By David Pasia
Flashback to lockdown: the streets are bare and the bustling city of London has turned into a bleak ghost town. The air is unnervingly still, disturbed only by the odd fluttering of wings or the mechanical whirr of an automobile passing by.
With every soul confined within the parameters of their abode and the news plastered with frightening statistics, it’s hard not to feel enveloped by a crippling sense of negativity, especially when the days start to blur into one never ending nightmare.
It’s no wonder that so many people’s wellbeing has suffered. Naturally, all dark clouds have a silver lining. The abundance of free time has encouraged many to undertake a hobby in crafts: sewing, knitting and crocheting.
The rhythmic act of, for example, crocheting can provide a much needed calm to a person with declining mental health. In 2019, the BBC Arts Great British Creativity Test, a survey comprising of 50,000 participants, was published. The survey produced results that back up the positive effects of engaging in crafts on mental health with approximately 25% of the respondents naming crafting as their go-to activity.
Dealing with seasonal depression
Abayti Abdurahman, 22, is a chiropractor’s assistant from East London who deals with seasonal depression. She describes her day-to-day as very chaotic and feels like she is always doing ten things at once.
In her experience, the numerous lockdowns proved to be a double edged sword: “In some ways, the lockdown was beneficial to me as everything started to slow down for once. However, the lack of distractions in my life resulted in finally having to confront what was going on with me. Having the facilities, time-wise, to give in to depressive urges allowed my mental health to decline.”
Abdurahman says she developed crochet as a hobby to fill up her spare time. Over time, she started to realise how peaceful it made her feel. “It gives me a healthy way of switching off when it gets too much rather than other unhealthy habits I could’ve got up to.”
One of the best benefits from her hobby is the serotonin rush she gets from completing a project. She says, “I don’t think I’ll ever let it go as a means of escape.”
Making us engaged and resilient
Dorein Eising, research assistant at the Mental Health Foundation, recognises the positive impacts of engaging in arts and crafts on helping people with mental health problems. According to her blog entry from 2019, ‘It can help to boost confidence and make us feel more engaged and resilient. Besides these benefits, art engagement also alleviates anxiety and stress.’
This sentiment is shared by others, including Zainab Ramees, 22, a recent graduate of Comparative Literature at Queen Mary University of London. Ramees recalls having a long history with arts and crafts, learning sewing from her mother who also led an after school sewing club at her primary school. She says she also became familiar with knitting while attending secondary school. Crochet became her new venture after graduating.
As someone who struggles with stress induced anxiety and overthinking, graduating and experiencing a global pandemic almost simultaneously was a lot to handle. This caused her to grapple with impostor syndrome, despite graduating from university with a good grade.
“I didn’t know how to navigate job hunting in a pandemic but also feeling embarrassed that I’m still working at my part time uni job,” she said.
After seeing crochet videos on social media and having a lot of free time, she felt inspired to begin a new craft. She says, “Sewing does not improve my mental health as my mothers is a perfectionist and her work is always out of reach for me, but crocheting is something that my family members haven’t explored so I feel like I can own it without pressure for it to be perfect.”
“I would definitely carry on crocheting to stabilise my mental health. I would recommend taking up the hobby, but there is a lot of pressure to monetise off of such hobbies.
“With fast fashion making brand made pieces seem overpriced, it’s difficult to feel satisfied with the worth of your hard work when trying to put a price to it.”
Embroidery as therapy
Crocheting is not the only cathartic craft. Embroidery also provides its followers with hours of therapeutic sessions.
Have a look at a recent embroidery masterpiece form James Hunting, BA Textile Course Leader at London Metropolitan University.
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