Unwind by Neal Shusterman is an intriguing futuristic novel set in a future in which pro-Lifers and pro-choicers come to an agreement over an amendment allowing parents to retroactively “abort” their teenagers by harvesting organs from them and using them in another person – this practice is known as unwinding.
Studies indicate that textile arts such as knitting and crochet contribute positively to mental wellbeing. Not only can these skills bring joy, but they may help reduce stress levels and chronic pain as well.
Stress Relief
Knitting or crocheting can be an extremely relaxing activity that provides great stress relief. The repetitive motion, soft fibers, and seeing visual progress of your work is rewarding and fulfilling – especially in our society of disposable products where there’s such an inherent sense of pride when using something you made!
Studies have demonstrated the therapeutic effect of crafting on participants. Crafting helps reduce stress levels and blood pressure levels while simultaneously helping focus the mind and relax muscles – plus its soothing qualities can even aid in relieving depression or chronic pain conditions.
Sewing, weaving and embroidery have long been recognized for their therapeutic value. Used extensively in prisons, schools and rehabilitation settings alike, fiber arts offer an effective means of addressing many different issues across all age groups – be they gender neutral or exacting; precise or non-precise; one can engage in them alone or collaborate on them with others – helping individuals cope more easily within social environments.
Medical Life Sciences researchers examined the effects of crochet groups on mental health, and discovered an increase in self-happiness ratings, lower anxiety levels and greater emotional regulation than individuals who did not join such communities. Furthermore, participants felt like part of a supportive network by participating in such communities.
No matter where you begin in the arts, its benefits are immense. Learning from experts online courses that give lifetime access makes creativity easy!
Boosts Creativity
Fiber arts provide an outlet for creativity. Fiber pieces can be used to craft functional objects like blankets and pillows, as well as decorative items meant to beautify your home or workplace. You can take your creativity one step further by designing intricate patterns into the fiber art pieces you are producing.
Furthermore, these creations can serve to build connections among other artists and the general public – especially when done collaboratively by multiple people – creating one piece. Collaborative art can be an incredibly effective means for healing wounds in communities while simultaneously strengthening them.
Fiber art offers many advantages both to artists and audiences alike. For artists, its creative process provides relaxation and mindfulness practices as well as a sense of accomplishment; for audiences it can bring joy, beauty, and connection.
These creative activities have long been used by women as an avenue to build communities, heal themselves and express themselves – from homemade “pussy hats” seen at the 2017 Women’s March to knitting patterns and crochet instructions shared online during AIDS pandemic. Women rely heavily on these artistic practices for mental wellness.
Embroidery can be an ideal therapeutic activity for young adults and adolescents, since its act prompts participants to think about both linear aspects of time – like measuring progress – as well as interrupted aspects – like starting new projects while leaving others incomplete behind. Thus, embroidery serves as an invaluable means of reflecting upon today’s fast-paced and often stressful world.
Boosts Self-Esteem
Creativity provides people with a sense of accomplishment and pride, while taking time to focus on a project can also provide relief from stress or anxiety. Finally, craft projects provide something tangible to show off to others while simultaneously building self-esteem and confidence – perfect for children in particular!
Embroidery, knitting and crocheting are timeless fiber arts that offer therapeutic benefits for students. Multiple studies indicate these activities can reduce stress hormone levels, lower blood pressure and alleviate chronic pain. Furthermore, needlework’s repetitive nature helps focus the mind thereby relieving depression and anxiety symptoms.
Recent research involving embroidery art created by participants aging with mental health challenges revealed its immense value in multiple ways. Participants reported finding solace in stitching patterns therapeutic and taking “time out” for themselves; researchers noted how participants could delve into the present moment and forget about daily worries while stitching, helping reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Another study which employed women who have survived cancer to knitted hats demonstrated how this activity helped reduce stress and enhance mood, further supporting fiber arts as an integral component of therapy, both for patients as well as clinicians.
Enhances Memory
Fiber arts’ tactile nature brings comforting sensations of touch directly into our hands and minds, providing relief for people living with anxiety, depression, dementia or any mental illness. Art therapists and educators know this form of creative activity provides sensory input which allows patients to feel secure.
Fiber and textile arts activities, with their repetitive and rhythmic movements, can provide a meditative state that encourages reflection and contemplation. As defined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, this state of flow activates parts of your brain responsible for emotional regulation while attenuating activity in your amygdala – typically linked with stress and fear responses.
Many fiber art techniques require patience and concentration, helping reduce feelings of anxiety while increasing self-control – this is especially helpful for those living with posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, or depression.
As an example, crochet projects provide the mind with a method for focusing on one stitch at a time, which in turn causes your brain to release oxytocin, a hormone which promotes social bonding – helping those suffering mental illnesses to reduce loneliness and isolation.
Women have long used fiber arts to form community and express themselves, from creating signature homemade “pussy hats” worn at 2017 Women’s March, to sharing mask-making patterns on Facebook sewing groups, these practices have long served to empower women.
Reduces Anxiety
Fiber art creation can help relieve anxiety and relieve tension. Studies have revealed that arts and crafts activities, specifically arts and crafts projects, have the ability to reduce cortisol levels which is our body’s main stress hormone. Because crafting can be repetitive and meditative in nature, helping you unwind by relaxing both mind and body.
Textile arts – which include weaving, knitting, embroidery and quilting – use natural and synthetic materials to craft two-dimensional or three-dimensional works of art using weaved, knitted and stitched forms of fiber to produce textures and visual patterns that can be visually appealing.
Fiber arts artists have long used fiber as an expressive medium; with its recent popularity as fine art, however, more people are beginning to explore this expressive potential of this form of textile art. Such pieces often use materiality as a platform from which to communicate personal or social histories that were once marginalized or forgotten about.
Natalia Nakazawa is one such artist who has made the leap to fiber art as an expressive medium, having first trained as a figurative painter before taking up this form of expression.
Similar to weaving, sewing uses yarn and fabrics in sewing, crocheting and needlework to produce various styles and techniques. Weaving uses threads or fibers to weave a fabric. Crocheting uses yarn as thread to connect materials while sewing utilizes small needles or machines to produce different fabrics.
Women have used crafts for millennia to foster community, heal themselves, and express themselves creatively. From homemade pussy hats worn by marchers in 2017 to sharing patterns and instructions for mask-making on social media during pandemic outbreaks – women continue using these creative practices as powerful ways of building connections, healing themselves, and expressing themselves freely. These creative practices continue to thrive.