This is where I remembered how to feel again.
Dopamine Hobbies wasn’t born in a rush of inspiration, it came slowly, like sunlight creeping back through the cracks after everything broke.
There was trauma.
There was grief.
There were days when the world felt too sharp to touch.
And in the middle of that, something small saved me: clay under my fingernails. Mint sprouting in a chipped pot. A hobby that didn’t ask me to be healed…just present.
I didn’t want a side hustle.
I wanted a reason to keep going.
I wanted joy, not productivity.
Presence, not performance.
I wanted to create without chasing a finish line.
What This Place Is
This is a home for soft joys.
For quiet crafts and low-pressure projects.
For sensory play, mindful making, and creative experiments that are more about feeling good than being good.
You’ll find DIYs made from scraps, cozy rituals, healing hobbies, and the occasional dirt-under-your-nails kind of magic.
Whether you’re healing from trauma or just craving a gentler kind of internet, you’re welcome here.
Why "Dopamine" Hobbies?
Because we deserve to feel good in our brains and our bodies…without shame, without earning it.
This space is for the flicker of dopamine when something clicks into place: a bead slides onto a thread, a seed bursts through soil, a pie crust holds together for once.
It’s not about perfection. It’s about the chemistry of joy, the science of self-soothing, and the sacred moment when your nervous system sighs, "yes, this feels good."
This is for the ones who forgot what pleasure feels like.
For the ones who are still learning that delight is not a luxury, but a lifeline.
A Note from Me
Hi. I’m Michele.
I write, I make messes, I fall in love with odd little projects that no one asked for but somehow feel necessary.
I’ve lived through extreme trauma. I’ve felt the kind of exhaustion that lives in your bones. And I’ve clawed my way back…slowly, gently…through hobbies that didn’t care how broken I felt.
I’ve learned that healing doesn’t come in breakthroughs. It comes in thread. In dirt. In glue that won’t stick and trying anyway.
If joy feels out of reach, start with your hands.
If the world feels too loud, make something small and soft.
If you’re not okay, you don’t have to be. Just begin.
And if all you do today is land here, read a line, and breathe a little easier…truly, that’s enough.
You can find more of my writing at michelegargiulo.com.
I write about science, technology breakthroughs, trauma healing, and wine.
But for now, welcome. You’re exactly where you need to be.
