This blogpost is a piece of insight into my personal 2021 and I struggeled a lot with it. Crafting for my mental health? What do I mean? Mental health has been a well-known topic since COVID at the latest. I always thought I had no problems with mental health until I looked deeper into it and realized what was wrong with me.
The trigger
This is not meant to be revenge or anything, it’s meant to show my path as non-judgmentally as possible.
In early 2021 I was fired due to restructuring after 23 years with the company. It was quiet unexpected but felt like an infinite liberation. I had long felt trapped in my job, which I enjoyed doing but was not allowed to develop to my full potential. More and more often I felt like I was running into walls.
I had 7 months’ notice and was released with immediate effect.
My solution
What should I do with such an amount of time? Look for a new job immediately or take a break and breath through. The first two weeks I did nothing – literally nothing. Then I realized I wanted to do something good for myself. Continue my education with a bushiness course? No, it felt wrong to me. In which professional direction should I continue my education? Then I started study some spiritual books – every day, 5 – 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. On the weekends I only studied in the morning and in the evening. I questioned very many of my actions and attitudes and my restless mind became calmer.
After 3 month of intense study, I started to put my energy in cardmaking. I always loved to craft and create. But there were always to little time for it. And now… there were plenty of time. Instantly I felt better, I was in flow. My thoughts “stopped” while I crafted and I simply acted. I begun to feel, that crafting is important for my mental health. I had always missed seeing a result at the end of the day in my job and I love to play with colors and stretch my creative ability. Now, I have some beatiful cards or learned some new techniques with my artjournal pages. During crafting, I am fully present, I am aware of myself and I am happy. I am happy when my recipients of the cards enjoy the little works of art.
I have no idea what the future holds for me. Just now I life my best live ever and I am full of confidence in the future that it will continue to be good. I am very grateful for this year that changed everything for me.
