How Crochet Taught Me Gentleness With Myself

A podcast interview with Clinical Psychologist Dr. Mia Hobbs about How Craft Heals

Listen to the podcast

I was delighted when I first discovered the @knittingistherapeutic account on Instagram and excited when I realized it was linked to a podcast (Why I Knit) created by a Clinical Psychologist (Dr. Mia Hobbs) who is passionate about the mental health benefits of knitting (and crochet, etc.) When I first did my research for my book, Crochet Saved My Life, over a decade ago, so few people were talking about this topic. Now there’s research, anecdotal evidence, and celebrity stories about the benefits of yarn crafting. I am here for it! So, I was thrilled when Mia reached out to me to inquire as to whether I’d be interested in being on the podcast. Yes, yes I was very interested!

It was so wonderful to chat with Mia. She has a warm personality combined with keen intelligence. And it felt easy to sit and chat for an hour about my experience with crochet. If you want to go right to the podcast, you can listen to it here. Or right here:

Podcast Anxiety Then and Now

It was a really special experience for me to feel so much ease speaking with Mia. The experience alone was nice, of course, but it was more than that. You see, about a decade ago, during the promotion of Crochet Saved My Life, I was interviewed for a podcast about this same topic. (That podcast and my episode are no longer available online.) And I was terrified!

I have had phone anxiety for a really long time. During the worst of depression, I flat out could not make or take phone calls. I didn’t have a specific fear - meaning that I didn’t have some kind of thought about what was going to happen. I just had massive body and brain anxiety about the phone. (It’s a thing; it’s called telephonophobia). But I really, really wanted to spread the word about my book, and I really admired the podcaster, so I did the podcast. But I had to drink a huge glass of white wine in advance (for an 11 am call) and I had to go straight to bed from exhaustion after. Basically, I was outside of my window of tolerance the entire time and I was spent.

I have been invited on a few podcasts between then and now. I haven’t appeared on one again until now. There actually was one that I thought would be really great for connecting with a new audience, but I kept putting it off and putting it off, and finally I emailed the podcaster and explained that I wanted to but my anxiety didn’t want to … and he responded with, “oh, you know it’s supposed to be fun?” It blew my mind. People think this is fun?!?! So I thought about it and decided then that since it wasn’t fun for me then maybe it wasn’t what I wanted to do. But now, with time having passed and so many things having happened within me and outside of me, I actually did think that having a conversation with Mia was fun. I was excited about it and it felt easy and I didn’t over-prepare and I liked it. And when it was done I went about my day. I wasn’t exhausted.

This isn’t to say that I never have phone anxiety anymore. Instead, I just know myself better. This helps in that I know better which things I want to say a wholehearted yes to (the podcast with Mia!) and I don’t say yes if I don’t mean it. This helps in that I recognize I have ebbs and flows of energy and I make my phone calls on days when it feels easy instead of hard. This helps because I am gentle with myself about it all now in a way that I wasn’t a decade ago. As you’ll learn from the podcast, being gentle with myself is something that crochet taught me.

Notes From The Podcast

Thanks to Mia for saying in her intro:

“I particularly loved Kathryn's focus on her relationship with craft being something that is constantly evolving, and her celebration of every part of the process.”

And in her Instagram post:

Thank you so much Kathryn for being so open and reflective - I particularly loved how Kathryn stopped and asked herself 'how do I feel about that right now?' when I asked her a question - it was such a great reminder that our relationship to knitting and craft evolves and changes over time.

Crochet Saved My Life

Her noticing of that makes me feel seen. You’ll have to listen to the podcast to hear all of the details, but here’s some of what we discuss:

• How I came to discover that crochet was beneficial for my mental health and why it seemed to help during the depths of depression when other things weren’t helping.

• The things that crochet taught me. Example: Mistakes are not that big of a deal - in craft or in life. I fully believe that craft is a safe space to practice life lessons that we can apply elsewhere as we heal and grow.

• Exploring the potential benefits of the before, during, and after of the entire process of crochet, including how I feel about my finished items.

• The development of my work interviewing people about the mental health benefits of crochet and crafting … and now more broadly the impacts of mental health symptoms on all art-making and creativity.

• The story of the project that I’m most proud of.

• Mia shares her own experience with the benefits of knitting as well as how she incorporates this into work with her clients.

• The fun question of whether or not we keep a yarn stash and what it looks like and why. (I love exploring this and am working on a full workshop around working with this in a healing way.)

• And more …

Hook to Heal!: 100 Crochet Exercises For Health, Growth, Connection, Inspiration and Honoring Your Inner Artist

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SHOUTOUT: To Threadwinners, who I am friends with and have loved collaborating on projects with, and whose craftivism always inspires me … In the interview, the name “Threadwinners” sounded wrong. Isn’t it weird how any word can suddenly just seem weird? (Try saying pretty much any word fifteen times in a row and feel it jumble in your mouth and brain.) So I stuttered: “wait is it Threadwinners, are they Threadwinners?” They are :) And I adore them.

Loved collaborating with Threadwinners on art gallery shows for the Mandalas for Marinke project.

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