Research study on knitting, crochet and wellbeing (Reading University).

I can’t be bothered with the questionnaire, but it seems obvious that craft work is soothing, why else are creative arts encouraged to those with memory or mental health problems.

I am not quite sure either Monica.My daughter had a course of it when she was in hospital and as far as I can make out it is about focussing on the present not dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.

I found I got more 'lost in the moment' when I was doing painting (art, not walls) than I do when I'm knitting or crocheting.

But I do not know what 'lost in the moment' means.

As I have a lived a long time, I have memories of the past and those memories thread through my life, but I do not waste time dwelling on them, unless I need to, and as I am not much of a worrier I do not give much time to worrying about the future either, there is very little I can do about it anyway.

Mindfulness, as far as I understand, is actually consciously being in the moment. You might think you live in the moment but mostly people think of things gone or more frequently what is coming next. Like thinking of what am I going to cook for dinner or what shopping do I need next time or shall I get a cup of tea etc. If you sit quietly and just concentrate on your breathing and pay attention to your surroundings it is quite amazing to how much ‘stuff’ just comes into your mind, like what to post on gransnet ?. The old fashioned way of saying mindfulness was, I think, stop and smell the roses. Much more understandable.

Ah well, I do that as I sit quiet with my little breathing apparatus for 15 minutes each day, although quite often I just drift into to sleep and I have to sit and read to keep myself awake.

I might add that my Tai Chi instructor keeps getting us to stand still, shut our eyes and empty our minds. I have great trouble with it because, once again I end up falling asleep and I nearly fell over one class because of it. I now keep my mind very busy during the quiet times planning the rest of he days events. It enables me to stand still and not fall over.

M0nica I might be wrong, but I think that if you were being mindful whilst sitting quietly with your breathing apparatus on, you might for example hear it humming (presuming it makes a sound), or a bird chirping outside, or a bus or car passing outside, or be aware of the mask resting on your face. I don't think mindfulness is being relaxed to the point of falling asleep.

I remember as a child being told "Be mindful of how you walk so you don't spill your milk" (for example). So I don't think it is anything "new". It has simply become a "thing" now like so many other "things" when in fact it is nothing new.

M0nica

I should go back to Tai Chi

Even if knitting, crocheting my mind still wanders.
Painting required utter concentration and I could get lost in the moment so perhaps that was mindfulness.

Oh, yes I love listening to the sounds surrounding me. Ever since I was a child I have loved just stopping and listening to the soundscape, where ever I am. I do it when I am out walking, in towns, anywhere. But that requires you to be awake and alert, searching for hidden and elusive sounds and identifying them and feeling the quiet in between. I do that at Tai Chi as well, but not when we are meant to be emptyng our minds etc, that just makes me fall asleep.

I am afraid I only have two states of mind: awake and alert and busy thinking - of anything and everything, I am not a worrier, so unless something really dreadful has happened I do not spend time constantly reliving the past or worrying about family or the future. If I try to empty my mind,I fall asleep.

I was always told to be careful how I walked. I now know I am dyspraxic, so I was always tripping over and things would fall through my nerveless fingers, hence the emphasis on being careful.

I agree that knitting can be very therapeutic and encouraged my daughter to knit some lovely little items while she went through 2 difficult and stressful pregnancies. I wish I'd had the opportunity to say that in the survey but there was no leeway and I believe it went off at a tangent, veering away from the clear benefits of craft work and into the maze of mindfulness with questions which made sense to followers of mindfulness but not necessarily to knitters!
( Basic conclusion is that the 2 are not inextricably linked!)

There is a contact email address for the main researcher on the second page of the survey...

I think the creative aspect of knitting is also a big contributor to a sense of wellbeing. I have been told I am a 'process knitter' in that I enjoy the process i.e. I don't mind unpicking! I love the feel of the yarn, the use of colour, seeing the finished product.

I taught 2 teenagers to knit last year for their Duke of Edinburgh award. That was fun too.

As a knitter, I'm interested in the benefits of any sort of crafting. However, I'm very wary of taking part in surveys. Just how is all this personal info used?

Any hobby or indeed task which requires concentration will be mindfulness. I can't be thinking of anything other than the task at hand when I am emptying sugar from the bag into my cannister or it goes everywhere.
And measuring out ingredients when baking, needs living in the moment and mind on job, type "mindfulness".

well that's 30 mins of my life Ill never get back !!

That was pretty much the worst survey experience ever and 'the game' - shoot me now !!

Trouble is I started so I felt obliged to finish but cant see how it will be of any use at all.

Well done, I am not normally a quitter but know when I'm beaten