By Margaret Mills
I wasn’t even aware there was a renaissance of handcrafts happening when I dug out the crochet hooks and yarn last winter. I just remembered I used to like to crochet, and needed something to occupy my hands while I watched movies with my mother as she convalesced.
As the rhythmic work, the feel of yarn, and the misshapen poncho taking shape under my hands turned the world from black and white to Technicolor, I realized that I was also dealing with a bout of depression. I’ve since resumed my long-neglected sewing as well, and the world is a brighter place. Making handcrafted items lifts my spirits and boosts my energy.
I’m not alone. There is much anecdotal evidence that needlework and other handcrafts calms frazzled nerves, lifts depression and generally enhances life. It’s something many handcrafters know intuitively. Now there is scientific research to back up what sewers and knitters knew all along.
Studies that began at the University of Toronto a few years ago, and more recently at the Mayo Clinic, indicate that the repetitive nature of needlework—especially knitting and crochet—has a number of health benefits. It can prevent and manage stress, lower blood pressure, relieve pain and depression and strengthen the immune system—all that and a new afghan, too.
Dr. Yonas Geda, a neuroscientist who worked on the study at the Mayo Clinic, found that memory loss is 30–50 percent lower for those seniors who have been doing needlework since their youth. There are other indications are that taking up knitting later in life improves memory and cognitive function. Knitters can stave off or counter the effects of Alzheimer’s by continuing to knit through their senior years.
There is some evidence, with more studies on the horizon, that stroke victims or those with other types of brain injury reap physical benefits by knitting or crocheting. These crafts involve both hands and are repetitive, thereby creating new pathways and connections within the brain.
Louisa Kamps takes it even further in her article “Crafting Happiness” from the June 2010 issue of Body and Soul Magazine. According to her, it’s handwork of all types that lifts depression and improves health, not just repetitive needlework. The mental effort of planning a project, the anticipation of completion and the total immersion in the work itself bring a sense of wellbeing that we have lost in our instant gratification and convenience-minded culture.
Social connections contribute to our wellbeing, and handcrafters reap an extra benefit by belonging to knitting groups or the guilds associated with many crafts. For those unable to attend meetings due to physical challenges, online groups such as Ravelry provide support and a point of contact with others.
Handcrafts are not exclusive; nearly everyone has access to some craft. There are even blind knitters. Those with various disabilities often find fulfillment—even careers—by turning to crafts, and the health and cognitive benefits are a bonus.
The city of Oakland, California established the first “Outside Art” studio, the Creative Growth Art Center and Gallery, where those with physical and mental challenges are able to learn and create arts and crafts and showcase their efforts. Portland also supports arts and craft efforts for those who are in some way outside the mainstream. The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) shows works from developmentally disabled artists, and Major Panda is a studio that supports the work of fiber artists with varying degrees of mental or physical disability. They hold workshops on topics like weaving, tie-dying and felting with a focus more on marketing created items for sale than on art shows. The main goal for Major Panda is self-sufficiency as well as creative fulfillment, but given these recent studies, the artists reap physical and cognitive health benefits as well.
We’ve all heard bromides like “it’s the journey, not the destination.” In the case of handcrafts there may be more than a little truth in that. While there is joy and satisfaction in the finished product, it’s the making of the object that brings joy, peace, longevity and improved memory.
Have you found your art or craft to be beneficial to your mental or physical health? Tell us about it in the comments below.
When I was working on my master’s in psychology, the only thing that could keep me focused when reading drafts of my thesis was knitting. I now realize that my days are much better if I can spend even an hour working on something, and if I complete a larger project, like a hat or a complicated necklace, then then day is even better. I want to shout it from the rooftops.
Thanks for this article, really great.
Fantastic article! I work with at-risk youth as an art therapist-in-residence at an alternative school. A project that has expanded beyond belief is sock monkey therapy. I wholeheartedly believe in the healing power of art.
Katarina Thorsen
To read more about my work with sock monkey/art therapy for at-risk youth go to http://klasssockmonkey.wordpress.com/ and http://poststreet.wordpress.com/operation-sock-monkey-western-division/
To read more about my art therapy and visual art, go to http://katthorsen.wordpress.com
Pingback: The Healing Arts and Crafts- I HEART ART: PORTLAND « Katarina Thorsen Art Blog
Thank you for the kind words! I believe there is yet much to learn about the potential for healing through crafts.
