Finding new pleasures
The lovely team on the HMSA’s (www.hypermobility.org) Facebook page has a weekly post, #SelfCareSunday, which I flicked past and admired for several months. As well as discussing pacing techniques and pain management, there are often pictures of crocheted blankets or knitted hats that are part of the self-care ethos. I tried to do some knitting a year ago but my wrists, fingers and thumbs couldn’t cope, and I was extremely apprehensive about trying something else if it might have an even worse effect. Given that most of my ‘self-care’ activities have been made extremely painful (playing the piano, going for a walk, colouring, to name a few), I felt quite negative about it all, but kept the search for a gentle activity on the back burner. I was also getting more and more frustrated with my failure to get to grips with mindfulness and relaxation, not least because my usual deep breaths - carefully honed during years of voice training - were severely compromised by rib pain.
Given that mindfulness (or meditation, or relaxation, or whatever term you may choose to apply) plays a certain role in pain management, and is also top of the list for self-management of anxiety and depression, I needed to find an alternative. My primary problem is that quiet time brings all of my problems to the forefront of my mind, and I haven’t yet got past that, so I need the opposite - distraction. While a winning combination for particularly bad pain/fatigue/foggy periods - when all I can do is curl up in bed - is television plus a mindless phone game, I can sometimes manage to focus on more than just Candy Crush. Since I knew that knitting wasn’t for me, I was on the lookout for something more gentle on the hands.
On rediscovering my stash of buttons during a massive clear-out, it seemed to me that sorting the buttons into colours could be a positive mindfulness activity. Not only was I right, but it was also a lovely little task to share with the boys, who were only too happy to jump into bed next to me and rifle through the boxes while listening to music. I had found some cute button decorations on Pinterest a year ago, and they seemed to be an excellent crafting solution to my quest. Looking ahead to Christmas (and worrying a little about finding the perfect little gifts for all of the boys’ fabulous teachers), I challenged myself to use my quiet evenings to make some button gifts.
While they are quite obviously handmade, I enjoyed giving gifts that I had put love and time into, and that, plus the crafting process, was good for my mental health. I didn’t always get the self-care side of crafting right, as I would forget to look after my body while concentrating, but was pleased to have a focus completely separate from being ill. I’m using my #NoNew19 resolution to spur me on to give more handmade gifts this year, and have taken up cross-stitch as a first step into the world of hand sewing. I haven't finished my first one yet, and am already getting ahead of myself and eyeing up beautiful embroidery patterns, but at least scrolling through Pinterest when I have to collapse is a bit better than inane sweetie matching!
So... what crafts are you into? What would you recommend?
Given that mindfulness (or meditation, or relaxation, or whatever term you may choose to apply) plays a certain role in pain management, and is also top of the list for self-management of anxiety and depression, I needed to find an alternative. My primary problem is that quiet time brings all of my problems to the forefront of my mind, and I haven’t yet got past that, so I need the opposite - distraction. While a winning combination for particularly bad pain/fatigue/foggy periods - when all I can do is curl up in bed - is television plus a mindless phone game, I can sometimes manage to focus on more than just Candy Crush. Since I knew that knitting wasn’t for me, I was on the lookout for something more gentle on the hands.
On rediscovering my stash of buttons during a massive clear-out, it seemed to me that sorting the buttons into colours could be a positive mindfulness activity. Not only was I right, but it was also a lovely little task to share with the boys, who were only too happy to jump into bed next to me and rifle through the boxes while listening to music. I had found some cute button decorations on Pinterest a year ago, and they seemed to be an excellent crafting solution to my quest. Looking ahead to Christmas (and worrying a little about finding the perfect little gifts for all of the boys’ fabulous teachers), I challenged myself to use my quiet evenings to make some button gifts.
While they are quite obviously handmade, I enjoyed giving gifts that I had put love and time into, and that, plus the crafting process, was good for my mental health. I didn’t always get the self-care side of crafting right, as I would forget to look after my body while concentrating, but was pleased to have a focus completely separate from being ill. I’m using my #NoNew19 resolution to spur me on to give more handmade gifts this year, and have taken up cross-stitch as a first step into the world of hand sewing. I haven't finished my first one yet, and am already getting ahead of myself and eyeing up beautiful embroidery patterns, but at least scrolling through Pinterest when I have to collapse is a bit better than inane sweetie matching!
So... what crafts are you into? What would you recommend?
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