Knitting and Stress: The Path to Healing?
You probably don't often think of knitting and stress together. But you might be amazed at the results
When it comes to knitting and stress, no one knows better than the people who've been there. And once you start listening to knitters talk, you realize how many people turn to crafting to relieve stress and anxiety.
Divorces, children, illness, work, and home: it seems like modern life just piles stress after stress all over us. By the time you get home all you want to do is collapse on the couch with a hot mug of tea -- but there are still meals to be cooked, dishes to be washed, and children to be taken care of.
That's where knitting and stress come into play. It's amazing how many people started -- or, more commonly, restarted -- knitting during a period of extreme stress or anxiety. What is it about knitting that seems to calm our nerves and, put simply, chill us out?
1. Repetitive motions
According to my friend Allison, a hospital therapist who sometimes uses arts and crafts of all kinds -- knitting included -- with her patients, the simple, repetitive action of knitting has a calming affect on the mind -- sort of like a rocking chair. Your brain feels free to calm down and let your reflexes take over.
2. The act of creation
My same friend told me that people suffering from prolonged illnesses often feel useless and bored. "Knitting gives them a chance to make something," she explains. And charitable knitting is even better: it gives people a chance to offer something productive to society, even if they're stuck in bed. Gives you a new view of stress and knitting, huh?
3. Self-expression
Apparently, psychologists have long recognized the arts as a useful way to reach people who can't express themselves verbally. Music, painting, and other creative projects often help people with disabilities such as Autism or Down's Syndrome engage in a type of self-expression not available to them verbally. "People with Autism sometimes act out violently," Allison explains to me. "But it's not because they're violent people. It comes from the stress and frustration of wanting to express something and not being able."
Apparently knitting, among other art forms, helps alleviate this stress. So next time you're feeling anxious or useless, you know what to do! Reach for your needles, secure in the knowledge that knitting and stress are old enemies -- and knitting always seems to win.