Crafting Composure Part II:

A Study of the Clinic,

Mental Instability and Embroidery

Amy Chandler
2016

The real problem about psychoanalysis is that so

many people behave as if it were true.
- David Cooper, The Language of Madness, 1978 (23).

Anxiety, depression, and other forms of mental instability

are widely prevalent in todays contemporary society. Although
mental unwellness is not as heavily stigmatized as it was a
century ago, individuals, including myself, struggle daily with
coping with mental instability, the perception of it in society,
and how to care for such unpleasant feelings. This paper, which
is a second installment of a project I began in September of
2015 1 , is an inquisition into the connections between mental
wellness

and

craft

processes.

investigate

the

systematic

treatment of mentally unwell individuals in a clinical setting,

a brief history of mental health in European and North American
regions, and the availability of healthy management techniques
for all persons, regardless of financial status, gender, race,
or class. This paper is born out of personal experience, and I
seek

to

add

to

the

ever-growing

discourse

surrounding

the

accessibility of free, useful, sustainable, and flexible methods

of coping with mental instability.
To investigate the links between the creative process and
mental

health,

have

utilized

both

primary

and

secondary

sources. The heart of this project is drawn from practice-based

research.

Throughout

the

course

of

this

research,

have

embroidered steadily, and recorded my mental wellness in a blog

1 Amy Chandler. Crafting Composure 2015.
2 www.craftingcomposure.tumblr.com

online. 2 I have also had multiple e-mail interviews, and have

engaged with the archival fonds on the occupational therapist
and weaver Mary E. Black housed at the Nova Scotia Archives. For
secondary sources, I have drawn from many books and articles,
especially David Coopers Language of Madness 3 , Rozsika Parkers
The

Subversive

Civilization.

Stitch

have

and
also

Michel

Foucaults

looked

at

the

Madness

ideologies

and
of

psychologists Jan Baptista van Helmont, and Sigmund Freud. I am

using social art history and a critique of psychoanalytic theory
to

contend

with

this

body

of

research,

which

am

viewing

through a feminist lens.

Shortly
teens,

Obsessive

was

after

graduated

diagnosed

Compulsive

with

from

high

Social

Disorder

(OCD),

school

Anxiety
and

in

my

Disorder

General

late

(SAD),

Depression

Disorder. Although I acknowledged chronological catalysts that

lead

to

the

institutional

treatment

of

these

categorized

disorders, I knew I had grappled with these hindrances through

the entire memory of my life. Now they were named. I engaged
with

traditional

encouragement

of

my

psychoanalytic

mother.

Our

therapist

sessions

felt

upon

the

uncomfortable,

2 www.craftingcomposure.tumblr.com
3 David Cooper. The Language of Madness, 1978.
4 Rozsika Parker. The Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and the Making of the
Feminine, 1984.
5 Michel Foucault. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age
of Reason, 1965.

cold,

clinical,

different

and

therapists

lacking
or

connection.

clinics

did

not

Even
seem

shifting
to

ease

to
the

discomfort of my interactions.
One experience in particular was astoundingly impersonal.
On a first session with a specific psychologist, she gave me
quantitative surveys to fill out before my next appointment.
These

surveys

asked

questions

such

as

how

often

are

you

entirely unable to sleep? or how often do you find yourself

thinking suicidal thoughts?. You were supposed to measure your
response to these huge, weighing questions on a scale of 1 to 5,
5 being all the time, 1 being never. It was a long time before I
was able to bring my filled in surveys back to my therapist as
she canceled and rescheduled my next appointment 3 or 4 times,
despite my answers to these questions ranging in the 4s and 5s.
When I was finally able to bring my responses in for analysis,
she

did

categorized

quick
as

tally,

having

then

curtly

general

informed

depression

and

me

that

social

was

anxiety

disorder. She then informed me that she was a very busy person,
and I wasnt that bad, so unless I was feeling immediately
suicidal, I didnt need to come back. I knew instantly that this
form of treatment for my mental instabilities was not working,
was

not

worth

the

vast

investigate other avenues.

hourly

rate,

and

that

needed

to

I attempted yoga, meditation, exercise, cleaning sprees,

and

medication.

sustainable

for

I
my

found

none

individual

of

these

personality,

solutions
so

none

to
of

be
them

assisted permanently in managing the abyss that is suffering

from mental instability.
2 years ago I began teaching myself how to embroider. Aside
from the many pleasures I believe to be inherent to embroidery
as a craft, I noticed a calmness in performing the repetitive
task of stitching. Embroidering soon became a delightful pastime
for me, and I found myself losing hours (and stresses) to the
craft. Being a self-taught artist, I found a control in honing
my skills, and having total freedom over the pictorial content
within my works. That meditative healing, which derived from an
especially accessible and portable craft, became the jumping off
point for this project, and the further investigations within it
into

the

creative/productive

process

and

reducing

mental

instability.
I would like to take this opportunity to state my personal
biases on the treatment of mental instability and my stance in
relation to psychoanalytic therapy within this paper. It is my
belief that mental instabilities, although absurdly unpleasant,
potentially

hazardous

to

ones

physical

health,

and

dismally

confusing, do not need to be completely eradicated. It is my

personal belief that the complete entity of mental illness is

not negative. For instance, my anxiety sometimes acts as a sixth

sense to me, and I find myself very aware of others telling
mannerisms and thoughts. My depression allows me to be critical
of my surroundings, my relationships, and myself. My OCD is very
helpful in my artistic practice, and has been instrumental in
developing

an

aesthetic

that

find

delightful

and

visually

pleasing. I do not mean to romanticize mental illness in any

way.

