Why Beading Makes Us Feel Good

by on in Beading Tips, Blog

Can you bead your way to better mental health?

As part of this May’s mental health theme in my Facebook group, we dived into the science of WHY beading makes us happy. The long and the short of it was that beading IS good for us!

I also opened up conversations about how we can use our beading to help us relax and de-stress. It was wonderful to hear the myriad ways that beading had helped us through times of trauma, loss and stress.

Having these conversations was a great way to celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month –  and I’m so grateful to everyone who got involved and shared their stories of how beading has helped them. Read on to see a great round-up of why beading is great for our mental health.

Why did you come to beading?

I discovered beading sort of by accident. But it stuck because, as with many things, timing was everything.

I was in my third and final year at university studying Journalism. I was involved in lots of different extracurricular activities (the student radio station, circus society…!) but when I discovered beading, I found that it just took me away.

I started spending the last hour of my day tucked away in my bedroom beading. At that time, I was mainly looming with a handmade (slightly sketchy) bead loom, or making very simple seed bead bracelets.

It was a time that was just for me, nothing else existed – and it was absolutely in no way connected with my course. I truly think it got me through the stress of my last year at uni.

How does beading make you feel?

There’s definitely no quibble over the fact that beading is relaxing but it’s been wonderful to hear from you exactly what beading means to you. I’ve shared a few of these quotes below. For me, beading helps me feel myself.

Grounded…Having a project forces me to focus on the steps involved and allows me to stop thinking about my problems, if only for a while…

… helps me process and accept my feelings.

Beading is like an anchor for me. It keeps me grounded and stable. Everything around me can be crazy, but I am ok when I bead.

Do you have a beading ritual for when you’re stressed?

Stressy day? I’ve got a go-to ritual that helps me reset.

Once the tiny beader is in bed, I light a candle, put on my current fave TV series, and just start stitching. If possible, I’ll grab the simplest project that’s on my mat(s) at the time. If it’s an easy project or something that’s for a gift – rather than a tutorial, then that’s even better. No pressure, no big decisions. Just thread, beads, colour, breath.

Other beaders shared that when the chips are down, they like to turn to simple yet repetitive stitches like spiral ropes, and quick-win projects that require little thought, so that they can get lost in the methodical process. Bright and pretty colours also help to calm them.

Sorting through beads or choosing beads for a future project helps to calm other beaders, giving order and making plans as a way to take back control. The sensory process of ‘bead-fondling’ definitely does something to calm the central nervous system, in my opinion.

Why does beading help us to relax?

  • Creative hobbies can actually reduce the stress hormone by a whopping 45%!
  • By beading regularly, we can actually retrain our brain to feel less stressed!
  • The repetitive action of beading can help us to process; thoughts, feelings and emotions.

Did you know that Katie Dean (whom you might know from her previous endeavour as Bead Flowers) only discovered beading after she had a serious health crash?

She was later diagnosed with ME. During the many years of her illness beading was a lifeline for her. Now she is embarking on an exciting new venture and has a new book ‘Finding the Energy to Thrive: Navigating the Maze of Life and Embracing Your Path to Wholeness‘ launching this May.

Katie is a wonderful soul, a talented beader and thanks to her years of research, she also has some amazing insights to offer when it comes to mental health matters! 

Katie and I delved into the science of beading and its impact on our mental health in May’s Creative Bead Hour in my Facebook group. It was a lively hour-long discussion that really opened our eyes!

So beading is actually good for us!

I’d love to hear from you, join the conversation and let me know how beading helps you! You can leave a comment below, or get in touch in my Facebook group. Happy Beading!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Sacred geometry and colour therapy – can they help your physical and mental health? Katie shared her thoughts on the power of these.
  • Katie also explained about some of her journey to recovering from ME.
  • And what she has planned next, now she’s no longer creating beading patterns.

How do I watch it?
If you missed the event, don’t worry. The video is available to watch as a replay. This video is only viewable to members of my Facebook Group, so if you haven’t joined already then request to join here.

Looking for some mindful beading projects?