How to Benefit from using Arts and crafts to improve your mental health

It has long been said that keeping the hands busy is a great way to calm the mind. Studies have shown it has a beneficial impact on the neural pathways in the brain, and although it isn't a magic panacea, I certainly found that crafting helped me to cope better with John's transition. I think there is something very therapeutic about tackling a craft you are unfamiliar with and following it through to it's ultimate creation, there's a degree of having control over something, when other things in your life have left you feeling out of control. I would switch between crocheting, knitting, creating multi-media pictures, upcycling furniture, anything to occupy my mind and distract me from my grief. There is a reason why a whole therapeutic industry has been built around this concept. ​ It also helped me keep weight off, and even lose some!  You are not using your hands to stuff your face, and in my case I didn't want to get my work dirty!!

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Occupational Therapy is a useful tool to get over a trauma. Crafting or Home-making could be considered the non-medically prescribed version! For some people, the idea of seeking help to overcome their grief is abhorrent to them, yet it is often the case that these are the very people who desperately need it. There is no shame in seeking help to surmount your emotional pain. Be it in the form or prescribed counselling or occupational therapy or even via the pharmaceutical route. But if this is not something that you feel you need, or even if you have turned to these but feel the need to change, then I highly recommend crafting. ​

As mentioned earlier, I started to crochet. Knitting I could do (as long as it was a scarf!). Crocheting I had no idea! A close friend, with the patience of a saint, tried to teach me the basics but I didn't want to stretch the bounds of our friendship so far that they snapped due to my inability to crochet anything but a long chain! So I looked it up on YouTube, there are many different sites that can show you how to start with the basic stitches. At the end of last year, I crocheted a rather nice cardigan that was longer than I thought it would be but looked brilliant nonetheless. This year things have been different and I have found myself creating gifts, with love, for those that I love.

So if you want to try crafting, and believe me, if I can do it anyone can! Then these resources could be a great fit for you. ​

Ultimate Bundles for a super discounted pack of patterns, etc... ideal for those with a bit of savoir-faire, but with some easy starter ideas, and ideas for when you've mastered your crafting.

HobbyCraft for those in the UK who want to get their hands on most of the tools you could need to start your crafting journey. If you are lucky enough to live near a HobbyCraft shop, they regularly run courses which you can be notified of if you sign up for their newletters. ​

YouTube for videos like this or this. A great place to learn a craft if you are a visual learner, just be prepared to keep pausing and rewinding (a lot!). ​

Joann for those in the USA who are keen to start their crafting journey, they too have pretty much all you'll need to get going. Like HobbyCraft in the UK, Joann has courses in their stores, you can either sign up online or in-store and they also have a newsletter that you can register for.

Craftsy is an online site with courses for pretty much any craft under the sun! The benefit of this site is you don't have to leave home to learn!! Ideal if you have a family, live out of town or have commitments that don't necessarily coincide with the more traditional on-site classes. 

With love
Liane 
xoxoxoxox

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