How to Manage An Autoimmune Disease with Hand Crafts

When I was first diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC), an autoimmune disease that affects the lining of the large intestine (colon) and rectum, I jumped headfirst into the medical literature, determined to learn all I could about this disease that would afflict me for the rest of my life. At the time, I had never heard of UC or Crohn’s – the two diseases that comprise Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) – but in the twelve years since my diagnosis, I have worked hard to develop the skills necessary to manage and cope with my disease in an effort to still lead a full life.

Although there is no cure for UC or any other autoimmune disease, and doctors aren’t exactly sure why autoimmune diseases develop in the first place, there is general agreement that symptoms and flare-ups can be greatly exacerbated by stress. As someone who is both easily prone to stress and who has enjoyed crafting for more than three decades, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that by intentionally incorporating stress-reducing activities, such as hand crafts, into my daily life I could manage my disease more effectively.

What is an Autoimmune Disease?

An autoimmune disease is a disorder caused when your body’s immune system has trouble differentiating between your own cells and foreign substances and attacks out of confusion. Our immune system functions to keep us healthy, protecting us against germs, bacteria, and viruses. A healthy immune system is able to distinguish between the body’s own cells and foreign cells and will only attack when a legitimate threat is present. In a compromised immune system, the body senses trouble from what is a non-existent threat, releasing proteins called autoantibodies to attack, but unfortunately, it attacks cells that are actually healthy. Depending on the autoimmune disease, healthy cells might be impacted in one part of the body such as skin cells or joints, while other autoimmune diseases may affect the entire body.

What are the Most Common Autoimmune Diseases?

More than 80 different autoimmune diseases have been identified and affect more than 24 million people in the United States alone. Symptoms of one autoimmune disease often overlap another, and studies have shown that about twenty-five percent of patients with one autoimmune disease will develop a second and even a third. Multiple tests and laboratory analyses, performed by various specialist doctors such as gastroenterologists, endocrinologists, rheumatologists, and dermatologists, are usually required before an official diagnosis can be achieved. 

A few of the most common autoimmune diseases include:

• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA): occurs when the immune system attacks joints
• Psoriasis: occurs when the immune system attacks skin cells, causing them to multiple too quickly
• Type 1 diabetes: occurs when the immune system attacks insulin-producing cells in the pancreas
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): causes inflammation in the lining of the intestines
  • Crohn’s Disease: affects any portion of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, from the mouth to the anus
  • Ulcerative Colitis: affects the lining of the large intestine (colon) and rectum
• Celiac disease: occurs when the immune system attacks the small intestine when gluten is present
• Multiple sclerosis (MS): occurs when the immune system attacks myelin sheath, the protective coating of nerve cells
• Lupus: occurs when the immune system attacks joints, skin cells, kidneys, and the brain
• Graves’ disease: affects the thyroid gland in the neck, causing it to produce too many hormones
• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis: causes thyroid hormone production to slow dramatically

How are Autoimmune Diseases Managed?

Autoimmune diseases are lifelong disorders, but there are a variety of treatment options currently available, with many more in clinical trials. Since everyone responds differently to a particular treatment, it may take several tries to find the medication that works best. Prescription medicines help patients to manage their disease by decreasing the severity of symptoms and ideally bringing about remission. Until there is a cure, remission is the best option we have. 

One topic of considerable debate is whether diet and lifestyle modifications can help patients manage their disease and alleviate symptoms. I have worked with multiple gastroenterologists over the past twelve years, and unfortunately, every one of them has insisted that diet and lifestyle have no impact on my UC. While I have a great deal of respect for my doctors, I have also conducted my own first-hand research (i.e. by documenting my meals, symptoms, stress levels, mood, and activity) and have done extensive reading of functional medicine peer-reviewed reports to come to the conclusion that modifications to diet and lifestyle are essential elements in managing an autoimmune disease. Please note that this doesn’t mean flare-ups are a thing of the past; unfortunately, they can still occur no matter how carefully or “cleanly” we are eating or living because there are a multitude of factors that contribute to any autoimmune disease.

The best ways I recommend managing your autoimmune disease are to prioritize your health each day, take medicines as prescribed, eat a well-balanced diet, exercise regularly, and get adequate sleep each night. Furthermore, calming activities, such as yoga, meditation, and deep breathing have long been accepted practices to reduce stress naturally. Hand crafts are another powerful stress-relieving activity that have a similar effect on the body – and mind – as meditation and yoga. By incorporating some type of creative hand craft into your daily routine, you can positively impact your autoimmune disease by helping to reduce the frequency and intensity of flare-ups, allowing you to still live an active life. 

How are Hand Crafts Helpful for Managing Autoimmune Diseases?

Hand crafts are an important component in any disease management strategy because they encourage patients to focus on repetitive actions that are known to calm the body. They also allow people to develop skills that can be continuously improved, which means you’ll be exercising the parts of your brain where problem solving and creativity occur. Flexing those muscles will, in turn, help to prevent obsessive and negative thought patterns. You may have noticed that crafts have exploded in popularity since the beginning of the pandemic. This is partially the case because it has helped people to pass the time during lockdowns and quarantines, but more importantly, people have turned to crafts as a way to relax and de-stress amid all the turmoil and uncertainty in the world.

People who suffer from an autoimmune disease, or really any other type of chronic illness, may be at an increased risk for isolation, loneliness, and even depression so finding healthy ways to relax and maintain a positive outlook are absolutely critical. I know from experience that committing to a regular crafting routine has played an invaluable role in helping me to manage my autoimmune disease. 