It

is

my

intention

to

impart

that

not

all

experiences

within mental instability are definitively negative. This method

of managing my mental instabilities is in no way intended to be
universal. It is more so an experience that I, and others as the
interviews show, have found helpful, and could potentially be
used or adapted to assist a wider population. There is long
history

of

interactions

between

mentally

unwell

individuals,

their experiences, and their perception by society that has lead

to me being able to come to this position in relation to mental
wellness.

History
Although mental instability, or madness as it may have
been

referred

to

historically,

is

seemingly

prevalent

in

contemporary society, it is nothing new. As history progresses

through the Common Era, treatments of individuals suffering from
mental instability, and the classification of their plights have

varied. It is helpful to grasp a vastly condensed history of

mental (un)wellness and its perception in society in order to
properly

contextualize

my

practice-based

research

and

the

interview responses.
In the beginning of the 15th century, individuals suffering
from mental instability were viewed and treated as the awkward
group within society that just didnt mesh well. These persons
were carted or sailed off to remote places.

Mentally unwell

individuals were often banned from entering churches, 7 and there

developed a noticeable tension between mentally healthy and
unhealthy

members

of

society.

Mental

instability

remained

mysterious, its source and necessary treatment unclear.

In Canada in the 17th and 18th centuries, it was thought by
European settlers that bizarre behaviours could be attributed to
demonic possession, or an imbalance of the 4 bodily humors.

Exorcisms were occasionally performed on individuals suffering

from madness, or prayers were said in their name. 9 To restore
what was thought to be an imbalance in the 4 bodily humors
(blood,

phlegm,

black

bile,

and

yellow

bile)

early

Canadian

6 Michel Foucault. Madness and Civilization, 1965: 8.
7 Ibid, 9-10.
8 James E. Moran. History of Madness and Mental Illness: A Short History of
Care and Treatment in Canada, 2009.
9 Ibid.

physicians

recommended

treatments

including

bloodletting,

purges, fasting, and/or emetics.10

Individuals

exhibiting

behaviours

connected

to

mental

illness were often cared for in the home before asylums and
institutions became prevalent in the 19th century. These folks
were

cared

for

by

family

members,

hired

nursing

aids,

or

neighbours. Between the 17th century, where mental illness was

thought to be gods will, and the 19th century, the perception of
mental instability was shifting to align itself with physical
ailments and diseases. 11 This shift produced a bloom of asylums
being erected in Europe, and its North American colonies.12
This more pervasive popularity of permanent institutions of
care

for

mentally

unwell

persons

in

Canada

during

the

19th

century grew out of the erection of the houses of confinement in

Europe,

beginning

in

the

17th

century.

In

1656,

the

Hpital

Gnral was erected in Paris. 13 This hospital acted as a catchall

for most individuals suffering from ailments or personal issues.
It

housed

homicidal

criminals,

homeless

people,

individuals

suffering from brain cancer, and the mentally unwell, to name

just a few. The Hpital Gnral acted more as a semi judicial
structure than a place of care for the mentally unstable, with

10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 Ibid.
13 Foucault. Madness and Civilization, 1965: 38.

its

10

Director

performed

on

having

final

veto

power

housed

individuals.

over

The

all

committed

treatments
individuals

within the Hpital Gnral were mostly all male.

If you were a female experiencing mental instability at
this time and place, you were sent to the Salptrire, which
opened in 1670. 14 The majority of these women were categorized as
suffering from hysteria. Hysteria derives from the Greek word
for uterus and the intense emotionality it denoted was once
thought to be due to a wandering womb.

15

Men, due to their

anatomy were of course exempt from this diagnosis. A woman was

diagnosed as hysterical if she exhibited shallow and/or extreme
emotions,

uncontrollable

overdramatic

or

shaking

fits,

attention-seeking

paralysis,

behaviours.

The

and/or
French

psychologist Jean-Martin Charcot was one of the main attendants

to this disease. Charcot ran a popular weekly lecture series in
the

Salptrire,

specimens.

16

using

These

live

women

female

were

patients

analyzed,

as

exhibits

photographed,

or
and

agitated to the point of hysterical fits which were in fact

seizures

or

panic

attacks.

17

The

term

hysteria

was

vast

diagnosis, encompassing far too many symptoms for the treatment

of it to be of any help to anyone.

