Knitting as Therapy

Ok, this is a subject that is near and dear to me. I've heard it said many times, but I decided to do a Google search for it and see what came up. It was one of those moments where you find proof for something that you've known in your heart for a while.

What it means to me is that, if I start when I first start to "fog out," knitting can be helpful to keep me focused. If I wait too long before I start knitting, though, I have to pick out a pattern that I know reeeeallly well. Otherwise I'm not able to concentrate on the pattern well enough and mistakes happen. I've been known to put two heels in one sock before! LOL

I also have to watch out how much repetitive motion I do since I have neuropathy in my hands. Once my hands get to burning, I have to put my knitting aside and let them have a day off.

Where the knitting really comes in handy, though, is in my coping with depression. I have those moments, where the fibromyalgia flare is hanging in there for days, where I feel pretty useless to my family and friends because I am unable to do the things I deem important. That is where my knitting really helps me. I can at least do something that I feel pretty experienced in and that I can produce items that are appreciated by the other members of my family and my friends.

Here are some great articles that I found on the web that support my own findings:
http://www.knitonthenet.com/issue4/features/therapeuticknitting/
http://hubpages.com/hub/Knitting_as_Therapy
http://www.dailyiowan.com/2011/03/01/Metro/21712.html