I knit,therefore I can

By Carrie Barron, M.D.

The science behindknitting andpsychologicalhealth.

36

“And now, when with each piece

of handwork I do, I connect with the

centuries of women who cultivated

their inner lives and expressed them

through the humble works of their

hands.”—Susan Gordon Lydon, inThe Knitting Sutra: Craft as aSpiritual Practice

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I came upon thebook Poemsof Color: Knitting

in the Bohus Tradition and the Women WhoDrove This Swedish Cottage Industry, byWendy Keele. At age 17, as an exchange stu-dent in Sweden and a novice knitter, I wasentranced by the array of hand-knit sweaters.As I thumbed through the book, the patternsstirred, but the story of Emma Jacobsson,creator of a knitting company, was the truelure. This woman, who lived from 1883–1977, achieved greatness as an artist, knitter,entrepreneur and social servant after beingtreated by Sigmund Freud.

Emma’s outcome is one we therapistshope for—the emergence of an authentic,empowered, creative self. Born in Austria toan established glovemaker and his wife,Emma wanted to study botany at the univer-sity, much to her father’s displeasure; hebelieved it was best that she continue in a“feminine” field. Emma did not see the artsas an adequate means of self-support.

Their conflict led her father to call his friendFreud for a consultation. Emma—smart, tem-pestuous, perfectionistic and volatile—was anapparent interpersonal challenge. Freud said,“She is a very strong personality that is noteasily influenced, and she should be allowedto follow the course of her choice.”

That course led her to work at a botanicalinstitute in Germany, where she met andmarried a Swedish philosophy student namedMalte Jacobsson. In 1912 they married andrelocated to Bohuslan, Sweden, so Maltecould take a position as a professor. In a fewyears he became governor. Tradition dictatedthat Emma accept wifely duties, so sherelinquished her academic work. Ironically, itwas because of this role that she found asource of self-support through the arts, via hercompany, Bohus Stickning (Bohus Knitting).

How did it begin? In 1937, a group ofstonecutter wives came to her because workfor their husbands was scarce. Their sufferingfamilies needed income. Emma decided tostart a knitting company that would supplysocks, gloves and ornaments created by thewomen for the locals. Because the productswere useful and finely rendered, they soldwell.

These innovative, able and artistic womenmoved on to high-end sweaters with originalpatterns, and the company flourished. Emma’sart training helped her critique the work, andher perfectionism demanded quality in design,execution and materials. She insisted thatthe women leave their homes for a weekto attend retreats, where they would undergotraining and hone their technique—rare forwomen at the time. The highly successful

Bohus Stickning company operated from1939–1969.

It would be interesting to know whenEmma first learned to knit. Research suggeststhat kids who master hand-based skills havea better chance at developing self-esteemand finding success—practically, emotionallyand intellectually. Emma turned her limitations(volatility) to strengths (intense drive) andstreamlined her artistry, practicality and com-passion into a tour-de-force knitting company.

Handmade pieces conjure a rich inner feel-ing. Colors, texture, imperfections, the woolscent, clicking needles and rhythmic hand move-ments stimulate the senses. Whether youcreate or just behold it, the homespun piece cat-alyzes mind, imagination and mood. Let’s talkabout the psychological, physical, practical andintellectual benefits of knitting and crocheting.

Psychological HealthScientific studies show that knitting and cro-cheting have real psychological benefits.

Researchers including Harvard cardiologistDr. Herbert Benson, author of The RelaxationResponse, found that knitting lowers pulse,blood pressure and stress. Knitting can keepthe muscles and ligaments of the hands inshape according Dr. Alton Barron, a hand sur-geon and coauthor of my book The CreativityCure. (He’s also my husband.) NeuroscientistDr. Kelly Lambert demonstrates in her bookLifting Depression that meaningful handuse elevates mood. “Meaningful” can meananything from tending to one’s home to knit-ting a sweater.

Recent research also suggests that knittingmay even be used as a treatment for the anxietythat surrounds eating disorders [www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19367130], and PrincetonUniversity psychologist and researcher Dr.Barry Jacobs found that repetitive motor activ-ity boosts serotonin, a neurotransmitter that

mitigates against depression and anxiety[psych.princeton.edu/psychology/research/jacobs/publications.php]. Those studieswere not done on humans, but one mightextrapolate.

There are additional advantages to knittingas far as mental health is concerned, whenviewed through the six “mature defenses,”or qualities of mental health, as described inthe classic Kaplan & Sadock text Synopsis ofPsychiatry. I find that three of these healthymodes of living in particular manifest in knit-ting: altruism, anticipation and sublimation.

When we knit, the item we’re making isoften intended as a gift for a loved one or aperson in need—this is altruism. I myselfreceived thoughtful hand-knit gifts in honorof my mother’s love of wool hats after shedied, and charity organizations that accepthandmade items are thriving on knitters’ andcrocheters’ generosity.

