I think sometimes these 'hobbyists' border on patterns of addiction and escapism. I know that when I am anxious or depressed in my life I put my focus on one of

I think sometimes these 'hobbyists' border on patterns of addiction and escapism. I know that when I am anxious or depressed in my life I put my focus on one of these rabbitholes to escape - while I am researching the next thing to buy I can ignore everything else in my life. And it doesn't take any considerable effort or practice to buy stuff unlike learning new skills (therefore it's more depression-friendly). So I keep doing it. Pens, keyboards, knives, whatever. And then I move onto the next rabbithole. It's better than booze and drugs, but is an unproductive use of money that does not bring lasting happiness. Luckily now I am better at recognizing and stopping this pattern, asking myself what the hell I am buying this stuff to accomplish and focusing back on that - writing, programming, the actual act of photography, etc. And recognizing if there are unhealthy mental patterns underlying the behavior that need to be tackled head-on.