Wool Goddess

I’ve always valued talking therapy and the help it can bring. I absolutely value the support over the years that our wonderful NHS Talking Therapies Team has given me. I’ve had online therapy modules, one-to-one sessions, and later on, intensive therapy sessions. Each step has helped massively. But then it ends, and although I now have the valuable skills taught to me in therapy, it can still feel daunting to navigate anxiety every day.

That’s where crochet comes in.

Crochet isn’t a replacement for therapy, but for me, it’s what holds me together in between. When the sessions end, when the waiting list stretches out ahead of me, and when I feel like I’ve run out of words to give a therapist, I turn to my hook and yarn.

The act of crocheting is grounding. The rhythm of the stitches, the gentle repetition, and the soft texture of the yarn running through my fingers all have a calming effect. It gives my mind something kind and predictable to focus on. It slows my racing thoughts, it understands my PTSD hypervigilance and is almost like a moving meditation. Instead of spiralling, I can focus on creating something real, something I can hold in my hands, one stitch at a time.

Crochet gives me progress when life feels stuck. Even on difficult, painful days, I can look down and see that I’ve moved forward, row by row. It gives me colour and texture on days that feel grey, purpose when I need distraction, and a quiet sense of achievement when everything else feels overwhelming. It gives me control when everything else feels too big or too uncertain.

Unlike therapy, crochet doesn’t have a waiting list or a cut-off point. It doesn’t end after a set period. It’s there at 2 a.m. when I can’t sleep, or at 2 p.m. when I need a moment of peace. And while therapy helps me untangle the bigger knots in my mind, crochet helps me manage the day-to-day tangles that build up in between. It gives me a safe space to pause, breathe, and simply be present without expecting anything more of myself.

I’m grateful for the NHS and the support I’ve had over the years. But I’m also grateful for crochet for the way it quietly steadies me, stitch by stitch, row by row, whenever I need it most.

Sometimes, it’s not about choosing one or the other. Therapy helps me understand myself. Crochet helps me live with myself. And together, they keep me going.

Love and healing hugs