Anxiety, panic attacks, depression and chronic pain are all conditions of these modern times. The incidence of these has increased steadily over the past 80 years. In my immediate circle of friends and family, all have been touched in some way by either one or all of these insidious disorders.
I myself have struggled with anxiety and depression at times in my life and have tried many coping mechanisms, most recently mindfulness. Mindfulness is the latest wellness trend and stress-busting meditation technique. It’s the practice of maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and the surrounding environment. When we do this our thoughts are in the present, not worrying about what happened in the past, or imagining what might happen in the future.
Recently there’s been a lot of media on the introduction of mindfulness as part of the curriculum in junior schools. The benefits in adults is clear and now studies are showing that beginning the training early, as part of a normal routine is contributing to an increase in emotional regulation, social behaviour and academic achievement in children who have been exposed to the practise.
Knitting and crafts as a panacea for poor mental health….
Since rekindling my love of knitting and creating the passion I was seeking, I’ve found sitting down to knit is ‘chicken soup’ for the anxious soul. I’ve also discovered that it’s a documented scientific fact that knitting and crafts can actually improve your mental health.
A study of 658 students by the Otago University in New Zealand concluded that after engaging in something crafty, the students felt happier and calmer, and had more energy the following day. The repetitive action of needlework can induce a relaxed state not unlike meditation or yoga and can lower heart rate and blood pressure and reduce harmful blood levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
The repetitive action of knitting prevents the adrenalin in the body from overheating, by activating the parasympathetic nervous system and dampening down the body’s “fight or flight” response.
According to psychiatrists this is due to the fact that knitting has been shown to encourage the body to release the hormone dopamine which is a feel-good neurotransmitter.
Knitting has also been proven to slow cognitive decline and the onset of dementia and is also a distraction from chronic pain. Whilst it’s helping improve motor function and mood, it is also stimulating the brain to keep it healthy.
I can lose myself for hours in a tricky pattern or learning a new technique, giving my anxious or depressed mind time to rest. The psychology profession refer to this as “flow”; a few moments in time when you are so completely absorbed by an activity that nothing else seems to matter.
Eminent Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi maintains, after decades of research, that “flow” is the secret to happiness.
The British Journal of Occupational Therapy also conducted a study in February 2013 of 3,500 knitters called “The Benefits of Knitting for Personal and Social Wellbeing in Adulthood”. 81% of respondents with depression said they felt happy after knitting. After analysis of the data received it was concluded that knitting has significant psychological and social benefits in adulthood.
“In Britain, the NHS spends more than £2 billion each year on blood pressure treatments, and around £300 million on antidepressants. Dementia costs the country £26 billion while the health service spends billions annually tackling chronic pain”.
So prescribing knitting could be a cheap way to battle a host of age-related conditions”
Knitting as occupational therapy treatment for post war shell shock (PTSD)….
Knitting was used widely as occupational therapy, both during and after the world wars. Knitting is a mental stimulus and was proven to have a calming effect on soldiers suffering from PTSD. Also recognized by medical professionals was the contribution it could make to improving dexterity in patients with burn wounds to the hands.
This is an interesting excerpt from the website of Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
“Great strides were also made in occupational therapy. The men were taught new job skills that could be used once they were dismissed from the hospital. Subjects taught in the Fort’s vocational school included telegraphy, metal work, basketry, commercial art, shorthand and typing. Carpentry, upholstery, auto repair, bookkeeping and even knitting were also offered to keep the wounded occupied and provide them with a possible means of livelihood. It was the first serious attempt to give disabled American veterans real employment”.
Let’s talk about prevention rather than cure….
Kandahar’s Combat Knitters use yarn and needles as weapons of self-preservation.
The Combat Knitters of Kandahar are Navy nurses and doctors stationed in a Nato hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
They must contend with long workdays, on guard duty armed with an M16 and often knitting needles and yarn in a pocket. Taking any and every opportunity for a stitch.
The bland topography of the environment, coupled with the daily stress of multiple patients with horrendous injuries would challenge anyone’s mental and psychological health.
They say that knitting brings colour into their lives. Progressing and completing a project gives them some small measure of satisfaction that a mission is completed.
There is something soothing and relaxing about the sound of the click of the needles juxtaposed against the disturbing rattle of gunfire.
Even Men are Knitting….
Maurice Greene, also know as “The Crochet” boss and an MMA fighter is a brilliant example of crafting for mental health. He’s been knitting and crocheting, and even selling his projects for over ten years, and crochets before he fights, to calm his nerves. This practise, he maintains, contributes to his creativity in the ring and fills the nervous hole and calms the butterflies in his stomach.
He spends the night before a fight on his craft enabling him to “get into the zone’. He has even been seen sitting ringside immediately before a fight working away on his crochet. Quite an unusual sight of a 6ft 7”, 260 pound man.
I’ve come to the conclusion….
That there is definitely merit in this concept of knitting being beneficial to, and improving, mental health.
But, unlike meditation or other conventional techniques for managing mental health issues, craft activities result in tangible and often useful products that can enhance self-esteem.
I take much pleasure in gifting my projects along the way.
