Healing Crafts

By the age of ten, I learned the basics of knitting, crocheting and sewing for dolls. The results were far from perfect but the process of making something with my own hands always brought me joy and satisfaction.

One day, while visiting a class mate, I learned that crafting might also have healing effect. I saw a white lacy tablecloth on a dinner table. The crocheted handwork was exquisite. From my crocheting experience I knew that someone spent hundreds of hours making the tablecloth. My friend explained to me that her grandmother fell ill after suffering a misfortune. As part of her recovery, she crocheted daily for eight hours, felt better while crocheting until she fully recovered.

From my own experience, crafting calms me, sooths me, makes me happier. I know the same applies to all. Seeing a beautiful product emerge from my creativity and efforts brings me great joy as well as sharing the finished pieces with family and friends.

As one gains experience and completes higher level projects, the satisfaction of completing the projects grows. Crafting is often recommended by doctors as a form of therapy to assist people who suffered stroke or hand injuries. Crafting helps gaining dexterity in fingers, it also assists with production of new neuron connections in human brain. Researchers have shown that crafting and other creative activities are associated with significantly decreasing odds of having dementia. The study is published in The Journal of Neuropsychiatry in 2011.

The British Journal of Occupational Therapy has published another study on patients with depression. More than 3,500 patients were surveyed and 81% of them reported feeling happy after knitting.

Being Involved in creative activities such as music, art, drawing, sewing, weaving, decorating, etc. helps people overcome depression and anxiety, protects them from stress. Doing something that you love doing, increases the level of natural anti-depressants in your blood which makes you feel happier. When you concentrate on your hobby you forget pain. Your imagination improves, your memory gets better, your attention spam increases and your spatial thinking develops. All parts of your brain work. That helps your brain to stay fit longer, protects it from aging. These are some of the ccountless benefits of crafting!

Discuss the healing crafts here!

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