MM
I think doing crafs is good for the body and the soul. Having chronic pain/chronic illness issues, sometimes I use crafts to take my mind off my pain. If I’m too tired, or in too much pain to physically work on a project, I plan it in my head, jot down a few words on the item I’m going to make, and then, when I’m feeling better, I can embark on actually creating what I have been imagining.
This is a great article. I just read it this morning (referenced on face book), and plan on sharing it with friends. Thanks for writing this!
my “second mother” (best friend) had many health issues and her doctors told her that knitting/crocheting helped lower her blood pressure and stress. i totally agree. i’ve been a crafter for almost my whole life, and i find it hard to just sit and do nothing–i feel the NEED to craft! my grandmother was a crafter and cook her whole life, and even after she started to forget how to do things, she always had a basket of yarn, needles, and other items near her chair. she would pick them up and “play” with them often. i know this was a comfort to her while her age increased and her health decreased.
thank you for this great article–i’m going to share it on my blog and Facebook!
Thank you!
I suffer from several chronic autoimmune diseases. Since I began crafting handmade jewelry, I have noticed my rheumatoid arthritis seems to be doing better. Granted, on bad days jewelry making can be a struggle~ but I use those days to think of new designs!!
Using my hands to create pieces will hopefully help me maintain mobility~ which is a goal all of us RA patients hope for!
I just began crocheting and knitting~~ I guess we will see what kind of benefits will come from that :)
Great post thanks for sharing!
Have you heard of Art Therapy? It’s a wonderful profession that I belong to – healing through art, healing with art, art with healing.
Thank you so much for your post here I just discovered when doing a blog search on ‘craft + healing’. What you are write here is just the stuff I have been looking for: research and evidence of the ‘why’ of craft :-)
I am going to put a link to this here on our blog http://makingspacepenicuik.blogspot.com/, and am looking forward very much to read more through your links here.
Thanks again for your sharing and caring!
with warm regards
Ruth
Scotland
I hear and feel every word…
My journey was always my destination when it came to creating jewelry or writing a poem…
I am fulfilled beyond measure when these ‘urges’ are allowed to be.
I have a stressful career as a Medicare Claims Representative… and creating is the release I require.
Thank you.
Of course there’s a powerful healing in creation. I walk into my room and the stress of the day fades to become almost unimportant. Doesn’t matter if I’m making beads, knitting, quilting. This room is my sanctuary and my life.
Wow, several chronically ill crafters here. I hope you are all having a good day. I’m one of them also and I have physical problems and cognitive/memory problems and I’m not able to get out much now. My doc said to find something to “do” to keep my hands moving and my mind busy. I’ve always been into different arts & crafts and started making Jewelry earlier this year. I used to knit as a teenager and after this article I think I’ll try it again. When I’m not feeling well I think about what I’d like to create and take lots of notes and have been using DVD’s,Audio/books on starting a small business online and misc art & craft tutorials to watch to give me ideas on finding my own niche in this crafty world. So when I can-I Do and when I can’t-I dream. It has made me a happier person. I totally believe in art healing! Thank you for sharing this article.
This article is right on. I quilt every day unless I’m away from home. I miss it when I can’t do it. I have fiber withdrawal! Although I have problems with my neck and shoulder when I sew for a long time, I can still quilt. I take breaks to rest, stretch and do other stuff.
On the emotional side of it, I love knowing that what I make will make someone happy. When I get positive feedback from my clients, my spirits are raised. It makes me happier when I give my quilts away. I have a wounded past, and I believe that my crafting has helped me feel whole.
Great post! I too find many benefits in crafting, especially crocheting. I have had severe OCD for 9 years now, and took up crocheting about 2 years ago. Since then I have been less stressed and altogether much more happier. I am going to share this post on my blog as I think my crafting friends would love to read it!
Thank you one and all for the kind words. Best wishes to those focusing on creating and making beautiful things to combat the physical, emotional, and mental stresses of life.
Margaret Mills
i totally agree I joke that it destresses me (crochet) and you have just proved me right. Thankyou