Just trying to gather feedback and see how other people are feeling about this question: What are the things that make you want to leave the hobby?
Is it a need/want to sell everything at record prices and cash out? Is it the disappointing mess that is social media? Was it a falling out with someone?
Personally, I’ve felt an increasing need to disappear, keep everything I do around the hobby private, and to just disconnect from humanity. How does everyone else handle these feelings?
Hang in there Becca!
I don’t think I’ll ever leave this hobby tbh. I love this community, I love collecting in general, I love Pokémon. And Pokémon has loads and loads of different things you can collect (too many tbh, I have to restrain myself more than once to add yet another collection goal).
Having said that, one thing that comes to mind is if something would happen that causes me too lose my entire collection (e.g. a house fire). Even then I’d likely wouldn’t leave this hobby at first, but it would leave an immense downer (not sure if this is the correct translation for the Dutch word ‘domper’, which is basically the feeling you have tied to a huge disappointment). And trying to rebuild the collection from scratch (with completely new collection goals tbh), might leave a bad taste, and perhaps only makes me remember my old collection more. So although I honestly can’t say for sure, it’s possible I might leave the hobby down the line if something like that would happen.
Regarding your questions:
Not really. (Thanks to Pokémon) I already own a house. I’m not in a relation (yet), nor do I have kids. So I also don’t have a big need for money, except using it for emergencies, other Pokémon cards, to pay of my house mortgage completely, or to prepare if I one day do get in a happy relationship.
I (try to) ignore that mess. 
I don’t think I’ve ever fallen out with anyone in life. At least, nothing too serious.
With the increasing values, I do absolutely get why you’d want to go private. I coincidentally said it in one of the Discord groups a few days ago, but although I don’t keep track of prices of cards I own at all, it honestly wouldn’t surprise me if my Pokémon collection is worth more than all my other possessions (including house and car) combined, which is a pretty crazy concept to think about, ngl.
There also have already been a few members who requested that their collection thread be deleted and whom deleted their social media, to make their collections private. So you’re definitely not alone in that regard.
A few of those members are still lurking and posting though. Only their collection have gone private, but they themselves are still active members of this community.
I think disconnecting from humanity all together, to quote you, is just a bad idea. Sure, looking at social media, you may loose your faith in humanity sometimes, with the wars; idiot and sociopathic leaders; high prices everywhere; gender wars; USA’s democrats vs republicans internet wars; etc. But keep in mind that social media, and most news outlets I might add, are mostly focusing on the negative aspects, solely because it farms more comments/likes and therefore money.
Sometimes it’s good to just put access to internet aside for a moment and think about the positives. How you’re happy with your family and friends. How large your collection has already gotten over the years. What non-Pokémon accomplishes you’ve made (perhaps promotions at your job; having your first kid; etc.). Perhaps think back on enjoyable vacations, or weekend trips. Perhaps plan a new one for the near future.
It’s easy to doom-scroll through social media (I catch myself doing it sometimes on Threads or Instagram), but sometimes just enjoying the moment is all it takes to counteracts those thoughts. 
Just my 2c, though.
Greetz,
Quuador
Leave? Never. Participate much less? Definetely.
I think taking a break from the hobby, and just appreciating life, and my current collection helps me out a ton. Think of what you currently have, and what life has given you so far! Stay strong. Things will get better.
Won’t ever leave the hobby, been at it for nearly 10 years now.
Tired of seeing card altering blasted everywhere. Anyone using the words Portfolio or Positions when talking about cards.
Best thing to make you enjoy the hobby again is delete YouTube, IG, Facebook, all of it. E4 is my only hobby interaction now and it’s great
Nothing. In it for life. That´s the idea anyway.
I think I’m just in a depression and self sabotaging things if I’m being honest.
We´ve all been there (I think). The problem there is people, not so much the hobby. I take breaks too, because I cannot handle the hostility/vibes. But you have to remember not everyone can like you, and you can´t like everyone. In the end, especially these fora, communication is superficial. Most people do not really know you. For me, that helps.
Oww, sorry to hear that you feel the way you feel. I hope you eventually have a more positive outlook about things you used to care about.
I would probably never leave the hobby, unless I face health issues or something more personal in nature. I have been looking outward and I have realized that people still are the best thing about this hobby. So, in my own way, I really enjoy the community and the small interactions I have with the people I meet in this space.
