12 Crafts That Activate Your Emotions
What you do with your hands has an immediate effect on your brain. A significant number of therapies take crafts as a reference in order to channel problematic emotions or feelings. This is not gratuitous: it is a fact that manual work predisposes us towards more positive thoughts and attitudes.
Here is a catalog of crafts that you can go to when something is not working. They are a wonderful and simple therapy. With them you will be able to verify that, indeed, they modify the way you are seeing the situation that distresses you.
Crafts for anger
For the moments when you are angry, nothing better than drawing straight lines. Horizontal, vertical and diagonal. For every detail that crosses your mind and ignites your anger, mark a line. You will see how powerful the result is.
Spirals to keep going
Draw spirals to overcome the feeling of being stuck and get rid of the idea that there are no exits, that there is no clear path to follow. Use different colors and paint one over another, without thinking too much. Let it flow…
Break with outrage
Anger sometimes has very powerful bases, especially when you have been the victim of an injustice or feel indignation over a specific event. To break out of outrage, the proper thing to do is to take an old piece of paper and tear it into little pieces. As small as you can. You will see how you feel better.
Drawings to activate concentration
If you feel scattered or unfocused, but want to focus on a goal and achieve it, you can activate your attention by drawing grids, as perfect as possible. Another option is to paint concentric circles, like those in target shooting. Make an effort to be very detailed and you will see how your will is sharpened.
Lift your spirits with landscapes
When you are in low spirits and feel that you lack energy, you can activate your vitality by painting landscapes of many colors. Do not worry about the perfection of the forms, but rather about the use of many tones in the sky, in the vegetation, in the sea or in the landscape of your choice.
Self-portraits, always self-portraits …
Sometimes you don’t know what bothers you, what saddens you or what bothers you. You also don’t know whether or not you are acting appropriately. For those moments of confusion, in which you cannot define what you feel, the ideal is to take a self-portrait.
Stand in front of a mirror and take a good look at the expression of the gaze, the mouth and the forehead. Try to capture them. This exercise promotes self-perception. Crafts related to self-portraits provide us with knowledge about how we perceive ourselves.
What do you want?
As in the previous case, sometimes you are confused no longer in your feelings, but specifically in your desires. You face dilemmas and you don’t know which way to lean, you feel confusion and uncertainty …
For those moments of indecision, collages come in handy. Take old magazines or newspapers and make a collage on cardboard. Don’t think too much about the composition, draw it up almost automatically. The collage itself will give you clues about the decision to make.
Disappointment has a remedy
There are moments of disappointment or disappointment when a craft can be of great help. When you experience disappointment, take a famous painting that you like and try to replicate it by drawing it on paper. This will help you redirect your emotions.
Yes there are exits
If you have one of those problems that seems to have no solution, sit down in front of a piece of paper and start drawing waves of different colors and / or circles of different lengths. Try to make each figure in a single stroke and, preferably, use cool colors. Repeat this exercise until the light appears at the end of the tunnel. Believe it: it’s going to show up.
Increasing understanding
No matter how hard you try, there are things you don’t understand. Either the way of doing a task, a reading or the behavior of another person. Drawing mandalas or shapes full of arabesques will help you open up to understanding. Take your time, seek relaxation and calm.
The anguish and the dolls
Who has not been visited by one of those attacks of anguish that leave you on the brink of despair? There are many situations that cause that annoying anxiety and that with nothing seems to vanish.
When you’re feeling anxious, the best thing to do is make a rag doll. The size does not matter, but it is complete: with head, body and limbs. Give it the shape you want and design an expression for its face. This is one of the crafts that attracts the serenity you need.
The ancient knowledge of weaving
When you are afraid, it is time to weave. Yes, weave. It doesn’t matter what method you use: it can be crochet, knitting on two needles, macramé, hand loom, or any other technique. Knitting is a millenary activity, which also strengthens confidence in one’s own abilities. In weaving, as in life, the threads come together to form something new.
