Crocheting Through Depression

[DorisAnn]

Yes I feel I have had my share too....some of it my fault, some of it just the way of life....My dad died with brain cancer when he was 55 years old, I feel your pain on that one.....
I am twice divorced (now remarried for 33 years to the right guy)
I deal with a limiting spinal curvature daily,
had an intestinal re-sect 1998 and had
Chemo treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukemia 1999/2000 YES I AM A SURVIVOR....

I did not go though the "why me's" cause the only answer I could come up with was "why not me"

My family lives out of state, my parents are buried out of state. I have no kids but I do have an amazing husband.
I guess it takes a little trouble to show me how bless I really am.

You have what it takes, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going.
Don't only be proud of your boys, be proud of yourself.

[Pixieglitter]

Thanks Dorie for the pep talk. I really needed it this evening. You're so right, I should feel proud of myself. We should ALL be proud of ourselves! Why not? We've all been through a lot in this lifetime.

I was very moved to read that you lost your dad to brain cancer at such a young age. You know exactly what I was talking about with my brother. And that you're a CANCER SURVIVOR, that's so AWESOME!!!!! You ROCK Dorie!!!

Hugs,
Shelley

[DorisAnn]

That's right girl look at all you have done. Just by pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and keep on keepin' on.
The only constant is change. I always say this too will pass and I'll just hang on till it does.
Many persons may have life a lot more simple than others but when we get to the golden gate
You know we can hold our head up high and say "WE EARNED OUR WINGS".

[Susan2014]

Hello vickat Im a Minnesota senior(75yrs) & want to say Thank you for your crocheting and Jewelry Crafts. Do you give as Gifts, or sell them?? You could there is a site on CT for that check main Form at bottom I believe. The Family? glad you have someone as being alone cn be trying. Loveto see some of Jewelry or Cowls if you can. God Bless and have a Smile & good week.

Susan2014

[imalefty]

I fight my depression daily. Thanks to an understanding Dr. and the right meds I am better than I was years ago. Some days better than others. Crocheting is my helpmate. There are days I go to bed and say to myself " not much accomplished today but I did put a few rows on my afghan (or whatever)". Then I feel that it was not a lost day. Sorry so many have depression trouble but it helps me feel not so alone.

[DonnaPBradshaw]

I think it's wonderful that all of you also find relief and comfort in crochet. We all have ups and downs in our lives, it doesn't really matter that the details are different, it's all really the same for us.

I went through a lot 4 years ago. I lost my awesome brother to brain cancer (he was only 46), I had a broken engagement, someone broke into my home and stole every beautiful thing I owned, then I lost my house, I put my youngest son in drug rehab and then he moved out-of-state to finish high school, my appendix ruptured and I was out of work for 2 months, I had to put my dog to sleep, it just seemed to go on and on... and it all happened in about a 9 month time frame. There were lots of tears and frustration with life. There were also a lot of the "Why Me's?" I was in a pitiful state.

It was right after my brother died that I picked up crochet again. I started with making chemo hats in his honor, and to also honor all the wonderful people who stepped forward and emotionally supported us when Joey got sick. There were so many very special people who came into our lives during that very sad time for my family.

I get really down sometimes because all of my family lives out of state, including my 2 now grown boys, and I deal with a lot of loneliness. But then I have to remind myself how truly blessed I am. I have a wonderful job and I'm so very proud of both of my boys. I have a cute little place to live and I have 3 doggies now. LOL

Hugs to all,
Shelley

Dear Shelley! what an amazing person you are to go through all that trial and not be bitter at life! You reach out to people and want to give them a lovely item through your crocheting! You truly are an inspiration to the rest of us! I also crochet and get through many frustrations! I thank my Heavenly Father for my many blessings and realize the trials I'm going through are to make me stronger, I have a picture of Christ in my kitchen that say's " I never told you it would be easy, I only told you it would be worth it!" I read that saying every day and realize that living on this earth is not easy but one day it will be all worth it!

[vickat]

Hi Susan, I'm also a Senior. Yes, I was giving them to My Aunt in PA., Our 2 Daughter's & 1 Granddaughter and Friend"s. Our Daughter's & Family live out of State. And I'm from PA. So I don't have any family here. Friend's are nice, but I alway's find the user's my Husband said!! I just laugh.. It's hard some times to understand your (So Called Friends) but they know I have a Big Heart & won't say no. That's Life, you live & learn. But I Still can't LEARN!! It's just me, My Aunt is 91 & she tell's me the same thing. And I smile and tell my Aunt, Don't worry about it!!
Hope to type to you when you get a chance. Your Friend, Vickat

[little drummer]

I think it's wonderful that all of you also find relief and comfort in crochet. We all have ups and downs in our lives, it doesn't really matter that the details are different, it's all really the same for us.

I went through a lot 4 years ago. I lost my awesome brother to brain cancer (he was only 46), I had a broken engagement, someone broke into my home and stole every beautiful thing I owned, then I lost my house, I put my youngest son in drug rehab and then he moved out-of-state to finish high school, my appendix ruptured and I was out of work for 2 months, I had to put my dog to sleep, it just seemed to go on and on... and it all happened in about a 9 month time frame. There were lots of tears and frustration with life. There were also a lot of the "Why Me's?" I was in a pitiful state.

It was right after my brother died that I picked up crochet again. I started with making chemo hats in his honor, and to also honor all the wonderful people who stepped forward and emotionally supported us when Joey got sick. There were so many very special people who came into our lives during that very sad time for my family.

