Exploring how textile crafts are essential to mental health and creativity.
Crafts had found their way into my hands long before I was faced with the COVID-19 lockdown. Finding myself with a lot of time on my hands and no job post-graduation, anxiety had taken hold of me during the aftermath of the gap year. An overload of free time was eventually resolved with a soft skill that I had acquired during 5th grade: knitting, also known as tricot. I decided to focus on my two needles and yarn as a way to make use of my hands, making it a part of my daily routine. That drove me to pick up an embroidery kit, and from there began my passion for textile crafts.
I likened stitching to swimming, and I never wanted to come out of the water. What started as a way to kill time transformed into a passion (bordering on addiction). I was fascinated by this skill that had been passed down by generations for centuries, and I wondered: Could practicing craft be the best method of alleviating stress?
Science has now proven the positive effects that textile craft has on improving mental health. According to a study conducted by CNN Health, the act of repetitiveness or fixation seems to ease anxiety, reduce stress, and create mindfulness. The study takes a close look at Sara Huerta, who experienced PTSD and anxiety after her brother died in a car accident. After learning how to knit, her mental health improved significantly, and she claimed she could “lose herself for hours” while knitting.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a Hungarian-American psychologist, describes the feeling of being immersed in one activity as the “flow experience”. It is essentially an out-of-body experience in which one allows their consciousness to apply control to an “optimal experience”, aiming for maximum use of one’s abilities to devote themselves to the task, undisturbed. It is a continuation that reverberates both in the act and the body of work. In his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience Csikszentmihalyi claims that the state of “flow” must be developed over time and is not fixed, so to achieve joy, one must be wholly focused on something challenging. “The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times… The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile”.
In the last century, the “flow” demonstrated to be a great form of occupational therapy for English soldiers who had returned from World War 1. It helped pass their time during recovery and improve their fine motor skills. In addition, the pieces of embroidery and knitting done by the soldiers rehabilitating in hospitals have become historical pieces of art. The Australian War Memorial features embroidered pieces that signify the period of recovery for soldiers such as Albert Biggs, whose nerves were damaged in his right hand and took up crafts to improve his fine motor skills. Biggs employed three types of stitching: stem, long, and satin stitch (Neale, 2013). Another acclaimed story was during 2009 in Western Europe, where 38 women who suffered from Anorexia Nervosa eventually made vast progress in easing their eating disorder. The outcome accounted for 74% of patients who gave credit to their craft.
The flow theory is also reflected in Kuwait’s very own Sadu House-founded in the 1980’s-artisans, who both have 40 years of experience weaving Sadu. For master weaver Um Mohammad Al-Ajmi, the craft gives her “a sense of serenity, personal comfort, entertainment, and a distraction from the stresses of life.” At the end of each piece, she feels motivated to get starting with the next one, often left feeling with an “overwhelming sense of happiness”. The same can be said for Mutaira Mussallem, who learned how to weave Sadu and embroider with wool from her aunts. Now her outlook expands when weaving while also feeling inspired to develop the craft with ideas of her own. “It began as a passion and love for the craft, and then due to numerous circumstances, it became a source of sustenance for my family.”
Csziksentmihaly’s flow and textile crafts truly go hand in hand during this time when staying inside is the only option. Thankfully for beginners, the craft community on Instagram is happy to help, whether it’s for purchasing embroidery kits or opting to watch Youtube tutorials or even registering for courses on Domestika. The options are endless. Tackle disorientation with craft, and however idealist this may sound, it IS all in your hands.
References:
https://www.creativelive.com/blog/science-says-crafting-good-brain/
https://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/25/health/brain-crafting-benefits/index.html
https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/articles/4-reasons-craft-is-good-for-your-mental-health/
https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/articles/craft-can-reduce-stress-a-new-bbc-survey-reveals
https://positivepsychology.com/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-father-of-flow/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28027032
https://theconversation.com/how-craft-is-good-for-our-health-98755
https://theconversation.com/how-craft-is-good-for-our-health-98755
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2927890/
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