May is Mental Health Awareness Month
We’ve all heard the phrase, “sewing is my therapy” or “quilting is my therapy.” While sewing and quilting are not replacements for therapy, they can both be incredibly healing and support your mental health.
Did you know that May is Mental Health Awareness month? The purpose of the month is to raise awareness and educate ourselves about mental illnesses. The past few years have been challenging for many of us and it’s more important now than ever to reduce the stigma around mental health struggles.
Sharing is Therapeutic
Mental health struggles are never easy to share. However, a couple of weeks ago, we asked you to share a story about how sewing helped you heal or how quilting contributes to your mental health and you responded! By sharing, you’re helping others see they’re not alone!
Do you know someone who is struggling mentally? There are many ways you can help such as educating yourself, listening carefully, and respecting your friend or family member during their healing process.
It’s no secret that sewing and quilting allow us to unwind from our somewhat hectic and busy daily lives. We challenge you to give yourself a 15-minute break and sew something. Start a new project or work on one of your WIP’s. (Hey, it’s okay if you have several, we do too!).
We like to call these 15-minute breaks Self-Care Sewing!
In addition to self-care sewing, find other things that make you happy, like gardening or baking. Another way to give yourself a break is to make small goals. Changes don’t happen overnight, so make small, attainable goals. And finally, remember you’re not alone. Not everyone has a picture-perfect Instagram worthy life.
Ask your friends and family for help and check out mental health awareness resources available online.
If you’re looking for a sewing project that doesn’t require a lot of time, check out our Quick Sew YouTube video series. Some of our most popular projects are the Easy Snap Bag, Lanyard, Double-Handed Oven Mitt, and so much more.
Build The Community & They Will Come
Sewing and quilting brings us together more than anything else (at least we think so!). While we’ve embraced connecting digitally, there’s nothing like gathering in person.
Our quilt guild meetings and shows give us a greater sense of community. We create lifelong friendships and share our love and appreciation for sewing and quilting
If you agree (and we hope you do!), we would like to personally invite you to join us for our biggest event of the year – Garden of Quilts.
2 Comments
Jan Iverslie
Sewing and creating have always been my escape! I love it so much, it truly is my therapy/happy place. I also make t-shirt quilts and memory quilts for the public! I am a survivor of 14 years of every horrendous form of abuse you can imagine growing up along with several failed relationships along the way! It affects every aspect ify life! I’m really struggling right now just to get thru each day!
Dani
I was going through a really rough patch of my life in January ’23 and was doing bad things to myself.
I got help and joined a quilting guild mid February.
I feel like doing that saved my life. I found friends and a joyful hobby that brings me peace (except when points don’t come out right).
My family and guild really saved my life.