New Research Says Crafting Is Extremely Good For Your Mental Health
Crafters. You may see them as boring people, but they actually have a lot going for them. Depression, anxiety, and other mental conditions plague our society. It's no wonder too. Society is pretty messed up. But crafters are actually in a great position to avoid some of these conditions.
Knitting, for example, is similar to meditation. When 3,545 knitters were surveyed, over half said they felt very happy after knitting. Many did it for stress relief.
There's not much research done on crafting, but what information there is is promising.
"There's promising evidence coming out to support what a lot of crafters have known anecdotally for quite some time," says Catherine Carey Levisay, a clinical neuropsychologist. "And that's that creating — whether it be through art, music, cooking, quilting, sewing, drawing, photography (or) cake decorating — is beneficial to us in a number of important ways."
Crafting and similar hobbies probably release dopamine, which is an antidepressant hormone often associated with the feeling of reward in the brain. Serotonin is also released, which helps us feel comfortable and safe.