Lets face it, stress is a part of life for most people, and with the world becoming more and more complicated stress won't go away anytime soon. Rather than "stress out" about the stress, our mission is to find ways to address and alleviate the stress so that it doesn't take a toll on the most important aspects of life, namely family/relationships and health.
While stress is often spoken about, people still tend to underestimate the destructive effects of increased stress levels. For example many still perceive students' stories about overwhelming academic workload and high anxiety as empty complaints and whining and tend not to take them seriously. If one professor gives you many homework assignments, you will most likely be able to cope. If every professor gives you the same number of homework assignments simultaneously, then this is a sure way to pile on the stress, anxiety, and sleepless nights.
What can a student, or anyone, do about this? As we all know, exercise and meditation are great stress busters, but sometimes one really needs something that can be done at the end of a long day, or with a small pocket of time. Something that is also very effective.......and that friends is crafts! While any student might wonder how to fit even one more thing into their schedule, finding time for hobbies such as swimming, meditation, hiking and even crafts and creativity is key to beating stress. Let's take a look at my top picks for crafts that can help you beat the stress, and yes, I think I'll join you right about now!
Tips For Managing Stress and How Crafts Can Help Reduce Stress
The secret to reducing stress is discovering ways to solve real-world problems, but not at full speed. Working smarter, not harder, and opting for simplicity whenever feasible are examples of what this could entail. One easy way to deal with stress is to learn to pace yourself, put certain things on hold when you can't give them your full attention, and focus on just one item at a time. If you feel you cannot cope with your current academic workload, you can always turn to professionals for help and consider essay order.
Helping yourself gradually move to a peaceful state is the key to recharging after stress. Complex, fast-paced, and exciting things are stressors, while relaxed crafting and creative expression are great stress relievers, especially when you disconnect from technology and loose yourself in a project that brings you joy and is low pressure.
Now that we've established that crafts are a wonderful addition to life, and even for the busiest folks, lets take a look at some relaxing crafts that you might like to try today to reduce stress:
Knitting
For those who love knitting, there is nothing more relaxing than sitting down to knit, where ever that may be! Knitting is a wonderful take along craft that you can work on even with just small pockets of time, whether in the car or bus, waiting for an appointment or just about anywhere. Knitting does take practice in order to produce items that look good, but the practice time is time well spent, and after you've gotten the hang of it, the sky is the limit regarding all the amazing things you can knit. Of course there are many levels of knitting and many many knit stitches and patterns that can be complicated, so start with something simple. If you find that knitting is not relaxing for you, move onto something else, as the point here is to overcome stress, not make more!
Crocheting
Crocheting is one of the most popular crafts, and with amazing new yarn coming out every year, crocheting can be used to make not just clothing and blankets but many home decor items as well. It is true, nothing compares to the beauty of something knit, but crocheting is much more flexible and can be used to easily make fun things like flowers and baskets, that are difficult to knit. Crocheting is also much more forgiving than knitting as far as technique is concerned, and a great craft to learn. You can work on a crochet project that you can take with you, or go for something like a blanket that is crocheted row by row, a row a day! And if you are new to crocheting, just enjoy the process without worrying about the results, and at some point, unravel all your practice work and re-use the yarn!
Weaving
Weaving is very meditative craft that can be used to make small wall hangings, place mats or even tiny rugs for doll houses! It is true that with weaving the loom size dictates the size of the finished project, but that in itself can be a relief to some who just want to make something without having to make too many decisions. While rugs and other items are woven on large looms, small table looms are perfect for making crafts, and can be taken with you on the road!
Embroidery
While embroidery is certainly less popular than other fiber related hobbies, it can be truly wonderful and the perfect craft to pick up when you have just a moment or can find a few hours to create. If you prefer something totally mindless, there are many needlepoint and cross stitch kits on the market that take away any need for decision making, otherwise delve into the wonderful world of embroidery with so many options to explore! You can use tiny embroidery to make wonderful pendants or small pieces of art, or consider adding embroidery to jean jackets, pillows and more.
Flower Pressing
Flower pressing is a wonderful hobby that has several aspects to it. First, it encourages you to get outdoors and appreciate nature, and then save small pieces of that experience in the form of leaves and flowers. Flowers can be pressed in old books (with parchment paper between the pages) but a flower press, whether travel size or larger will produce the best results. After the flowers are pressed you can use them to create beautiful art, stationary, resin items and more.
Hand Lettering
Hand lettering is a wonderful skill to learn as you can use it not just in your bullet journal or journal of any kind, but also on clothing items, to create nice cards and signs, and even address envelopes. There are so many fonts to learn and so many ways to go about it, whether with dip pens or markers, and of course one can use ink or acrylic ink in a range of colors. Lettering can also be done using a tiny paint brush. No matter what tools you choose, lettering requires practice, which when done on graph paper is truly meditative and relaxing! Practice strokes and letters before moving on to writing words, and revisit those practice sheets time and again to truly master the art of hand lettering.
In Conclusion
The crafts mentioned here are just a tiny sampling of all the ways one can make creativity a part of life. They were chosen because they are not only portable but also significant enough to truly get one hooked so that they must make time in their busy schedule to work on their craft project or skill! Crafts and creative hobbies really ought to be life-long endeavors as they quite simply are an amazing source of joy, and joy that one can share with others! So consider taking up a craft to relieve stress, but also keep in mind that crafts are life enhancing, and a truly worthwhile investment regardless of what else might be going on in your life.