I get really down sometimes because all of my family lives out of state, including my 2 now grown boys, and I deal with a lot of loneliness. But then I have to remind myself how truly blessed I am. I have a wonderful job and I'm so very proud of both of my boys. I have a cute little place to live and I have 3 doggies now. LOL

Hugs to all,
Shelley

So sorry for all the tragedy in your life. Sometimes it seems like everything is going wrong. It is at the lowest times in our lives that we must remember that WE ARE NOT ALONE. GOD is there. I don't know if you are religious person or not, but I do believe that He is there giving us the strength to deal with whatever situation we are in. Sometimes it may be hard to believe that, but as I look back, I know my God is always with me.
11 days after my 6th BD our house burned down and my little brother died in the housefire. For many years I was terrified of fire and felt it was my fault that I could not save my brother. My older brother was killed in a motorcycle accident when I was 12 and my sister committed suicide when she was 14, 6 months after the birth of my 2nd daughter. Then a few years passed and my father got ill and there was a lot of turmoil at work, I picked up my crochet needles and started to crochet. It is my stress reliever.
Sending you hugs...When you are feeling lonely, just send us a post. We are here for you. ((()))

[DonnaPBradshaw]

So sorry for all the tragedy in your life. Sometimes it seems like everything is going wrong. It is at the lowest times in our lives that we must remember that WE ARE NOT ALONE. GOD is there. I don't know if you are religious person or not, but I do believe that He is there giving us the strength to deal with whatever situation we are in. Sometimes it may be hard to believe that, but as I look back, I know my God is always with me.
11 days after my 6th BD our house burned down and my little brother died in the housefire. For many years I was terrified of fire and felt it was my fault that I could not save my brother. My older brother was killed in a motorcycle accident when I was 12 and my sister committed suicide when she was 14, 6 months after the birth of my 2nd daughter. Then a few years passed and my father got ill and there was a lot of turmoil at work, I picked up my crochet needles and started to crochet. It is my stress reliever.
Sending you hugs...When you are feeling lonely, just send us a post. We are here for you. ((()))

Dear Little Drummer! what some sad stories you have to tell! So glad you have not blamed God for all those family members who have left this life! You will see them again I'm sure of that! God bless you in your life and hope you keep the faith till the end!

[SusansSoulShines]

Depression can come from different things - feeling lonely, being stressed, medical issues ect. One of the best things to do is to work to change your FOCUS when feeling down. Crochet can be used to change our focus helping us to get our mind off of things, ect. Crocheting can give you something to look forward to and it can be VERY therapeutic!

This is so true Barbara. Crochet is my therapy, and it seems it is for most of us! I often tell how it helps me focus on something good instead of letting the pain consume my entire life. I can hardly lay my head on a pillow at night due to pain, so I don't get a lot of sleep, even with my new CPAP machine, which I can't stand! So I don't sleep well or often. It's a true miracle that I don't have depression, from my long term chronic pain, back to the early suicide of my father, my mother now living in a special long term care home with Alzheimer's, and no family left for many heartbreaking reasons except for my God-send of a wonderful & very supportive husband.

The story is much longer and intense than that, but no need to go thru the horrible details of my life. It's been one tragedy to another, with some good in between. But I am strong thru Christ and gratefully have been able to refuse to let depression into my life. I do feel great sympathy for those who have it, because when something has a hold on you and never lets go, it is your cross to bear, and like Shelley said, we all have our different heartaches.
Luke 9:23 ¶ And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Many of you know that I live with debilitating chronic pain from Fibromyalgia and OsteoArthritis, and the 2 illnesses are in battle to see which can make me more miserable. I can hardly move these days between all the joint pain and every muscle, ligament and tendon between them screaming out 24/7, and yes, I do cry when I get overwhelmed by it all, but that just makes my head hurt worse, so I get over it and carry on. I had knee surgery from torn cartilage in July, but my other health problems made that injury worse than normal and I've had to use a walker for over a year now, but have been able to stop using it in my home now and use it only when I leave home, which isn't often... especially in the summer, which wipes me out so badly due to extreme temps affecting me so negatively. The constant edema in my feet and ankles has been horrible this year, but I had my heart checked and it seems to pumping well, so this new problem apparently stems from the pre-eclampsia I almost died from almost 40 yrs ago, so pregnancy problems in younger days can affect you forever. Great, like I need the past pain of 8 surgeries coming back to haunt me now on top of all of this.

I've always been a hand crafter, cross stitch, macrame, stenciling, painting ceramics, you name it. Creating things with my hands makes me feel productive and gives me one successful feeling of accomplishment after another. So when my pain caused me to stop doing everything, I became very lonely for creativity. One day my husband ordered me a beautiful silver & turquoise jewelry kit, with wire and a 3 in 1 tool. I thought I could no longer get into anything like that, but reluctantly I set about making a necklace, bracelet and earrings to match. In fact, I got lucky and when I called the company to ask about their wire gauge, they sent me another jewelry kit for free... so I made more! It felt really good, even tho being in the same position for long is hard and I'm never comfortable, but I really enjoyed it. For the first time in my life, reading just wasn't giving me the focus I needed, my mind was wandering when I read. So even tho jewelry wasn't what I wanted to do for long, I ended up with some awesome pieces, gave some gifts and sold some too, and my craving for creativity was back.

When I needed kitchen and bath towels and cloths, I knew that I was going to make them. It was really odd, because I knew nothing of the difference between knitting and crochet, but I chose crochet because it had only one hook. I knew that since I had made 2 granny afghans in high school. Luckily that was the best choice for me and for making the 'linens' I needed and still make to practice new stitches on, and now I make everything from cowls, headbands, shawls, designed a poncho, potted flowers, home decor by the handfuls, you name it! Crochet has saved me, and even tho it does cause more hand, wrist, arm and shoulder pain, I won't stop until I can't do it any more. I've taken pics of almost every single thing I've ever made, on my google+ page I uploaded pics of some cross stitch and decoupage, and here are the pics of some of my favorite pieces of jewelry to entertain you with: