The Mental Health Benefits of Crocheting

Learn the health benefits of crocheting, including stress relief, improved self-esteem, and community building – affordable, portable, and fun.

NOTE: This post has been updated since it was originally published on October 6, 2022.

The benefits of crocheting go beyond creating a beautiful handmade item, although having something to show for your efforts is always fun.

Crocheting is also a wonderful way to support mental health, offering a soothing and creative way to manage life’s challenges.

Being a caregiver and supporting Doug who manages Parkinson’s disease has its anxious moments. Our future is precarious and sometimes it does fill me with anxiety.

I learned to crochet and knit in high school but it wasn’t until my thirties that I began crocheting for my mental well-being and to reduce anxiety.

Somehow I intuitively knew crocheting, and the soothing repetitive motion of moving needles and yarn, would help calm my stress.

I now know there is research behind this. Crocheting and knitting are both creative activities that use needles and yarn in repetitive movements to help reduce stress, anxiety, and other mental health challenges.

Research shows that crocheting has positive benefits. Many people use crochet to manage mental health conditions and life events such as grief, chronic pain, and illness.

History Of Crochet

The word crochet is an Old French word stemming from the German word “croc” which means “hook”. Crochet was used in French lace making in the 17th century.

The first known published instructions for crochet appeared in a Dutch magazine called Penélopé in 1823.

Irish crochet, a form of crochet lace work, actually began around 1845 as a form of famine relief in Ireland during the Great Irish Famine.

It was a way for families to make money, and all were involved – men, women, and children. The Irish brought this style of crochet with them when they immigrated to America.

Crocheting gained popularity in the US after World War II. It was common to make doilies, potholders, and other items for the home.

Now in the 21st century, crocheting has become increasingly popular. The improvement of quality and the colors of the yarn, as well as the increasing number of patterns available, have helped.

Crochet Therapy and Anxiety

Crochet therapy is an informal way to combine mindfulness-based stress reduction practices with crochet projects, which can be a great habit to develop to help work out emotions.

Michelle Borst Polino of the American Counseling Association worked with seniors struggling with onset dementia by forming crochet groups.

This group setting was similar to coffee clutches, where they would crochet different projects for a variety of charity organizations such as chemo caps for cancer patients, loveys for preemies, and more.

This allowed the seniors to discuss their issues and concerns while also bringing a sense of meaning and purpose to their lives.

Friendships also extended outside of the group and gave the seniors a sense of social connection.

10 Health Benefits of Crochet

Here are 10 health benefits of crocheting and why you should consider picking up a crochet needle.

1. Depression relief. The repetitive motion of crocheting releases serotonin, which can help lift mood and depression.
2. Reduces anxiety. Crocheting can help with anxiety in several ways. The repetitive motion provides a calming effect and can help ease mental anxiety.
   
   Counting patterns also help with anxious thoughts, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and even eating disorders.
   
   If you struggle with social anxiety, crocheting can be helpful by still going out while keeping your hands busy and mind focused on crafting.
3. Builds self-esteem. Creating a crochet project builds new skills, gives you a sense of productivity and accomplishment, and is a great means of self-expression.
4. Reduces cognitive decline. Similar to crossword puzzles and other brain activities, crocheting can be neuroprotective, helping to reduce and delay dementia and mild cognitive impairment.
5. Helps with insomnia. Doing a soothing, easy, repetitive motion like crocheting has been shown to greatly improve those who struggle with insomnia.
6. Reduces irritability and restlessness. Similar to crocheting for anxiety, it can also help manage irritability and restlessness through the concentrated, focused distraction, of working on a crochet project and its repetitive motion.
7. Prayer. Crocheting as part of a prayer routine can enhance not only your prayer practice but also a diverse array of health benefits.
8. Builds community. Social interaction through local crocheting and knitting groups, fairs, yarn stores, and even connections through online communities.
9. Helps with grief processing. The comforting and soothing repetitive motions, the softness and warmth of the yarn, all can help during periods of deep grief by lifting our mood and energy, even if for a short time.
10. Stress relief. As with all of these health benefits, crochet provides a relaxing and soothing repetitive motion, which often becomes a meditative-like process, and can help minimize stress.

Did You Know?

• Yarn Bombing. Yarn bombing started in the US and spread around the world. It is a form of graffiti or street art to beautify a neighborhood, using knit or crochet yarn instead of chalk.
• Chemo Caps. Crochet for Cancer is an organization you can work with if you are interested in crocheting chemo caps for cancer thrivers.
• Crochet Coral Reef Project. The Crochet Coral Reef Project was started by two sisters, Christine and Margaret Wertheim. The Crochet Coral Reef Project is a collective art and science initiative, with now over 20,000 participants from around the world. Millions of stitches and crochet coral reefs are displayed to draw attention to global warming.

Crochet Therapy for Caregivers

I like to crochet for several reasons; the creativity of making something beautiful, the meditative quality of the repetitive up-and-down motion of a crochet hook, and the beautiful, soft, comforting yarns.

The main reason I enjoy crocheting, however, is to reduce anxiety.

Let me give you an example. One evening Doug was watching the news, and it was difficult for me to be in the room because I could feel my worry and anxiety increasing the longer I watched and listened.

So, as a means of self-care, I picked up my crochet project and went into the other room. I sat there crocheting quietly, and allowing my brain and fingers to get into the repetitive rhythmic motion of crocheting.

Within a few minutes, I could feel my body relax and the anxiety slowly dissipated. That was when I realized just how therapeutic crocheting was for me.

Unwind with Yarn

If you enjoy craft activities, I hope you will consider adding crocheting to your list. If you’ve never crocheted before, I encourage you to pick it up and give it a try!

Crocheting is easy, fun, and therapeutic. The benefits of crocheting are many, to reduce anxiety but also for other emotional and mental health reasons as well.

If you have no idea how to crochet and would like some beginner tips and instructions, I recommend these websites to help get you started.

• TL yarn Crafts: Learn to Crochet
• Rich Textures Crochet

Also, you can find the dishcloth pattern I used HERE. I liked this pattern because it creates a thicker texture, which is perfect for dishcloths.

VIDEO: Why I Love To Crochet To Reduce Anxiety

More Mental Health Articles for Support

• The Ability To Accept Change When Life Gets Difficult
• 10 Best Caring Inspirational Quotes For Caregivers
• Caregiver Burnout: Caring For Yourself Under Stress
• 10 Tips For Learning How To Deal With Irritability
• Feeling Content In Life Goes Beyond Happiness

Let’s Connect

I hope you enjoyed this article on the health benefits of crocheting, and I hope you will try crocheting to reduce anxiety or any other mental health struggle.

The benefits of crocheting are more than just material. Crocheting provides a sense of well-being and serves as a healthy way to manage stress and other challenges we may experience in our daily lives.

QUESTION: Do you crochet? If so, do you find crocheting beneficial to your mental health?

Let me know in the comment section below, I’d love to hear from you.