Crafting for Better Mental Health is not a new idea, art and music are established types of therapy used to help people access and process their thoughts and emotions. Crafting for better mental health on a very simple level can be accessed by anyone at anytime to help them manage and boost their mental health. This blog will look at how Crafting for Better Mental Health can help you feel better and explore ways that you can get into crafting.

According to the Crafts Council in the UK, Craft can alleviate anxiety, depression, loneliness and dementia. It cites research by University college London in 2018 that stated that:

“engaging with the visual arts can reduce reported anxiety, and that visiting museums can protect against dementia’s development. ‘Cultural activities encourage gentle movement, reduce social isolation, and lower inflammation and stress hormones such as cortisol,’ said the report’s author, Dr Daisy Fancourt. ‘The arts are linked with dopamine release, which encourages cognitive flexibility, and they reduce our risk of dementia.’”

The BBC Great British Creativity Test in 2019 backs this up, and demonstrates that crafting can reduce stress and boost our emotional wellbeing. Crafting can require a great deal of concentration and focussed attention, meaning that we engaging mindfully in the activity. We are in the present not pulled into the past or worried about the future. This

“ benefits our mental health by activating parts of the cortex involved with regulating emotions and dampening activity in the amygdala, which is implicated in processing negative emotions and fear.”

Crafting in groups brings people together and so lowers feelings of isolation. With an common interest positive relationships and friendships can be more easily built. I recently watched a BBC documentary on Craftivism, a gentle way of protesting and being an activist. If you are interested please take a look at BBC Iplayer.

It would seem undeniable that being creative and crafting has positive effects on our emotional wellbeing. If up until now you have not been creative it might be hard to think about how you can get involved, particularly in the current COVID climate. Below are some ideas on things you could do and online resources you could access. If you are not sure where to begin maybe think back to school and whether there was anything you enjoyed doing, there to give you inspiration. Here are some ideas below:

1. Painting
2. Drawing
3. Card Making
4. Photography
5. Knitting
6. Sewing
7. Cross Stitch
8. Crochet
9. Origami
10. Jewellery Making
11. Pottery
12. Wood Turning
13. Carving
14. Calligraphy
15. Working with Resin
16. Knitting
17. Colouring books

For some a barrier to taking up a craft could be cost. I have included a number of crafts here that should have a minimal cost, such as origami, calligraphy and card making. There are many free tutorials on Youtube which offer good instructions on how to do things. Failing that, the vast majority of people have a phone with a camera meaning that photography could be developed as a craft or hobby, using free apps and platforms like Instagram.

I have complied below some online resources if you want to find more inspiration for your crafting and tutorials. The majority of these websites offer free resources, some have a paid option.

Online Resources

• BBC Arts Get Creative – Lots and lots of online events and classes which gives you masterclasses in different arts.
• Crafts Council You Tube Channel –  lots of video Tutorials by professional makers
• Skillshare.com – an online platform offering masterclasses in lots of crafts – there is a fee for these classes
• Creativebug.com – offers online video arts and crafts workshops and technique – There are free taster sessions and you can access a couple of months for free and then there is a cost.
• Mollie Makes – is a crafing magazine – with lots of free craft ideas online

If you would like to find out more about how I can help you please Call me on 07843 813537. Please leave a message if I can’t answer your call and I’ll call you back as soon as possible. If you have any other questions or enquiries please call or send me a message by completing the online enquiry form. Due to COVID I am currently working exclusively online or on the telephone.