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Knitting Heralded as Help for Anxiety

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kntiting anxiety depressionIt seems like every few months there’s an article that gets a lot of notice about how great knitting and other crafts are for people’s health.

The latest one is from CNN. “This is your brain on knitting” opens by talking about a woman who used knitting to help with anxiety after her brother died, and goes on to talk about how knitting and other crafts can be as helpful as meditation in calming the mind and providing benefits to the brain.

In fact, crafts that offer a challenge — and there’s always more to learn when it comes to knitting — are even thought to slow cognitive decline that happens as we age. And when you spend your time in an enjoyable pursuit — which we certainly hope knitting is for you — it activates pleasure and reward centers in the brain that can calm bad moods and even lessen symptoms of depression. Which any knitter knows who has run to her needles to prevent an outburst at spouse or child.

If you have stories about how knitting has helped you, I’d love to hear them!

[Photo via CNN.]

Comments

  1. I learned to knit after I had been in the hospital for a rather serious health issue. I was afraid to drive a lot of places but I could drive from where I live to my home town (14 miles away). This is where my parents live and there was a local yarn store there. My mother set me up with lessons. It helped me through this issue and through the health situations of other family members (serious ones too). It helped me when I had surgeries a few years ago and when I was home I was not allowed to drive for a few weeks. I kept myself busy and sane by knitting. It helps now too when I am anxious and worried. It is my Tension tamer or relaxation technique.

  2. I struggle with depression, and the repetitive meditative act of knitting is very soothing, with the bonus of the feeling of having done something when I finish a project!

  3. While knitting has helped me cope better with my depression and has given me an outlet instead of following through with triggers, it has not cured my depression or anxiety. I wish it was the case.

  4. Crocheting calms my nerves. My knitting is not very good. Maybe I need a lesson. I think both have the same quality to calm us.

  5. I picked up knitting when my grandfather was diagnosed with cancer. It gave me something to do besides worry about him. I continued knitting when my son’s had to begin therapy for sensory issues and such. It helped take my mind off of things and gave me something to do amongst all the office visits. I continue knitting because it calms me. As I am knitting a gift or donation item, I think about the person I am knitting it for and wish for their happiness and health. When I’m done with the gift, a long prayer has been said for them and I feel happiness giving away such a gift, a little wish of love.

  6. I have chronic pain, among other health issues, and it really helps take my mind off of it! It’s extremely calming to me, and friends love my creations…

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Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.