Try Crafting to Help Ease Anxiety
“There’s nothing better for your confidence than finishing a project that you’ve made with your own hands.”- Mandy of RedAgape design blog
The mind is occupied by illusions that destroy peace of heart and mind. To regain the sparkle in your eyes, you might need some practices to replace the darkness with a new ray of light.
Although therapists do a great job when a disturbed person approaches them, sometimes you don’t want any answers because you cannot express the right questions. All you seek is an escape from reality so that you feel good about yourself.
“It became apparent to me how important craft is as a form of therapy, not just for me, but for many other crafters. Many have shared their stories about why they craft for therapy. Some are suffering from mental illness, infertility issues, chronic illness, physical illness … and some craft simply because it is cheaper than (traditional) therapy and keeps them smiling!” says Mandy of the RedAgape Style & Design blog
Below are the two proven crafts to improve mental health in many unexpected ways.
Crochet
Stitch that stress
The practice of creating textile products using creative loops and stitches with the help of yarn and a hook has proven to help thousands of minds dealing with anxiety.
One of the common misconceptions about crochet is that “It is an old lady’s craft.”
Crochet might not just result in a pretty sweater, a throw, or a beanie but also helps you stabilize your moods.
You might have seen your Grandmother knitting /crocheting beanies and sweaters for winter all the time, but one cannot deny a fact that this craft can be done by people of any age group. A few years ago when I asked my best friend who was recovering from depression, about what helped her in recovering faster, she mentioned two practices —Cooking and Crocheting.
Both arts directed towards common reasons of creating something new and work that can be served/gifted to others. This indirectly leads to appreciation of others, which holds the power of instantly improving self-esteem.
Crochet projects, in general, are engaging and instantly improves confidence levels as they make beautiful gifts for yourself and for others.
According to results of the survey done by the researchers of the University of Wollongong Australia, out of 8000 participants, 90% declared that Crocheting made them feel relaxed, 82% felt happier while Crocheting and over 70% felt the hobby improved their memory and concentration.
Your hands working on repetitive stitches help the mind concentrate better, by bringing the anxiety levels down through the release of serotonin- the chemical nerve cells which affect the emotions and motor skills. It is a natural mood stabilizer that helps in healing wounds, better sleep, reducing depression and anxiety, stimulate nausea and maintains bone health.
Serotonin levels in the range of 101–283 nanograms per milliliter are considered normal which improves the focus, happiness, and stability of moods.
The Crochet routine also reduces the blood levels of cortisol — the main stress hormone which works with certain parts of our brain to control our moods, motivation, and fears.
There is another interesting fact about crochet addicts — They have stopped “Binge Eating” as their hands and minds are constantly occupied with creative loops and stitches.
Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is another disorder that took birth from Depression, and Anxiety which results in Obesity, Low Self Esteem, Cardiovascular diseases, Insomnia, Joint Pains, Hypertension, Type 2 Diabetes, etc.
Other diseases correlated with Depression is Alzheimer’s. Recent research from the Mayo Clinic has found that crocheting and knitting may reduce Alzheimer’s risk by 30–50% .
Alzheimer’s is one of the many forms of Dementia that have affected over five million Americans, mostly older adults. There might be no cure for Alzheimer’s but the progress can be slowed down using Craft Therapy, which includes “Crocheting”, allowing the patients to strengthen their cognitive ability and fight against the symptoms of Dementia.
With Crochet supplies easily available at your nearest Walmart, Meijer, Target, and Micheals stores at affordable prices, there shouldn’t be any reason for you to avoid this craft that can help you feel better about yourself.
Painting
Express yourself in a Creative way
You don’t end up with a piece of Art , but with a piece of expression.
One of the frustrations of a person suffering from any mental illness is the lack of expression. Oftentimes it is extremely difficult for normal people to see and understand the functioning of depressed minds. What they see in normal situations, what they go through as the sun sets, How and Why they panic in random moments are some of the curiosities every normal mind will have about the people who suffer any kind of Mental Illness.
Expression and Narration through art, especially painting has proven to be the most effective way of releasing stress and anxiety. The study done by Drexel’s College of Nursing and Health Professionals concluded that creating art can benefit everybody equally with its stress-reducing effects.
“It wasn’t surprising because that’s the core idea in art therapy: Everyone is creative and can be expressive in the visual arts when working in a supportive setting. That said, I did expect that perhaps the effects would be stronger for those with prior experience,” says Girija Kaimal, EdD.
According to the qualitative study, researchers found out that other than expressive writing which has proven to lower the stress levels, art has also contributed to lessening symptoms of compassion fatigue and stress. The study done by Raynolds and Prior in 2003 has stated that patients with chronic illness were able to improve their overall health and thoughts about self-identity through art.
Various research done to study the relation between art and salivary cortisol indicate that art has decreased cortisol levels and improve concentration in people suffering from chronic illness.
“Even the people who did not experience any direct benefit from the treatment had shown improvement. Painting pictures based on themes and discussing the pictures with the therapist promotes self-reflection and brain stimulation that takes place outside of the conscious mind,” Christina Blomdahl, Ph.D. at the institute of health and care sciences, licensed occupational therapist and art therapist mentioned post art therapy research.
It’s not necessary to paint using the right tools, oftentimes people use their fingers to paint. Painting is an act of liberation and narration where the person has complete freedom to pour the vision of mind on the canvas.
A few days ago , after a stressful day at work , I decided to refresh my mind by doing some painting. It was one of those times when you really want to express the chaos of the mind in a creative way. I was lazy enough to skip the use of brushes. I ended up with a beautiful piece of Abstract Art , and most importantly I ended up being Happy and Relaxed.
My silly mind thought I should do finger painting more often. I could feel the fresh breeze by doing out of ordinary, by not using the tools that are dictated majority of times for painting.
Also , I was amazed to read about how Finger painting was invented.
Ruth Faison Shaw — An educator and art therapist, and the author of the book — “Finger Paint: A Perfect Method oF Self-Expression", invented “Finger Painting” in the 1930s after observing one of her students smearing iodine on the tiles as a method of expression and creativity.
We meet people on a daily basis at work, cafe’s, street’s, public transport, etc, oftentimes its the physical wounds and disabilities which grabs the attention instantly while the mental wounds go unnoticed. The majority of times people dealing with certain mental illness get worse due to lack of understanding from people around them.
It’s nobody fault as it is extremely difficult for anxiety or depression to talk fearlessly.
However , since 1940's, Art and Crafts blended in ,in the form of therapies to encourage expression and self esteem improvement.
You never know what shades of life and world may grab your mind to suck all the peace within. It is necessary to keep expressing in different ways so that regardless of darker times, you have one thing in your hands that can still make you feel better.
Have you tried either of these crafts? Did they help you feel less stress and anxiety?
Umme Salma is an artist, developer, and writer.