The Knit-ty Gritty

The Knit-ty Gritty

In a world full of stress and constant go, go, go there has to be something that you can go to that will soothe your mind, body and spirit. Many times people like to just veg out in front of the TV for a few hours or zone out on their phones taking in hours of social media. This is fine every once in a while, however looking into better coping skills may help take the edge off more permanently and give you a better sense of satisfaction when you have to snap back into reality.

For many people they take up a hobby. A great hobby that is quite relaxing, but is also challenging and rewarding is knitting. I know what you’re thinking, it’s not just for grandmas anymore. People’s love for knitting spans across all ages and genders. There are online communities such as Ravelry that bring together people from all over the world that have a love for yarn and knitting. Knitting is great for people who are dealing with mental health issues such as ADHD or anxiety because it gives you something to do with your hands, it gives you a reason to focus, the repetitive motions can be soothing, it’s a challenging skill to master, and the feel of the yarn is a sensory boost. In an article on https://www.thisisinsider.com/is-knitting-good-for-you-2018-4 a woman tells her story of how knitting helped her through her struggles with ADHD and C-PTSD.

There are many tutorials online to get you started with knitting such as, https://www.wikihow.com/Knit, which is a step by step guide with directions and visual prompts. If you aren’t interested in knitting, find an activity that speaks to you and gets your out of your normal everyday routine. Make sure whatever your decide to do gets you excited and can connect you with others that uplift you. It’s a great big world out there with so much to discover, find something to get wrapped up in!

By Garcsa Brooks

Intern, Olive Branch Counseling Associates, Inc