Knitting involves selecting, planning, pre-paring, managing time and organizing aprocess for a desired outcome. This is antic-ipation. Anticipation implies self-mastery,discipline, focus and a proactive mind. If oneis too reactive—pulled hither and yon, yarnsslipping and balls rolling—stress ensues andone can feel frayed. Anticipation is a healthyform of taking control.

The third quality is sublimation, which isabout turning raw to refined, primitive to prod-uct, instinct to realization, or, as knitters andcrocheters do, strands to a sweater. Channel-ing agita, focusing energy, winding skeins,purling mittens and binding final rows leads topride, satisfaction and a sense of empower-ment. As psychologist Sonya Lyubormirskysaid in her book The How of Happiness, “Finda happy person and you will find a project.”Finished projects are a form of sublimation,but sometimes sublimation is just abouttransforming raw talent to real skill. In thatsense it is about owning a personal qualityrather than producing a product.

Positive Mind States and FlowPsychologists talk about positive mind states,and many of them are conjured by the kindof handwork that knitters and crocheters takepart in—things like daydreaming, spontaneousthought, quiet mind, being in the present,sense of purpose, distraction, goal-orientedprocess, feeling of effectiveness, sense of con-trol, creativity, and immersion and flow. Day-dreaming elevates mood and boosts braincapacity. University of New Mexico researcherDr. Rex Jung discovered that when the mindwanders along deviant paths, new neural cir-cuitry arises. When we knit and the movementbecomes second nature, the mind slips intopleasing, unplanned

Yearsago,

Repetitive motoractivity boostsserotonin, a neuro-transmitter thatmitigates againstdepression andanxiety.

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places. Similarly, scientist and surgeon Dr. Charles Limb demon-strated that improvisational thought stimulates brain pleasure centers.Spontaneous ideation for adults provides joys that are reminiscent ofspontaneous play for children.

The crafter’s “quiet mind” conjures calm inner states and creativethought. In her book Quiet, Susan Cain shows the value of the quiet mindfor productivity, innovation and peace. Peace is also brought on by thestate of “being in the present,” a tenet of Eastern philosophy and a requi-site of knitting and crocheting. Yoga and meditation require a present focusthat abates anxiety and depression, and those practices are consideredvalid treatments for these ailments. One can deduce that knitting deliversa similar mind-set and result. But even as knitting can bring on peace withbeing in the present, it can also offer distraction from troubling circum-stances or offer a sense of control that combats helplessness. Studieshave shown that routine is psychologically pro-tective in trying times. My former psychoanalyticprofessor Dr. Richard Druss, who specialized intreatment of medically ill patients, shared this withme when I had a client who was dealing with adebilitating illness.

Knitting provides a goal or a sense of purposebecause it is a project with a beginning, middleand end. The poet Goethe wrote, “Whatever youcan do or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness hasgenius, power and magic to it. Begin it now.”When you begin your task, the pulse quickens andyour mind gets organized. And of course, one ofthe results of that is the feeling of effectiveness—its step-by-step nature feeds into that feeling.

Once the technique is mastered, knitting allowsfor immersion and flow. During flow, a peak humanexperience, time falls away and euphoric momentsemerge. Flow follows from absorption in a desiredtask. This mind-state was first described by psychol-ogist, researcher and writer Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi[www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_ on_flow?language=en].

Finding the personal habit or hobby that createsflow can be the secret to a satisfying life. Creativeaction elicits flow. As pediatrician and psycho-analyst D.W. Winnicott said, “It is creative apper-ception more than anything else that makes theindividual feel that life is worth living.”

Education and Intellectual ProwessThere are myriad benefits to knitting as far as psychological health foradults is concerned, but there is another, more nuanced, advantage toknitting, especially in children: Knitting and crocheting actually fostercognitive development and can be the basis of a solid education.

Swiss psychologist Dr. Jean Piaget outlined the stages of cognitivedevelopment. Optimal intellectual capacity depends on successfulmanagement of each phase. We will focus on the phase of ConcreteOperations as it applies to knitting and crocheting. Concrete Operationsoccurs at ages 7 through 11, and it involves learning in concrete ratherthan abstract ways—handling objects and mastering basic skills ratherthan playing with ideas.

When concrete thinking is the biological dictate, it is best to honora concrete learning method for optimal intellectual results. Children inthis stage only solve problems that apply to actual (concrete) objects orevents, and not abstract concepts or hypothetical tasks. In our currentacademic climate, many kids are pushed to abstract or deductivethought before they are biologically able, and this can defeat the intellec-tual purpose. Grappling with problems for which you are not organically

positioned can foster a feeling of defeat and subsequent avoidance orinhibition—it can shut a child/mind down.

Mastering one phase prepares you for the next, more advanced, one.Cementing hand-based skills primes the mind for future cerebral chal-lenges, as well as for building character traits. Learning to tolerate a pro-longed process via making things teaches delayed gratification, whichis also a predictor of life success. Delayed gratification was explored inthe now-infamous Stanford Marshmallow Test, in which children weregiven the option of eating one marshmallow now or two marshmallowsif they waited up to 20 minutes.