There are also things I do outside the hobby space, my family and my kid which brings me immense fulfillment. Sharing my passions with my son and watching him explore it first hand and also find his own way is something that I live for.
I also would never want to detach from society, since, I would also want to keep all things in moderation. That also means dealing with the not so great side of things and having to co-operate with folks I may find unsavory. If you are not a voice of reason or goodness in the space (which requires a lot of courage and wisdom), then this place will just be overrun by people who are wrong doers and folks who want to take advantage of others. But, everything in moderation. I think it is great to be living a quite and non-social media life, but as long as you have not withdrawn completely, it should be great. So I will try to take care of myself while doing my best to better the lives of my family and my society.
Cheers!
I’ve felt a higher sense of urgency to complete collection goals so I can go dorment for a while.
Depression can sap the fun out of anything, and in my experience collecting can be hit especially hard. It’s nice to fall back on because collecting is something measurable and controllable, and big booms detract from that safe haven for me.
Whether it’s a break, leaving, or keeping on, you’ve always got friends here, and a breakfast date in me 
I know this feeling all too well.
If i’m honest i don’t really feel part of the collector “scene”, especially here in the UK. I find some of the attitudes and personality types of the more bragadocious, £££ orientated “collectors” i encounter to be off-putting, so tend not to make any sort of attempts to join these “circle-jerk” type groups. Social media can really cause resentment to build in me sometimes, against my better judgement, so i conciously try to keep it in check by focusing on what i have, and what i’m grateful for.
I have actually disappeared from collecting a few times for varying periods of times, reset my brain and then come back because i love it, and other people won’t take my fun away from me!
As for things that would make me leave forever, probably just anything that made me re-prioritise my life, be that illness, injury, family care etc.
Hope you feel better about things soon
Was there something specific that happened to you? I’ve experienced everything you mentioned and can help! 
This winter has been super depressing to be fair
Eh, more like not knowing how to handle something. This could be something like comments via social media, having a disagreement with a friend, or needing to leave behind a certain part of the hobby. Some times when sticky situations occur, my instinct is a trauma response. Makes things worse, and then I’m stuck with the inability to fix it.
Probably something to talk to a therapist about.
I agree, but the question is. Why. Is it that different from other winters, or are we (the people that feel that way) simply getting tired of the problems in today´s society.
This is the only thing keeping me in the hahbee.
Whenever I see too many people only talking about the money, it is a little discouraging. But whenever that starts to happen I just start to distance myself from those avenues. That is why I appreciate E4 so much. All the buzz going on in the hobby is much quieter here. I’d even call it more thoughtful maybe?
I think I would be fair to compare it to being overstimulated. Specifically lately it all feels too “go, go, go,” but that also for me personally that doesn’t mean I’d ever leave the hobby. Sometimes it is just as simple as being more private for a time and there is nothing wrong with that. For me, Pokemon has been a part of my life for my entire life, and same can be said of collecting in general. It is a part of me, and it brings me joy. I often tell myself I have a whole lifetime of collecting ahead of me, or not, if I decide to stop. It’s okay either way.
Of course other people are inherently involved with this hobby so there is not much you can control within the hobby space except your approach to it. My approach is to kick back, let people do what they are going to do, and just worry about what I’m trying to accomplish with my collection. And at the end of the day, I don’t technically need to own any of it, so if there are things I never acquire that’s okay too. C’est la vie!
A full or gradual disconnect from Social Media is a massive + for your mental health imo.
It allows you to be more in control of the content you consume and only interact with things that bring you joy.
Hope you feel better soon, e4 will always be here should you need a break, but i hope you stick around 
Something that helped me, the ideas we have of people whether it be a falling out with a friend, a shift in culture, are too rigid, when in reality they are more liquid or gaseous. That’s why it hurts when we try to grab onto what we thought was there, it wasn’t as solid as it felt.
Pokemon is this to the extreme, and it’s very difficult to emotionally navigate. It’s a feelings first environment, and everyone is primarily here for 2 things, shiny cardboard and themselves. This can create a unique fickleness; years of friendship can be wiped out over a disagreement, years of a cultural experience can change overnight. The whiplash is hard, but the lesson it teaches us is these were always more fluid than we thought. This idea of fluidity helped me better understand my emotions, and it’s why Squirtle is the best starter. 
I felt like leaving but you and the community kept me here 