Personal stories of how crochet contributed to lives of actual people fills over 300 pages in Kathryn's book. Stories about how crochet helps with chronic illness is soothing in the face of anxiety and contributes to healing from abuse.
About her own experience, Kathryn writes, "Of course, crochet alone could never have taken me out of that desperate place. It is a craft, not a cure-all for serious illness. And yet I am also fairly certain that I could never have loosened myself from the grip of that depression without crochet. I was stuck in between that proverbial rock and a hard place and my crochet hook served as a crowbar to begin prying me out of that difficult space. I hardly knew that it was happening and yet that hook dug deep down into the core of my being and lifted me into a space where I could once again begin to breathe. In the most basic and obvious way possible I was creating a life for myself simply through the act of creating."
Fascinating!
Go Visit Kathryn's Blog, Crochet Concupiscence for her review of Learn Bruges Lace
2 comments:
Crochet may not have saved my life, but it certainly is a tremendous help with my depression. Crocheting has a very calming effect on me when I am upset or depressed. I crochet in complete silence, and this allows my mind and body to relax. In those quiet crochet times, I am able to think about my problems or things that are bothering me and come up with solutions to the problems or ways to deal with them in a positive way. No, it's not a CURE for depression, but crocheting certainly helps me to deal with it.
~~~~~ Debbie
It's the book's author here. Just wanted to say thanks to Ellen for this great post.
I also want to add that I think Debbie has made a really terrific point here in the comments about how crochet can be used to just clear some mental space for yourself so that you can sort through the problems in your mind. For some people, crochet is a way to tune out and give the brain a total break and that's great. But for others it's a way to immerse the mind in problem-solving in a therapeutic and relaxed way. Our lives are so busy, and so full of noise, and any craft that helps us find a silent space to be with ourselves is so beneficial!
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