Friday 20 February 2015

A stitch in time. Part one.



picture by Ashla Ward
As this blog has emphasised over the years, one of the best ways to deal with the stress of exams, study, personal relationships and all the little and large crises of life is to give your brain time out to relax.
If we focus too much on our problems there is a danger, in the words of stitchlinks, that we will develop ‘a tunnel-visioned focus [that] can soon develop into destructive cycles of downward spiralling thoughts which become difficult to break’. 
Walking, talking, reading, drawing, cooking, playing games and sports, socialising with friends and families are all incredibly valuable ways of coping with and enriching our lives. Distracted by the pleasures of our pastimes, we free our thoughts from the immediacy and intensity of our worries, and let our brain can quietly, and in its own time, contemplate and process all the information that our daily lives throw at it. All these past times have the added advantage of being relatively low cost, or indeed having no cost at all.

Hobbies are another great way of being creative, socialising and letting the brain sort through any worries in a relaxed manner. Stitchlinks is a website dedicated to promoting the health and social benefits of knitting and crochet. As well as providing Learn To guide for beginners it includes information on the recent scientific, medicinal and psychological research into the benefits of creating with your hands.

In the next blog I’ll be chatting to NUI Galway’s Ashla Ward, who will be talking about her life as a crochet ninja as well as providing info and links for groups in Galway. In the meantime, check out Stitchlinks and have a look at this video. Enjoy!


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For more on how to look good, feel good and be in charge of your life as a student at NUI Galway check out Student's Services Health Promotion  Students at NUI Galway can also sign up for the free online health and wellness magazine Student Health 101

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