I have always been quite creative, something I have since learnt can be a positive quality of borderline personality disorder. As a child I was often found with a pencil in hand, writing story after story giving my own twist on the Mr Men book series. While I cannot remember the full context, I do know that one entailed Mr Bump being taken to hospital – I only wish that I could find them all now.
I tried going down the art route, but soon came to realise that my talents barely surpassed drawing a stick man, so art lessons in school were spent working on the units I was good at, mainly English. I did, however, excel in woodwork, receiving an A for my GCSE project, a memory box for my brother to store things that remind us of our mum.
Since my mental health has deteriorated, I have found crafting to be one of the more effective coping mechanisms, trying everything from decorating shoes to jewellery making. The only difficulty I have come across is the expense as, due to having borderline personality disorder, I can easily become addicted to something, meaning that it soon comes to take over my whole life. I dread to think how much money I have spent in The Works and Hobby craft in the past.
Expense aside, crafting requires your full attention, and gives you a sense of achievement when seeing the finished piece. While I may be a bit of a perfectionist, any mistakes made can be easily rectified, from painting over it to adding gems and glitter. My new craft is dot painting, though, which requires a very steady hand so isn’t ideal when anxiety levels are high.
I have attached an example of one of my first attempts here, I’m still a newbie, though, so please be kind.
Are you artsy or crafty? Maybe trying a new project could be a resolution for the New Year – anything is worth giving a go once when it could really benefit your mental and physical health.
Loosening the Chains of Mental Illness 
Being artistic really do bring out something hidden deep within oneself. I don’t consider myself an artist but I’m working to be one.
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I couldn’t agree more. It is one of the healthiest forms of release. I hope to see some of your work soon.
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I definitely can relate to you I’m so bad at arts 😅 But I would consider myself more crafty because I love DIYs and making craft projects 💗
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Now I need to see some examples 😂 What do you enjoy making? X
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This past year I’ve used writing in the same way you use crafting to help with my mental health. Without it I’d have struggled much more than I have.
Good luck in 2019.
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I’m sorry to hear that you too struggle with your mental health, but I’m pleased you’ve found your release. Thank you, and good luck to you, too, for the year ahead.
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I like your heart! I’ve heard such great things about even just coloring. I heard it’s great for the mood and to just settle down and relax. Thank you for sharing this.
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Thank you so much 😊 I love colouring, too, it really helps to alleviate anxiety.
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I am not artistic but I would love to learn art and pottery beacuse it’s beautiful
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Pottery is an amazing craft, could be a resolution for your year ahead 😊
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Every one of us are born with the desire and ability to express ourselves, and art is a wonderful way to achieve this, especially in terms of our mental health.
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I love this, and couldn’t agree more. It’s all about finding our niche.
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Now only I understand why the kindergarten and lower class kids have more art and craft classes. At the same time kids and addults get an opportunity to discover their hidden talents. Thank you for the post
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Thank you for reading 😊 I think we all need to take time to nurture the inner child, it is only now I realise how important arts and crafts are to the younger generation.
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Thanks for the honesty and transparency. I think there is something to how arts and crafts can help mental health. I’ve started to see adult coloring books in stores…I think because it helps de-stress. Your post helped me understand why!
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Thank you so much 😊 I couldn’t agree more, it is one of the most effective forms of release that I cannot recommend highly enough.
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Love this post! I used to really love art but somewhere in elementary school was made to feel my art was bad and it stuck with me in my subconscious…then a few years ago I decided to just get creative for myself. It was a really good decision.
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Thank you, and thank you for reading 😊I’m so pleased to hear that you managed to overcome that, and discover art for yourself. I hope to see some of your creations soon.
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This post couldn’t have come at a better time. I think doing arts not helps your creativity but is a fantastic tool for benefiting mental health too.
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Thank you so much 😊 Oh absolutely, it has helped me through some of the more severe relapses in my mental health.
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Whenever I’m stressed or tired I do Pencil sketch. I’m not good at it but it makes me happy. I completely agree with your points.
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Thank you 😊 The main thing is that it helps you, whether it be a full piece or squiggles on a page.
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I agree, art is very therapeutic ….arts and crafts are meditative in a way it requires full attention and I’m glad you see it as positive…..I mean people nowadays do have trouble focusing….
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Thank you 😊 Oh most definitely m, life can get pretty hectic for all of us, so it’s good to find something we can wind down to.
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Arts and crafts are relaxing so it’s not a surprise that they do wonders to one’s mental well-being.
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I couldn’t agree more 😊
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I’ve always used writing as a way to help with my mental illness, and although it doesn’t quite count as ‘arts and crafts’, it’s still creative. Good to know I wasn’t going insane by doing this.
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I use to involve in art & craft work in highschool never tried there after !!! Seeing this I can recollect how I used to make such beautiful things such as pot painting. I also used to like origami alot.
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Sounds to me like you have a real talent for it, you should definitely explore it sometime soon 😊
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Now I more keen towards hiking 🙂
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As someone with anxiety, I agree with this so much. I love coloring and writing as a creative outlet. It helps me to focus and just calm myself.
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Having creative skills and using them to lift our mood and keep us focused on good are wonderful ways to stay focused. I love the crafty things you shared too.
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Thank you so much 😊 There are so many benefits to exploring your creative side, we all have one.
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We are most certainly more crafty ❤️ lovely article
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Thank you so much 😊
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I did not know that craft can be helpful for mental health. I use this too. I am very good at drawing.
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Oh wow, I would love to see some of your work 😊
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I’m glad you find that you can express yourself in such a positive way like art!
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Thank you 😊 It really does help.
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I am crafty when it comes to sewing but not artsy per say if that makes sense.
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I’m so jealous, I’d love to know how to sew, well using a machine anyway 😊
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Yeah!! Love all your sharing here as am an art & craft lover too 😀
Let’s continue our art & blogging passion in 2019, Happy New Year 2019 ya 😀
cheers, siennylovesdrawing
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Thank you so much 😊 Most definitely. I would love to see some of your work 😊
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I totally agree with you. Art and Craft are so magical.
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Most definitely 🙂
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It’s always nice to see that people are benefiting from arts & crafts to improve their mental health. I recently wrote an article about art therapy!
xx Crystal, psychthoughts.com
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This is a wonderful post and I completely agree with the power and benefit of art therapy. I might need to try more!
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