A few reasons hand crafts are beneficial for autoimmune patients include:

1. Stress Reduction
2. Finding Temporary Relief from Pain
3. Creating a Sense of Accomplishment and Joy

1. Stress Reduction

Repetitive movements, such as those involved in knitting, crochet, weaving, ceramics, embroidery, and woodworking are known to calm the mind and bring a sense of peace to practitioners. These activities all require focus and attention, enabling crafters to get lost in what they are doing and forget, at least temporarily, about outside stressors and difficulties. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls this experience a “flow” state, in which a person becomes perfectly immersed in a delicate balance of skill and challenge.

I always have a few craft projects, in varying stages of completion, in my “work in progress” stash. At the end of a long day, I sometimes find my mind darting from one outstanding item on my To Do list to another. Regardless of what I have left to accomplish that day, I have learned to prioritize a few minutes of crafting. Sometimes I can only manage fifteen or twenty minutes, but it’s just enough time for me to slow down, relax, and reset. Although I can easily make nine thousand excuses for why I’m too busy to pause for a few minutes of crafting, I always feel calmer after doing some crafts.

If possible, I recommend having a variety of projects from which to choose; that way you can pick up a project that suits both your mood and your allotted time available. Sometimes you might be more interested in doing fine, detailed work, while other times you may prefer to stitch large sections of a pattern where only a single color of embroidery thread is needed or crochet row after row using only the single crochet stitch. Still other times, you might be really looking forward to trying a new hobby. Whatever your craft(s) of choice, make time each day to do some form of creative hand work – your body and your mind will thank you.

2. Finding Temporary Relief from Pain

Chronic, severe pain is associated with many, if not all, autoimmune diseases, and it can have a detrimental impact on your overall health and well-being. When you’re suffering from chronic pain day after day, the associated stress, anxiety and even depression can exacerbate the physical pain. Engaging in a relaxing activity, such as hand crafting, can provide a temporary, though much-needed, respite from the pain.

Several years ago, I experienced a particularly painful flare-up of my ulcerative colitis. I was in agony for days, with pain in my intestines as well as overall full body aches. During that time, I could manage to do little more than lie on my couch with the heating pad over my belly praying for my symptoms to subside. 

To keep myself from going crazy, one day I decided to pick up a large counted cross-stitch project I had started several years before. I gathered all the necessary supplies in a basket that I kept within reach of the couch and began to stitch. I stitched, and I stitched, and then I stitched some more. After a while, I became so engrossed in my stitches that I seemingly forgot about my existing pain. Obviously the pain never disappeared, but I managed to occupy my mind with thoughts that were much more pleasant and relaxing. I will always be grateful for my love of crafting, as it has proven time and again to be such a powerful remedy for my symptoms.

Whether you find yourself in a painful flare-up, or you simply hope to prevent one in the future, I encourage you to commit to a relaxing craft project. It can be something simple or complex, it can be a project you’ve been working on for years, or it can be an entirely new craft. The craft itself isn’t important, but the act of doing it is. Don’t push yourself too hard, but do give it enough time for you to experience its healing powers.

3. Creating a Sense of Accomplishment & Joy

Due to the increased stress and chronic pain that accompany autoimmune diseases, many patients also suffer from “autoimmune fatigue”, which results in a persistent feeling of exhaustion that can overwhelm a person completely and interfere with the ability to function on a daily basis. Over the course of the past twelve years, there have been days when I was plagued with autoimmune fatigue and so exhausted I could barely get out of bed in the morning. I have learned, sometimes the hard way, to give myself grace on those days and simply celebrate the “small victories”, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem at the time. 

Even during my most severe flare-ups, I still made it a priority to set aside time for crafts. Some days I could only stitch a few rows of a counted cross-stitch pattern or draft a couple of sketches for my hand-embroidered felt ornaments, but I still did something. I truly believe that one of the most beneficial aspects of crafting is the sense of accomplishment and joy that comes from seeing a product come to life in front of your eyes, especially one that you made with your own hands. Since most crafts require very little physical energy, they are ideal for days when you are not feeling well. I have found it’s especially meaningful to produce something – anything really – when I was feeling so poorly. Crafts I completed during my severe flare-ups are some of my most treasured items, because I know just how hard they were to complete.  

Wherever you are in your autoimmune journey, I encourage you to create something every day. Over time, be it a few days, weeks, or months, you’ll look back on what you’ve accomplished and will feel so proud of what you have been able to achieve. Autoimmune diseases can take many things away from us, but they cannot steal our ability to feel joy.

Be Well and Stitch

During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, a “Be Well and Stitch” movement started on Instagram where counted cross-stitch designers from around the world created free patterns for people to download and complete while staying at home to flatten the coronavirus curve. They encouraged people to use the hashtag #BeWellAndStitch, and it was so beautiful to see people come together for the common good, in a time when we all needed it most.

I thought it would be fun to participate in the process and happily created a free pattern of a “Be Well” sequin felt appliqué heart ornament. It was designed for people to use whatever materials they had on hand – including sequins commonly found (5 mm), seed beads, embroidery floss, and felt. I include Swarovski Crystal beads in all of my felt ornament designs (learn why here), and this one includes them as well. If you don’t have sequins, you can feel free to swap in French knots, seed beads, or even small buttons. Or, if you’d like to purchase items to create the design, please consider supporting small local shops – I’m sure they will be so thrilled to have your support. 

 

If you’re suffering from an autoimmune disease, I hope you will take a few moments to “be well” and stitch, paint, draw, or engage in any other hand craft that inspires you. Please enjoy this pattern, which is free for personal use, as a way to help you manage your autoimmune disease. If you create something using it, be sure to post pictures to social media and tag me. I would love to see your creations!

I hope you have found these tips for managing autoimmune diseases with hand crafts useful! Which one(s) resonated most with you? What other ideas do you have? Feel free to comment below – and please share this post with loved ones who are autoimmune warriors!

xo, Tiffany