Humans have been creating for thousands of years. We create music, create meals, create clothes by sewing; the list goes on and on. In recent years, many studies have been done making a connection between the art of creating and the benefits it has on mental health struggles, such as anxiety and depression.
Here at Debi’s Crafts, we understand on a personal level the struggles of mental health illnesses. We also understand the joy, excitement, and love for crafting. In the last 5 years, our business has grown from making wreaths in a spare bedroom at home to hosting DIY workshops and bringing in new teachers with different crafts such as crocheting, baking, decorating cookies, painting, calligraphy, and more.
Crafting increases dopamine levels in the brain. The Cleveland Clinic explains that dopamine is known as the “feel good” chemical in the brain. “It gives you a sense of pleasure, as well as the motivation to do something when you’re feeling pleasure.” Low levels of dopamine can contribute to symptoms of depression. When you create something, such as knitting a blanket, you experience a sense of accomplishment and pride for your work, which can boost those dopamine hormones running through your body.
Crafting also helps mental health through distraction. Anxiety is defined as “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome”. When you are in the process of creating something, it becomes a distraction from the world around you. It forces you to focus on the here and now. I personally struggle with anxiety on a daily basis. One of my favorite hobbies is cooking, and when I’m in the kitchen creating a meal, I am only focused on what ingredients are needed, is the meat cooked through, does it taste good, what else is needed? My thoughts are worries are silenced through the process of cooking.
Crafting can also help alleviate symptoms of loneliness. In March of 2020, when the whole world shut down due to the coronavirus, mental health struggles ran through the roof. Part of the reasoning for this was the isolation people were forced into. Loneliness is a real struggle for many, and when you live alone and you can’t leave your home, that’s a recipe for extreme loneliness. But thankfully, we live in a time of the internet and social media. During quarantine, we started to see trends of people baking bread, creating dances, making whipped coffee, learning to knit, and other creative outlets. This helped those who felt lonely by providing a place to belong, a place to connect with others who had the same interests. Crafting brings people together.
Crafting gives you a sense of control, which helps people to feel safe. In a world of unknowns, there is not much you can control. But when you create something with your own hands, you are in control of how the project turns out, providing you with a sense of comfort.
Here at Debi’s Crafts, we invite you to come as you are and join us in the art of creating. Whether it’s making decor for your home, painting, baking a cake, or crocheting a blanket, there’s a place for you here.