I need to put this out to the world For me, knitting IS part of therapy. It is a big part of my anxiety and depression management, it enables me to function in a world that is often overwhelming for me. My Nan taught me to knit when I was about 4-5 years old. I only knit when I was with her and when we moved interstate when I was 6 I stopped. My Mum re-taught me when I was about 11. And again, I did it for a bit but let it fall to the side, I was more interested in other crafts at that point. When I was 15, I was seeing our school counsellor and she asked if I knew how to knit or crochet - when I said I did, she taught me about how knitting can be a moving meditation and suggested I start again. We’d been working on many different mindfulness and meditation techniques leading up to this point and I had found them exceedingly difficult to implement, because there was TOO MUCH in my brain. That day on my way home from school, I stopped at the $2 shop and bought a set of needles and some cheap acrylic, and asked Mum to help me cast on as soon as I walked in the door. This was a REVELATION for me - if I felt my thoughts racing, or found myself overwhelmed or struggling to cope I could do a couple of rows on my wonky rectangle and I would feel better. It’s also helped me learn to deal with my perfectionist tendencies, because i have the choice to leave the mistake, or try and fix it. I’m getting better at just leaving small mistakes, because even though I know it’s there most other people will never notice. I’ve been able to carry that across into my whole life, and it has helped immensely. . Another side to knitting/crochet is that it can be a brilliant physical therapy tool - my Nan was one of the OG Occupational Therapists in Australia in the 60s and they used knitting & making fishing flies in their practice. (If you’re interested in this, Google Cecilie Bearup - I grew up with this woman as a second grandma, she is brilliant) If you don’t like the tag, don’t use it #KnittingIsMyTherapy #KnittingIsTherapy #MovingMeditation Featuring article from @yarnologiemag #YarnologieVolume2 https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce7eQb2p1ZV/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
