is confined to just one room. This is obviously having a massive impact on his mental health, activities he once enjoyed (playing on his tablet, watching TV) he finds no enjoyment in. It's awful to witness. Can anyone recommend any activities that are not too physical that he might enjoy? I was thinking something like wordsearch books etc. but he said he can't concentrate and doesn't want to. Is there anything I can do / get that he might enjoy? Anything just to engage his mind and take it off his physical health. It's heart breaking to see him this way.

Thanks 😊

There are several jigsaw apps which can be very engrossing - especially the ones where you can use your own photos as the jigsaw. Plus you don't lose any pieces! Also Scrabble and Backgammon which can be played at every level from beginner to advanced.

Thanks, photo jigsaw sounds a good idea!

Would he like words with friends ? It’s a wordsearch app.
Otherwise maybe some kind of crafting kit? There are many different ones available

I enjoy watercolour pencils. They're like normal pencils but take a paintbrush and water and you can blend and make them look like a painting. I use them with pads of outlines.

My husband is also unwell. He's been doing origami a lot, making Spotify lists of music, colouring, looking at the birds outside on feeders. Hope he feels better soon

Audiobooks are a nice escape. I was bed bound a few years ago for about months and it is horrendous. I play games like candy crush and pet rescue saga. They don't take much brain power and is almost repetitive.
I'm still restricted to what I can do and am at home the vast majority of the time so writing, reading, mindless games, meditation/relaxing YouTube things and audiobooks still feature majorly in my life. Hope his health improves soon

Thank you everyone. These are all fantastic ideas! Fingers crossed these spark his interest and help lift him a little.

@CottonSock I'm sorry to hear your husband is unwell too. Hope he starts to feel better soon.

Audio books.

Colouring in books and pencils.

I don't know if it would be suitable but I love doing mosaics. You need a bit of thin ply or mdf, mosaic tiles, nippers, and goggles (can buy online). Glue them down and then grout them in when you've finished. I also buy mirrors with flat frames from our local recycling centre/charity shops and do geometric or flower patterns on the frames.

Cards
Dominoes
Quiz books
Audio books

Does he like listening to music?

I hope he feels better soon

I have a range of phone games I can play at different levels of concentration and alertness. Some i really cant cope with when I'm gettinf a flare up (ME/CFS). Audiobooks and podcasts are ideal, i have differebt ones again for different levels of concentration. Crafts when I’m feeling better, I crochet toys which he might find fun if he can cope with the idea of doing something so stereotypically female. Colouring in is quite good too! Meditation? Might help his MH

What does he normally like doing when he's well? That may give us some ideas what might suit him

Also no reason why he can't do hobbies traditionally thought of as more liked by women - knitting for example. My dad was a demon knitter! He didn't even need a flipping pattern! Meanwhile I can barely manage a square!

Friend of mines husband got caught up in her crochet habit when he came across more comedic patterns. He does cracking cartoon type characters for the grandkids!

There's also "old style" hobbies like stamp collecting or building model airplanes, ship in a bottle that kinda thing.

One of my cousins kids "discovered" model building a couple years back and absolutely loves it. Other kids are doing it virtually on things like Minecraft he prefers real life/more tactile options. He's now starting to get fascinated with "Wallace and gromit" Rube Goldberg type contraptions he thinks it's hilarious fun building such items and watching them work (or fail!)...but then 9 year old boys humour!

Personally I like cross stitch (I'm in some Facebook groups for this and there are a few male stitchers) puzzle books (you can get v simple arrow word type deals or very complex. Im partial to logic problems myself)

Hopefully you can find something to perk him up a bit.

Lego if he has strength in his fingers (lots of small easy sets to start with) e.g Star Wars

Podcasts - the BBC sounds app has a lot of good ones

Magazines, scheduled phone calls - sometimes hearing about other peoples issues is a welcome distraction.

Also maybe some small admin tasks to make him feel useful.

Meditation
Could he do gentle stretches? Even if it’s just his neck and shoulders.
Definitely podcasts. If you search podcast on here there are several threads with suggestions
Family tree research