Passionate about crocheting but worried that it’s wasting your time? Don’t worry, crocheting brings with it a wide range of benefits for your physical, mental and emotional well-being. Beyond this, crocheting is a creative, artistic hobby, and the opportunity for self-expression which it provides should be celebrated and harnessed to its full effect.Benefits:
- Decreased stress: Repeated actions like those necessary in knitting and crocheting calm the body and brain, lowering your heart rate. These repetitive motions can also aid in improving your mood. Relaxation helps to eradicate irritability and anger, helping you to cope better in your day-to-day life.
- Better at coping with physical and mental illness: Having something you enjoy and which helps you relax and unwind is important to allow your mind and body the space they need to get better.
- Reduced chance of cognitive impairment as you get older: knitting and crocheting require fine motor skills, which keep you feeling good using your hands as you get older. As a rule, patterns involve some elements of math, which keeps you mind active and practices numerical skills.
- Socializing: Crocheting and other activities like knitting are often done in clubs, allowing crocheters and knitters the chance to socialize. Institutions like prisons and schools, where social interaction and integration are of prime importance, are common venues for such clubs. Beyond this, being a knitter or a crocheter allows you to be part of a wider community of hobby crafters, something which makes you feel supported by other crafters. Socializing creates general feelings of well-being and helps alleviate loneliness and depression.
- Anxiety: The rhythmic motions can help create feelings of calmness which help combat anxiety. Furthermore, the feelings of accomplishment after finishing a project can help build self-esteem, another means of overcoming anxiety.