It may seem paradoxical that making things at age 8 leads to greatercerebral faculty at 18, but psychology researchers Robert and MicheleRoot Bernstein studied award-winning scientists and found that the com-mon thread was childhood hobbies that involved tinkering. Though per-

haps parents may feel anxious if their childis knitting rather than solving math prob-lems, it turns out that knitting might just bethe best basis for a career in mathematics.

Other thought leaders have studied howmanual action breeds cognitive prowess.In his book Frames of Mind, HarvardEducation professor Howard Gardner out-lined nine different forms of intelligence:musical, verbal, logical, visual, interper-sonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, existentialand bodily kinesthetic.

Knitting, of course, falls into the bodilykinesthetic category. We all possess eachform of intelligence to greater or lesser de-grees; identifying the best form for a givenperson can determine whether they flourishor fail. Some people use the body to movethrough, understand and solve a problem.They think best with the body.

A study by an education researchcompany concurs that hands-on projectsinfluence cognitive capacity. When phys-ical learning was integrated into lessons,children were more curious and engaged.Here are the findings: 90% of teacherssaid that hands-on projects help studentsunderstand basic ideas as well as broaderconcepts; 85% of the teachers said thatstudents work cooperatively on hand-

crafted projects; 82% of teachers said that handcraft projects help theirstudents apply information in new or different situations; 54% ofteachers said this approach is particularly well suited for students wholearned more effectively in nontraditional approaches—visual or kines-thetic learners, slow readers or writers and non-native English speakers,for instance. [www.craftyarncouncil.com/classbenefits.html]

Knitting and Self-EsteemErik Erikson, psychoanalytic researcher, clinician and Harvard professor,outlined eight stages of the life cycle. Of particular interest to those dis-cussing knitting is the “industry versus inferiority” phase, which occursbetween ages 5 through 12. Like Piaget, Erikson found that kids whomaster concrete skills in this phase are set for a robust future. They areless likely to feel inferior and more likely to feel competent. He wrote,“Children are at the stage (aged 5 to 12 yrs) where they make thingson their own. The child’s peer group will become a major source of thechild’s self-esteem. The child now feels the need to win approval bydemonstrating specific competencies that are valued by society, andbegins to develop a sense of pride in his accomplishments. If children

(continued from page 37)I knit, therefore I can

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Though perhapsparents feel anxious iftheir child is knittingrather than solvingmath problems, itturns out that knittingmight just be the bestbasis for a career inmathematics.

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are encouraged and reinforced for their initiative,they begin to feel industrious and confident intheir ability to achieve goals. If this initiativeis not encouraged—if it is restricted—then thechild begins to feel inferior, doubting his ownabilities and therefore may not reach his poten-tial. Some failure may be necessary so that thechild can develop some modesty. Yet again, abalance between competence and modesty isnecessary. Success in this stage will lead tothe virtue of competence.”

My friend and colleague Lynn Lutomski,director of the Irvington, New York, Children’sCenter for school-aged children, is concernedabout how play has become a “four-letter word”and how there is too much emphasis on per-fect performance rather than a learning process.“Our program runs a knitting club,” she says,“where boys and girls ages 5 to 13 have theopportunity to knit while sitting around a table,chatting about anything that comes to mind.Each child works on a blanket, a sweater or apersonal masterpiece. Each creation is loadedwith holes, dropped stitches, repairs and imper-fections—a glorious reminder of childhood.Each stitch represents personal style, accom-plishment and growth.”

Crafting as a Human NeedJust as the Arts and Crafts movement followedthe Industrial Revolution, the Do-It-Yourself move-ment surged after the technical revolution.Why pay $120 to make a sweater when youcan buy one for $20? Because meaningful handuse, deep process and concrete outcome, five-sense experience, and “Look Ma, I did it my-self” are high points of the human condition.They offer the unique and precious pleasure ofan autonomous act. We used to need to makefor practical reasons. Now we need to for psy-chological reasons.

As much as we love tech for connecting,researching and quick results, the pace is fast,the messages mount and the stress rises.Keeping up can feel like an inhumane demand,yet not keeping up is risky for many people.Speed can be a form of oppression. Some peo-ple spend all waking and sleeping hours with adevice in hand. We can become physiologicallyaddicted to the ping. We cannot let go, yetinterrupted sleep and overstimulation can causeanxiety, depression and stress. Perhaps relin-quishing devices and picking up needles for atime each day can enhance health. So much ofwell-being is about balance. So much emergesfrom stillness, quiet and moving hands.

Carrie Barron, M.D., is a board-certified psychia-trist/psychoanalyst on the faculty of New York’sColumbia College of Physicians and Surgeons.She blogs at PsychologyToday.com and is co-author of The Creativity Cure: How to BuildHappiness with Your Own Two Hands.

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