Benefits of Crochet for Ten Symptoms of Depression

Crafting to heal + 5 more beautiful, colorful crochet mandalas to raise awareness about depression survival

Feb 14, 2024

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This post was originally written back in ~2015 for About.com Crochet which became The Spruce, where I was the crochet column expert for several years. I am re-sharing it here today along with five more contributions from the Mandalas for Marinke project that I’m revisiting this year to continue to raise awareness about depression, suicide, and crafting to heal.

Alexandra of CrochetingThruChronicDiseases … At the time of her contribution, Alexandra was “*a 32-year-old stay at home mommy who loves to crochet, read, do photography when she feels well enough and recently is learning to love to cook. She loves to make tutorials, design patterns and blog*.” At that time, she blogged at CrochetingThruChronicDiseases, which is no longer active, and she and I connected a lot around crocheting for healing. She said for this project: "I chose to contribute to this project because mental illness needs more awareness, and I am deeply saddened by Wink's passing. I have dealt with depression since I was a teenager and after I got sick, it got worse. If not for my family, friends, faith, and learning to distract myself with things like crochet. I don't know what might have happened. I feel like I found myself when I found crochet and it has helped to heal me. It has helped me become a more confident person, as well as to help me cope with depression and my health issues. I think it is most important for people that are going through depression to know that there are other people out there that are dealing with it, too, and there are many ways to cope."

I am a depression survivor. I have gone through bouts of almost-fatal depression. I live with the symptoms of depression almost every day, although they are lessened now that I've learned how to handle them. Crochet has been a key part of my ongoing self-care plan, and I wanted to share with you today some things I've learned about how crafting can help with the symptoms of depression.

Before we begin, though, I want to remind you that depression is a serious medical condition. My depression certainly isn't helped by crochet alone. If you are in a bad space make sure that you reach out and ask for help - from a friend, a doctor or someone else in your support system. Crochet is a wonderful, wonderful part of the healing process for me but it's not a cure-all. With that in mind, here is how crochet does help:

1. Guilt/ worthlessness

This is a big symptom of depression that comes up for me, even after years of therapy and working through those feelings. Crochet helps to rebuild self-esteem. You are doing something productive and creative, adding to the world in some small way. If you can focus on that aspect of crochet then it can really help to battle those feelings of "not good enough".

2. Pessimism / hopelessness

I find that crochet helps because it interrupts the ruminating of the mind. The repetitive negative thought cycles that my brain can spin get interrupted by the calming counting

of stitches and eventually the thoughts that are leading to these feelings fade away and the feelings begin to dissipate.

Alessandra in Italy who blogs at homemade@myplace shared: "I'm a staying at home mum with a degree in Geology. Because of the work of my husband, I'm following him (plus our two teen boys and the lovely Margot, our cat!) all over the world in the last 11 years: Egypt, Indonesia and Mozambique are all places we can call "our homes". Apart from the big moves, what keeps me busy is my passion for crafts - and crochet is the big love of these last four years. The first time I discovered Wink's blog was when she was asked to yarn bomb one of the seal statutes located in the Zeehondencreche, a Seal Center in Pieterburen, Netherlands. My twin Sister Sabrina, some years ago, was volunteering in that same place, just before taking her degree in Veterinary ... I just loved that coincidence. Obviously, since then, I started to follow Wink's blog and I found really interesting her way to choose the colors she put in her mandalas. I was a quiet follower, as I left just a few comments. She was so busy and made so many beautiful works. When I read about her suicide, I was really shocked. She was so young and she reached great targets with her crochet ... When looking at all her works, tutorials, articles in magazines, books, and so on, I could not understand her final gesture. WHY?! Then I realized that I didn't know anything about depression, how deep it can be, how horrible this illness is ... That's why I decided to join this project and I really hope it will succeed in the raising of awareness about depression!"

3.Difficulty concentrating

That counting of stitches can help bring the mind back to focus on the single task at hand. This feeling can be a big relief during times of depression when you don't have the power to concentrate on other favorite activities (such as reading). I've also found that it can be easier to concentrate on other things (like a class lecture, for example) when the hands are busy crocheting a repetitive stitch.

4.Insomnia

This is a big one for me. I experience nighttime insomnia as well as early-morning waking. Some people have reported that crocheting helps them to calm down enough to sleep. Although on occasion that's been true for me, what's more helpful is that crochet is something I can do quietly in the home in those midnight hours.

5. Fatigue

Well, the crochet doesn't really help with the fatigue ... but what it does do is offers an activity that I can still do even though my energy levels are so low. I feel a lot better when I'm doing something, even if that something is simply making a scarf.

This prismatic thread crochet mandala is worked in the beautiful hues of the rainbow with layers of pink around the edges that add to its charm. It came from Ali in Australia of AliPinkHandmade who at the time of sharing was selling "modern homewares with a vintage twist" on Etsy. A recent update shows she’s currently selling on MadeIt where her bio reads: “I am a lifelong maker, having been taught to sew by my mother, and to knit and embroider by my grandmother. I continue to dabble in many handcrafts but patchwork quilt-making and knitting are my current crafts of choice. I have a large stash of vintage fabrics, notions and patterns from which I take inspiration. A Seventies baby, I favour the bold and colourful as well pretty hippy florals.” She shared with her contribution: "*I've never had depression but crochet and craft have helped me through some sad and difficult times. Sending love from the Gold Coast."*

6. Irritability

Depression can make people really cranky. It helps to be able to work out some of that frustration in a hands-on project. Crochet can also help you to calm down so that you can see situations more clearly and not respond with irrational irritability.

7. Overeating

Some people find that depression causes overeating. Oftentimes, the individual is self-smoothing with food. You can self-soothe with yarn. Indulge in the best textures and really enjoy the projects you're working on. If your hands are busy hooking, you may be able to convince yourself to snack less.

8. Indecision

It's so hard to make decisions when you're depressed. Every single decision seems like it will have massive ramifications and you get frozen. You can practice your decision-making skills with crochet, where the worst thing that can happen is you'll end up with a project you don't like. It's a safe place to play with decision-making. Focus on how to make each decision - choosing a project, selecting the yarn, etc. Congratulate yourself for each decision made. This reminds you that you can indeed make decisions.

Alexandra from England who shared: *"I am from England, married and have two teenage boys. I love to crochet and Wink was a huge inspiration to me."* She wrote this letter to Wink to contribute to this project: "Dear Marinke, I wish I could have met you so that I could have told you how much you inspired me and many other crocheters. I have Muscular Dystrophy, and I feel crochet has cured my frustration of not being able to do the things I want ... I have found that I am good at something! I always enjoyed reading your blog and your patterns are amazing and so beautiful. I wish I could say, "Thank you" to you in person for choosing my beach bag as one of your favorites and for putting the photo of it on your blog. I have made one of your mandalas in lovely bright colors as you showed me how to use colors together to make amazing projects. I will be forever grateful to you; it won't be the same without you. I hope you have found peace.”

9. Loss of Interest

For me, crochet was a new hobby that I took up in the depths of depression. I didn't like anything that I used to like. I was disinterested in every other hobby that I tried. Crochet was something that captured my interest, and I believe that there are reasons it can do that during depressive periods. It's a simple hobby that doesn't require leaving the house, dealing with people or exerting a lot of energy. And it's pleasing to the senses with all of those yarn colors and textures. It won't immediately renew your interest in other things but it can be something to take interest in as you work through the depression.

10. Restlessness and Anxiety

People with depression often also suffer from bouts of anxiety (related sometimes to the irritability and indecision mentioned above). Crochet is a rhythmic, soothing activity that can help bring the body back down to a regulated state.