Release stress through your hands
This is my first post in a really long time. You may not believe it, but I am really lazy about writing. I prefer to spend my time crocheting or knitting rather than typing.
I recently did some research on how using your hands creatively can help you reduce stress and anxiety for my Toastmaster's speech. Since I spent so much time researching, I feel like I should share it with a larger audience.
So here goes my speech, along with the references I used for my research.
I recently did some research on how using your hands creatively can help you reduce stress and anxiety for my Toastmaster's speech. Since I spent so much time researching, I feel like I should share it with a larger audience.
So here goes my speech, along with the references I used for my research.
What
is Stress?
The term “stress”, as it is currently used was coined by Hans Selye in 1936, who defined it as “the non-specific response of the body to
any demand for change”.
How
many of you feel that you are suffering from stress?
In a recent article in the Arabian Business News website, Dr Oz, a world-renowned
television personality, surgeon and author said that "As many as 80% of people suffer from stress in the UAE."
Experts
believe that the stresses of modern life, coupled with the prevalence of
chronic conditions, have contributed to a rise in the cases of depression and
anxiety in the UAE.
Chronic,
or ongoing, stress has been scientifically associated with a weakened immune
system, poor sleep and greater susceptibility to a variety of illnesses.
How can you reduce stress?
These
are some of the ways suggested by “Skills you Need”, a website for
developing life skills. Avoid Caffeine, Alcohol, and Nicotine, Indulge in
Physical Activity, Get More Sleep, Try Relaxation Techniques, Talk to Someone,
keep a Stress Diary, Manage Your Time and Learn to Say ‘No’.
What
if I told you that you can Relieve stress through your hands? I read this
article "How using your hands creatively can reduce stress and anxiety" by Faigie
Kobre where she describes how art helped her overcome anxiety.
She
referred to the book “The Creativity Cure” by Carrie Barron and Alton
Barron where the authors say that creative hand use that focuses on process
rather than result can relieve anxiety and stress.
Creative hand use is the act
of using your hands along with your imagination to create something new.
With
the rise of technology and the conversion of our workforce from makers to data
enterers, we use our hands less for meaningful activities.
According
to Nobel Prize winner John Eccles, “Making and using tools defined the
rise of humankind and its evolving, enlarging brain. This was an important
means of self-expression, creative engagement, and fulfilment.”
"Creativity
is a part of being human, and it has profound implications for our health", as
per Gene D. Cohen.
Dr Kelly Lambert discovered
that decreased hand use is linked to depression and that meaningful
handwork can elevate your mood. If we stop using our hands in the way they were
meant to be used—to construct, create, repair, stir, mix, and
manipulate—we churn within and become depressed.
In
the words of D.W. Winnicott, “It is creative apperception more than
anything else that makes the individual feel that life is worth living.”
Consider
how you felt the last time you made something by hand. Whether it was a cake, a home improvement
project, a garden, or a scrapbook. It was absorbing and satisfying, right?
Research
has shown that creating or tending things by hand enhances mental health and
makes us happy. When we are dissolved in a deeply absorbing task, we lose self-consciousness
and pass the time in a contented state.
In
the 19th century doctors used to prescribe knitting to women who were
overwrought with anxiety, "because they sensed that it calmed them down
somehow. Hand activity from knitting to woodworking to growing vegetables or
chopping them are useful for decreasing stress, relieving anxiety, and
modifying depression.
If
you're making something or painting or cooking or putting things together, and
you're using both hands in a little bit more creative way, that's going to be
more engaging for the brain. Hence, art and craft are becoming more and more
popular as a form of therapeutic healing, especially for children and seniors.
Studies have shown that crafting can enhance relaxation.
Some
of the activities you can do to use your hands and relieve stress include
gardening, painting, coloring, sculpting, cooking and creative writing. My
favorite of course is crochet and knitting.
The
calming repetitive movement, along with the beautiful yarn colors and textures
work together to produce a soothing effect.
As
we can see, there are tremendous health benefits of using your hands
creatively. You can choose whichever activity you like.
In
the words of Oprah Winfrey, “Know what sparks the light in you, then use that
light to illuminate the world.”
So,
what are you waiting for? Start using your hands and bid farewell to stress
forever! Thank you
References:
Ever since I joined college again for my MBA, I am not able to find enough time for crochet, leave alone blogging. Even though I don't post much here I am very much active on my Facebook page "Crochet In Dubai", and you can learn about the various projects I've been working on.
awareness of action..
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