Mindful crafting can help you deal with everyday life, keep your stress at a healthy level, and even help you to sleep better which has so many health benefits!
We were inspired recently by a question we asked in our Craft Resin Facebook Community Group. We asked the group what wow moments they have experienced since starting on their resin art journeys. Nearly all of the answers came back with some form of mental health benefit that they had experienced and their answers absolutely warmed our hearts back at Craft Resin HQ. It’s a huge topic and we thought it deserved it’s own Blog Post.
Every year, one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem, according to mental health charity Mind. A national survey of mental health issues found that nearly 5% of adults in the UK suffer from anxiety, 2.6% from depression and nearly 10% from mixed anxiety and depression. The stats around the world are similar, this is a global issue that we are all facing and we need to be incorporating activities into our lives that will help.
Creative activities are increasingly being recognised as a way of coping with these problems. Colouring as therapy, creative paper crafts, creating resin art, scrapbooking, and peaceful needlecrafts such as knitting, crochet and embroidery can all be practised in conjunction with mindfulness techniques to produce a more spiritual experience – but even as stand-alone activities their benefits are clear.
In this quick fix, disposable, consumer society, handmade gifts – for yourself or others – show care and attention, and hold a value that no mass-produced item can. And then there’s the crafting itself. Lots of the benefits are obvious when you think about them – it gives you something to do with your hands, it is a pleasingly tactile thing to do, and when you finish a project you have achieved something you can be proud of. Everyone who already does resin art, or other creative endeavours will already know this being part of the crafting/artist community.
Getting creative is a tried and tested way to switch off from the stresses and strains of everyday life. While you are creating your mind focuses on the project at hand and all of your problems, although they don’t go away, do seem to melt away in that moment. Because resin isn’t the easiest of substances to use, you do have to concentrate quite hard to get the techniques correct so that your art turns out perfectly, this leaves little room for distracting thoughts to enter your subconscious.
Even the act of something so simple as colouring your art has massive benefits, mixing your Mica Powders, drawing your Geode lines, these all help to focus and quiet the mind.
Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist who worked with Sigmund Freud and founded analytical psychology, recommended colouring to his patients, believing it would help them access their subconscious and self-knowledge. Today psychologists encourage their patients to colour as a way to relax and meditate. This simple, easy activity – which for many will bring back memories of happier childhood days – can calm us, distract us from niggling problems and even help us sleep. And it’s been found to help with more serious problems too.
They of course used simple colouring techniques using pens, pencils and crayons in artworks and colouring books. But the same benefits can be found with all means of colouring, including colouring your resin art.
A colourful way to focus:
Those suffering from anxiety, stress and even post-traumatic stress disorder can find relief in colouring, which calms down the amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for the fight-or-flight response. On top of that, colouring can help with concentration, focus and fine motor skills, and is a great way of practising mindfulness. Counsellor Dr Nikki Martinez writes in the Huffington Post: “There are many times when I suggest adult colouring books to my patients, and they look at me as though we should be switching seats. However, time and again, they come back to me and tell me how beneficial they find them.”
We believe that creating resin art takes your mindfulness to new levels as it is more advanced than just traditional colouring itself.
Resin Art could be the new yoga:
Thats a strong statement, but any craft that involves a repetitiveness and a rhythm to it can bring on a mediative state, calming and helping resin artists to think more clearly. Think about it, how many times a day do you stand/sit there stirring your resin to get the perfect mix, its the reason many of you set a timer to do this, because it’s so easy to zone out at this stage of the process.
Studies in animals have shown that repetitive movement enhances the release of serotonin. Serotonin raises mood, but it also calms and is an analgesic. People often instinctively engage in repetitive, rhythmic movement when they are stressed or traumatised. They are intuitively self-soothing as they rock, pace or tap. Frequent crafting (more than three times a week) can help people feel calmer and happier, even those suffering from clinical depression.
Supportive community:
It’s the one thing we pride ourselves on at Craft Resin, the building and the growth of our Craft Resin Facebook Community Group. We now have over 8,000 members in the group who support, encourage, inspire and share their humour with the group every single day.
In the words of motivational speaker Jim Rohn: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
Spending time in an online environment that does support and lift people up through the sharing of common ground and inspiration can lift your self belief, self worth and belonging to new heights. This alone helps to tackle anxiety and those pesky self limiting beliefs we all have lurking in our minds that are ready to pop up at any given moment!
We all have them, the key is working on yourself enough so that they don’t over power you and stop you in your tracks. This is where a group like our community can come into play. Hang out with people who are going to lift you up, tell you how great your work is and laugh with you when things don’t quite go to plan.
In conclusion there are so many benefits to getting crafty and resin art just might be the creative outlet for you. If you haven’t given it a go yet, what are you waiting for? Get stuck in and give it a whirl, remember it’s not about perfection at the start it’s about trying and the mindful benefits it can give you.
If you would like to try why not purchase some Craft Resin to get you started. After your order is on it’s way join our Craft Resin Facebook Community Group to hang out with other artists who are on their resin journeys. We have lots of beginner guides in the group that you can take a look at for the techniques to help you get started.
Happy mindful crafting, we hope it helps you in whatever way you need it to.
Craft Resin Team
