craft/hobby and mental health

[Zoe Girl]

I have been working on craft type stuff most of my life, yet more recently I have been reading about the link between mental health and hobbies. It makes sense and I was remembering some things from my past. One was that I moved high schools and I was ahead in math. In general I got math pretty quickly and was easily bored in math classes. So I brought needlepoint to class to manage myself. Later I had different types of doodling that I worked on in meetings that I could do under the radar. I had a process by which I looked like I was taking notes, looking up now and then, thoughtfully looking at my paper, but drawing patterns instead of notes. I even had some virtual meetings where I brought crochet to manage them better,

I really think it makes a difference, when I teach crochet I find that people come to make connections and often say they are relaxed by the end even if they don't crochet very well. The process of doing a craft together seems to support mental health.

What do the rest of you think, what is your experience.

[herbgeek]

I work remotely and use knitting or tatting during long non-participatory meetings to keep from stabbing someone in my mind.

[beckyliz]

I love crafts! My job is mostly analytical. When I craft (now it's paper crafts), I can use other parts of my brain. I love the textile part of it, too. That was especially true when I sewed and did counted cross-stitch.

[KayLR]

I have rediscovered my love of hand embroidery I learned as a kid. It's come at just the right time of life because 1-it keeps me out of the kitchen and stuffing my face mindlessly, and 2- it's meditative for me as I deal with the stressful estrangement of my daughter. I find that as I stitch my mind does not go to dark places.