Why I Craft and You Should Too!

I thought I would get started blogging by telling you exactly why I craft and why you should too.  To put it very simply I craft to keep myself sane.  Since the age of 14 I have had horrible panic attacks that have slowly gotten worse over the years.  At this point in my life I have them every day but I have learned to cope with them the best that I can and crafting plays a large part in this.  Don’t know what a panic attack is? Well a panic attack is basically an abrupt feeling of terror or fear that can come out of no where.  For me a panic attack starts with a gripping feeling in my stomach that makes me feel sick, then I will start to have intense pains in my chest and the only way I can describe it is that it honestly feels like I’m having a heart attack and am going to die.  From there two things can happen, sometimes I will end up passing out and once I come too a lot of times I will still feel anxious but at least most of the feelings that I’m about to die are gone.  The other thing that can happen is that I will feel like I am unable to breathe, almost like someone is crushing my chest, and I start to hyperventilate.  This experience for me can last anywhere from 5 minutes to several hours and can be terrifying when it’s happening but since I have gotten used to it I know what to expect and it has gotten a little easier.

My first panic attack happened when I was 14 and it was one of the worst experiences in my life.  Just imagine you’re in high school on a bus with the school band traveling to a football game and suddenly you can’t breathe, you start to hyperventilate, you think you are dying, and everyone is just staring at you not knowing what to do.  I had been passing out on and off for a year before that and no one could tell me what was wrong; in fact some of the doctors had even told my mom that it was possible it was all in my head.  So, the one good thing that came out of my first panic attack that caused me to hyperventilate was that I was taken to a bigger hospital with a doctor that recognized the symptoms and finally gave me an answer.  The bad news came when he told me that even with medication it would be something that I would have to live with for the rest of my life.  In fact, I ended up getting kicked out of school for “medical reasons” for three months because they thought that I was too big of a disruption when I had them.  That was one of the hardest times in my life, I couldn’t go to school and my mother was a firm believer that if you aren’t in school you shouldn’t be running around having fun, and I had to sit in my room with nothing to do for 3 months straight.  This only made everything worse and I sunk into a deep depression and ended up in the hospital.  Since then I have gotten to the point where I have panic attacks every day, I can’t handle a job because my anxiety interferes with work, I can’t drive (panic attack + car=very bad), and my life is very limited.

So…what does this all have to do with crafts?  Don’t worry I’m getting to that don’t be so impatient and thank you for continuing to read.  Well, I have tried breathing exercises, prayer, countless programs, and tons of medication with bad side effects, and finally I picked up a crochet hook and found my escape.  Crafting is the one thing that offers me a true escape from my problems, even when I am having problems with a design or pattern when I get frustrated with it I don’t panic it becomes a new challenge.  It allows me to express my creativity and share it with other people and is one of the only times in a social situation that I don’t panic because I’m afraid I will say something wrong.  In fact when I’m talking to other crafters or anyone about my crafts I feel confidence that I don’t usually have in my life.  It also allows me to escape my worries I can just sit there and maybe sketch out a design idea or focus on something I am crocheting.  Overall it is just a great distraction from my panic and fears.

You may be thinking well I don’t have panic attacks so how can this help me?  Even if you don’t have panic attacks everyone has problems in their lives and crafting can be that perfect escape from the problems in your everyday life.  It can also allow you to express yourself even if you start with something small.  It is also great if you are short on cash and need a gift for someone, because nothing says you care more than a special gift that you handmade yourself just for them.

Whatever the reason is that you craft you need to enjoy it and get those creative juices flowing! So, please join me in my crafty life and I hope I can help you to learn a new craft and maybe offer a great experience that will help to escape from your worries and enjoy yourself!