I’ve recently had to spend a bit of time with my dentist. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a nice enough chap (with a cracking set of gnashers on him) but if you know me well, you’ll know that I’m not great with anything medical, and even worse when that medical thing is linked to the dentist.
I have always been prone to fainting at the sight of blood but thought I’d grown out of it until, on a day out at Cribbs Causeway meeting a friend, I fainted in the café whilst talking about the dentist (even writing this makes my head feel a little fuzzy). This is where my journey with anxiety began, and my crochet one too.
Like many people, I turned to crochet to help with my mental health, and to cut a long story short, have become completely addicted. I’ve read bits of research over the years about why crochet is so good for your mental health but one point that has stuck in my head is to do with the soothing, repetitive motion of crochet. And I can totally relate to that. I find that I become immersed in what I am making, losing whole hours at a time, and feeling a complete sense of calm.
In the darkest days when I felt anxious at the thought of going out, knowing I had my yarn and hook tucked in my pocket, reassured me that I’d be ok. It was my security blanket.
Fast forward a few years and I’m faced with the thought of having a tooth out at the dentist. A mere drop in the ocean for many people but a big thing for me. So here’s how I coped…
I made myself a playlist of all my favourite songs, charged up my ear pods and arrived at the dentist. Whilst sitting in the waiting room, I got my crochet out and started crocheting….with my eyes closed – I knew I wouldn’t be able to look at it (or my dentist) when I was in the chair so I was going to have to crochet blind!
As I reclined in the chair, with Kylie and Jason’s ‘Especially for You’ blaring out (I’d forgotten to sync my ear pods so my dentist got to hear my cringeworthy playlist!), I felt remarkably calm. I closed my eyes and started crocheting. I was quite enjoying crocheting with my eyes closed and listening to the music, so much so that I wasn’t at all bothered by what was happening around me. The next thing I knew, I was sat up and the dentist was telling me he’d see me in 6 months time. “Is that it?!” I exclaimed.
So here’s some proof that, in my humble opinion, crochet is good for your mental health. It’s helped me to manage my anxiety and deal with certain situations better. I’m not saying I want to spend any more time at the dentist, but if I did, I think I’d be alright. I still think I need a bit of practice crocheting with my eyes closed; the picture shows the actual piece of crochet that I did in the dentist…and I wasn’t meant to be losing that many stitches (just teeth on that occasion!)
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