From coursework to jobs to extracurriculars, college students experience a lot of stress during the semester.
For some students, crafting is a healthy way to cope with this stress. This can include painting, needlework, jewelry making and much more.
“I think it’s good to have something creative,” said Chey Ellis, junior art education major and art education club president. “There’s this balance to have something to keep you active, keep you creative, something to make you money, stuff like that. And I think that’s pretty accurate. I think it helps to have a lot of different skills and things to bounce between when you’re stressed.”
WCU’s Counseling and Psychological Services offers Crafting as Coping, a group therapy session that focuses on the healing benefits of crafting.
“The Crafting as Coping group originated from a personal and clinical recognition of the power of crafting. It began as a space to process concerns that may be affecting students’ mental health while engaging in mindful artistic activity,” said Amber Ellington, a licensed clinical mental health counselor associate at CAPS. “We have invited group members to explore various crafts to find what feels most joyful for them.”
Erin Tapley, program coordinator of art education in the School of Art and Design, feels the role of crafting is often undervalued.
“There is something in general about keeping one’s hands moving and in collaboration that is soothing. Furthermore, there’s the aspect of playfulness (seeing what you can do with a material) and the aspect of transformation (turning yarn into a sweater) that is very fulfilling. I think we underestimate the role of visual culture in our daily lives. For example, seeing some items in my own house crafted by family members is a constant reminder of our connectivity no matter how many miles away,” Tapley said in an email.
Amy Connick, third-year forensic chemistry and forensic anthropology major, feels like crafting is a positive, rewarding experience for her. However, Connick acknowledged that she often did not have time to craft during stressful periods.
“I do tend to have less time to craft when I’m under stress, but I still look to crocheting as an outlet to relieve stress,” Connick said.
However, not all students feel that crafting personally helps them cope with stress. Art students in particular discuss how art-heavy course work makes them less inclined to craft.
“I used to craft and draw for fun, but now I’ve done it so much for like grades and stuff that I could only see it from an academic standpoint,” said Leah Spray, a senior art education major.
While personally not having an interest in crafting, Spray has found that her art education classes have helped her guide others in coping with stress.
“My roommate feels really stressed and I’ll be like, okay, I can teach her a craft lesson,” Spray said. “She definitely finds the stress relief from it.”
Similarly, Faith Eudy, a senior art education major, says that her studio art courses take up most of her time and energy to craft.
“The last two years of my schooling has been me getting all my studio requirements out of the way. So, I’ve been doing a bunch of crafting during school so I just kind of don’t do much of it outside,” Eudy said. “And even before I was in college and doing this for my major and everything, I was just crafting constantly.”
Eudy does encourage other students to research the variety of crafts available if they are interested in finding a hobby.
“I think that there’s so many different types of crafting that you can do that aren’t really highlighted in mainstream media,” Eudy said. “So, it’s important to do a lot of research on all the different types. Because if you find something, or you see something, you’re like yeah, I kind of want to get into a craft, but I don’t know what kind and all of these look boring. There are so many more out there than it seems like there are.”
As multiple students noted, crafting is something that needs to be enjoyed and not forced. The stress-relieving parts of crafting emerge from the fun and creativity expressed.
“It’s better to just have fun with things and not force it. You know, it can be good art or it can be bad art, but you can also argue that all art is good if it is good for you,” Ellis said.
Ellington says that the mental benefits of crafting have made the group therapy session popular. Crafting as Coping expanded from a single weekly session in the fall of 2024 to two weekly sessions.
“Crafting has been shown to improve self-efficacy and to offer a point of connection with community,” Ellington said. “Crafting engages the mind, body and spirit in a way that can increase mindfulness skills, which has been demonstrated to decrease distress. We hope to continue offering this group in future semesters!”
