Knitting with benefits
Art by Connie Noble - to see more from artist Connie Noble go to https://connienoble.co.uk/
I picked up my knitting needles when my mother’s Alzheimer’s symptoms could no longer be ignored and shared this story on an episode of The Moth Radio Hour. What I didn’t share - but what many already know - was that grief never goes away. On certain days, such as the anniversary of her passing, I must tread carefully in order to sustain my mental health. Knitting is my go-to remedy.
This doesn’t surprise Laurie M. Smith, a mental health clinician with a focus on expressive arts therapy. She specializes in using play to create safety and connection with children. Dance, painting, and the needle arts are integral parts of her practice. “I think of artistic expression of all kinds as a back door to your brain. (In our culture) once we reach adulthood, we don’t often allow ourselves to play. The subconscious expresses itself in the body. Making things is play. It helps to take the hurt outside of the body.”
There’s a rhythm to knitting that can induce a meditative state. Transferring the stitches row after row is like doing a rosary or counting mala beads. Other knitters describe the experience as being “in the zone” when they’re working their needles. According to the National Institutes of Health achieving that meditative state can also reduce heart rate and lower blood pressure.
Connie Noble
A survey of nearly 8,500 crocheters living in 87 countries yielded data similar to those from knitters, and singers in a choir. These activities helped the respondents manage mental health conditions and life events such as grief, chronic illness and pain. “The art making process can be inherently therapeutic when navigating grief,” says art therapist Dr. Lauren Leone, DAT, LMHC, ATR-BC “because it can create a ritual, create space for reflection and meaning making, and because when we create a tangible object it helps us externalize our thoughts and feelings.” “That’s why creative arts therapies use dance, music, drama, and visual arts as tools - to incorporate not just our minds but also our bodies in healing,” Leone says.
When I’m knitting I can feel my breath slow, my muscles relax, and the stress and anxiety of the day melt. That’s because it’s likely my cortisol levels, the primary stress hormone in the human body, have decreased. Cortisol is the hormone which controls the fight or flight signal. “We can’t heal without first feeling safe,” said Smith. Once you feel safe is when you can gain insight and reflect. “In theory you can’t delete traumatic memories,” Smith said, “but you can write over them.”
Trauma, grief, and pain remains in the body. Knitting incorporates the body and all its senses -— from the sound of the needles clicking together, and the feel of the string through your fingers, to the color spectrum of yarn - a rainbow for your eyes. “That’s why arts therapy uses art making via dance, music, needlework, painting, etc. as tools - to incorporate the body in mental and physical healing,” Leone says.
Another benefit of knitting is engaging with a community. Isolation and loneliness has been shown to be a major risk factor for anxiety disorders such as depression by inhibiting the production of oxytocin in the brain. Oxytocin is a natural hormone best known for its role during childbirth; that’s its side gig. Since oxytocin is stored in the body’s pituitary gland, this hormone also helps to monitor blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, and digestion. Low oxytocin levels have been linked to depressive disorders unrelated to pregnancy and post-partum.
Evidence from Mental Health America shows that helping others can reduce stress, improve mood, and self-esteem. Knitting grants an automatic membership to a global network of fiber enthusiasts who often put their needles together to help others. In 2017, hundreds of thousands of crafters knitted pussy hats for the Women’s March in Washington. To assuage the pain of watching my mother’s mind deteriorate, I knit hats for babies in the NIC-U of our local hospital, and scarves for the homeless. Loose Ends project matches volunteer knitters with WIPs (works in progress) because a person is unable to finish due to illness or death.
“We can’t heal without first feeling safe”
Connie Noble
My local yarn shop (LYS) is where many of my community engagement activities begin. It’s also where a new knitter can learn to knit. Across America there are close to 6,000 small business owners who provide the sensory delights of color and texture that is yarn. LYSs offer classes for beginners as well as advice about which yarns would work best for which project, technical support, and pattern translation (knitting has its own lexicon). Neighborhood libraries may also host sit and knits where all needle artists – crochet, embroidery, cross-stitch and knitting - are welcome.
Ravelry is the Internet’s go-to source for information about yarns and patterns. There’s a Facebook group which culls Ravelry’s vast pattern database and posts the free ones. Other Facebook knitting groups are available for those who specialize in making socks, hats, or children’s clothes. There are annual knitting conventions all across the country. Two of the largest are the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair in Asheville, North Carolina, and the Sheep and Wool Fiber Festival in Rhinebeck, New York. Or, you can travel to Scotland or Ireland to tour sheep farms; take a knitting cruise off the coast of Maine. Those are only a few of the myriad of options for yarn enthusiasts.
Knitting soothes my mind and my body. It makes me feel safe and accomplished. And it’s the reason that my pattern catalog, yarn stash, and community of yarn enthusiasts continues to grow.