Whether we are working in the garden or have a hobby, working with our hands helps our mental health. When we make, repair or create things we feel vital and effective. It isn’t about reaching our potential but about doing something interesting. Less about ambitious plans and more about living in the moment. When we are completely absorbed in the task at hand, we lose self-consciousness and come into an almost meditative state. Time passes in a much more condensed way.
In our modern world we have lost much of the manual work that generations before us would have done. We live in an age where we can buy anything and everything at our fingertips and in turn, this has meant we have nearly lost many artforms. We are not as physical as our bodies and minds need. Our brains crave the manual skills that help to create new neuro pathways and release serotonin and endorphins which help us to feel better.
Working with our hands has been linked to decreasing stress, anxiety and modifying depression. There is value in routine action, mind rest and purposeful creativity. While working with your hands will not magically make problems disappear, it is a catalyst to rewiring your brain.
So how do we do this? Through something creative and transformational – this might be gardening, knitting, painting, sculpting, drawing, playing an instrument – the list is endless. The goal is to find a manual task that lights up your brain’s reward centre through concentration, effort and pleasure. This is also sometimes referred to as flow.
An added bonus is that during this mind rest time, we may also have breakthrough ideas about problems we are trying to solve in other aspects of our lives.
How did you feel the last time you made something by hand?