These 10 Simple Crafts Can Help To Aid Your Mental Health This Winter
Even if you tend to prefer cooler weather, the dark nights and rain that winter draws in can take a toll on your mental health.
Some people may experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which is a type of depression experienced during different seasons or times of year.
It can be hard to keep yourself going at this time, especially when you’re going to work and coming home in the dark but, according to mental health experts, you could find relief from the difficulties of SAD through crafting.
Stephen Buckley, Head of Information at Mind said, “We know that crafting can be a powerful way to support mental health and wellbeing. Creative activities like card-making or knitting require focus, which may help us disconnect from daily pressures and find a welcome distraction.”
Of course, crafting is more than just a distraction. It’s creativity in motion. Making something that wasn’t there before and finding a sense of achievement in your own creative process.
Buckley added: “The repetitive motions of these crafts can feel meditative and calming, making them a helpful tool for managing stress, depression, and anxiety. Different things will work for different people and the main thing is finding a craft you enjoy and which fits into your life.”
Personally, I started crafting to get through difficult times
I never thought I was particularly crafty; I am dyspraxic and have always thought that my creativity was solely in writing.
During a rough few years, though, I couldn’t find solace in my own writing or even reading other people’s writing. Getting through the day was hard enough without trying to perfect a poem or take in complex themes in literary fiction.
Instead, I began sewing. First it was cross-stitch, then embroidery and eventually, I got my sewing machine.
The repetitive motion, the control, the reliable routine of sewing of an evening, all of it kept my head above water and reminded me that even in the darkest times, I could find and even create beauty in the world.
Like most crafty people, I couldn’t just leave it there. Now I do paper crafts, air-dry clay, needle-felting... you name it, I’ve probably lost myself in it for at least a few hours.
Where do you even start, though?
Developing a list of crafts for those looking to support their mental health this winter, The Works, backed by Mind, have produced a blog post with some ideas for easing stress and anxiety, as well as boosting concentration, focus and creativity.
Lynne Tooms, Chief Commercial Officer at The Works said, “Channelling your emotions into creativity can have a huge impact on us as adults, with various craft types having a big impact on our mood and sense of achievement, as well as providing us with skills and hobbies that can turn into passions to enjoy all year round.”
Top 10 crafts ideas to support wellbeing:
- Colouring
- Crocheting
- Knitting
- Painting
- Ceramics
- Sketching
- Scrapbooking
- Journalling
- Cross Stitch
- Flower Pressing
Read the full blog post here.