Crafting and my anxiety

I feel I am ready to share a personal story about myself and how crafting has been a bit of a salvation for me over the last few months.

As some of you may or may not be aware I have been off work for nearly 2 months now due to suffering with anxiety and depression. This is something I have battled with for some time now and something I try desperately to keep at bay. I have learnt over the years though that I cannot keep fighting it forever and every now and then I must have the strength to say enough is enough and make the best and often hardest decision for my health.

I am, and always have been a hard worker so making the decision to put myself first and call in sick was a very difficult one to make but the constant feeling of dread and exhaustion just couldn't carry on, especially with Tom being so poorly and needing my help at home. I have struggled with work for the last year but with Tom becoming so poorly it made me put things into perspective and I realised a job was not worth making myself unwell for.

I have been down this road before when I decided that a career in teaching was not for me but I refused to give up for some time resulting in becoming quite unwell.

This time however I have my crafting to keep me going. I reignited my love of crafting after reading a blog written by Mrs Crafty B, a university friend. I was very impressed with the things she had made and decided I too would take on a challenge. Initially I started cross stitching and was astounded by how much it helped me to have a focus and something to take pride in creating. I had dabbled with the odd project before this but I was not prepared for the impact that crafting would have on me.

Since finishing this cross stitch I have picked up knitting needles and I am surprising myself with the things I am knitting. I adore the sense of putting love into every stitch and knitting gives me something positive to focus on and each row gives me such a sense of achievement.

I have also learnt how to crochet, I have always loved the look of it but never been able to do it. Thanks to the support and patience of Eleanor at Knit Nottingham I have developed my skills and feel capable of taking on most things. Eleanor has been brilliant, I go to the shop to not only buy yarn but have a good winge and a giggle, she's a good girl!

On top of this I have started this blog, taken part in craft swaps and explored other mediums with which to craft.

The road is far from over for me as I am still off and awaiting further meetings at work to attempt to find a new job within the organisation and Tom is still unwell but crafting is something that keeps me going no end. As silly as it may sound it gives me something to get out of bed for on days where I feel utterly glum and unable to face the world. Expressing my emotions in a creative way prevents my panic from becoming unmanageable, prevents anger, prevents tears, prevents anxiety (to a certain degree) and provides satisfaction, confidence, a sense of achievement every day despite the fact I can often feel very useless.

I wanted to share my story because I cannot begin to explain how wonderful the world of crafting is for those suffering with mental health concerns. I would love to take it into a career and work with mental health patients to use creativity as a therapy but I have to sort myself out first and then take the time to research how and if I can do this.

I strongly believe that depression, anxiety and other mental health concerns are not something to be ashamed of. It is a part of a lot of people's lives and something we must learn to accept and deal with. I am still young and I feel very lucky to have found something that helps me so early on my journey. I hope that even if this reaches just one person it will lead them up the crafty
path to a more focused mental state.

UPDATE
Just after publishing this Stephen Fry tweeted about www.rethinkyourmind.co.uk a project that is being run nationwide to encourage creativity to help with and raise awareness of mental health issues. Fabulous!