14 Georges Didi-Huberman. Invention of Hysteria, 2003: 3.
15 Rebecca Solnit. Men Explain Things To Me, 2014: 105.
16 Didi-Huberman. Invention of Hysteria, 23.
17 Ibid, 3.

11

These houses of confinement from the 17th century were the

models for the ones that became so prevalent in North American
beginning in the 19th century. Asylums were built beginning on
the Eastern coast of Canada, with one of the first built in
Dartmouth,

Nova

Scotia.

This

hospital,

named

the

Mount

Hope

Asylum for the Insane, opened its doors in 1895. Within these
asylums, massive issues of power abuse occurred, with instances
of

wrongful

confinement,

and

institutional

violence

toward

patients. Even treatment that was deemed medically acceptable

was highly questionable. For instance, the use of water as a
treatment on mentally unwell patients was problematic. Immersion
into water was seen as purifying and cleansing, ridding the mind
and the body of ailments. 18 Jan Baptista van Helmont, a Flemish
psychologist practicing in the early 17th century, thought that
by plunging patients into water, he had cured them of insanity.
He is quoted as saying, The only care that must be taken, is to
plunge the sufferers into the water suddenly and unawares, and
to keep them there for a long time. One need have no fear for
their

lives.

19

In

this

quote,

van

Helmont

demonstrates

his

perception of his patients as objectified and disposable, and

therefore his hierarchical position above them.
Sigmund Freud also demonstrates problems within treatment
of
mentally
unwell
individuals.
Freud
was
an

18 Foucault. Madness and Civilization, 168.
19 Foucault quoting van Helmont. Madness and Civilization, 168.

Austrian

12

neurologist practicing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

He is known as the Father of Psychoanalysis. Freud categorized
anxiety
specific

as

fear.

free-floating
20

Free-floating

fear,
fear,

as

opposed

according

to
to

phobia-

Freud,

was

entirely caused by sexual frustration, or coitus interruptus. 21

He is also quoted as saying, for the average human it is true
that anxiety and sexual constraint belong together. 22 Freud did
individuals suffering from mental instability within his care a
vast disservice by classifying all causes of anxiety as sexual
ones, and did not look deeper for a different conclusion than
his expected one.
Although presently doctors are no longer practicing hostile
water immersion as a treatment for anxiety and/or depression,
psychoanalytic techniques born of that era are still used today.
Traditional

medical

treatments

for

mental

instability

proved

insufficient for me. I would like to take this opportunity to

consider an excerpt from David Coopers Language of Madness:
There are no examples to follow, certainly not mine. What is
necessary for one person is by no means necessary for anyone
else. We each have our own madnesses, our own paths.23

20 Sigmund Freud. XXV. Fear and Anxiety. A General Introduction to
Psychoanalysis, 1920: paragraph 20.
21 Ibid, paragraph 18.
22 Ibid, paragraph 20.
23 David Cooper. The Language of Madness, 1978: 16.

13

Many chemical medications are prescribed for individuals

suffering from

mental instabilities. Most commonly prescribed

for

are

anxiety

benzodiazepines

or

tranquilizers

like

alprazolam, clonazepam, or lorazepam, but beta-blockers or antidepressants are also used. For some people, these medications
are useful, effective, and helpful. For others, they are not the
right path. Unfortunately, many benzodiazepines are physically
addictive

and

lead

to

dependency

after

just

few

weeks

or

months. Medications can also have the opposite of the intended

effect, in some cases increasing anxiety or causing suicidal
thoughts.
Taking or not taking medication is a personal choice. For
myself, it was not the right one. Unfortunately, many doctors
and

physicians

prescribe

medication

to

patients

without

considering that persons specific history for addiction, or the

exact nature of that individuals mental illness. This decision
is

often

because

executed
of

the

quickly

and

over-stuffed

without

careful

nature

of

consideration
our

medical

institutions.24
Now that an extremely condensed history of the treatment
and perception of mentally unwell persons within western society
has

been

established,

it

and

its

lingering

effects

in

contemporaneity can be critiqued.

24 Chandler. Crafting Composure, 11-12. **I had written this part so accurately
in the first installment of this paper that I could not bear to reword it.

14

Problems with Traditional Psychoanalytical Therapy

Psychoanalysis is defined by Merriam-Webster as a method
of

explaining

and

treating

mental

and

emotional

problems

by

having the patient talk about dreams, feelings, memories, etc. 25

This method of treatment doesnt sound so bad, and I do not find
fault in the treatment of mental instability by that definition.
However, when one considers the professionalization of the field
of psychology, this is where it becomes problematic. Acquiring
psychoanalytical

treatment

in

contemporary

usually involves an exchange of currency.

referred to a random
doctor,

individuals

western

society

Excepting getting

psychologist by ones family or clinic

suffering

from

mental

instability

are

usually on the hook for a hefty bill for their treatment. In

2015, the average salary for psychologists practicing in Canada
was $75,850 per year.

26

In Nova Scotia in 2015, the average

salary for an individual was $35,360. 27 The average hourly rate

an individual must pay to receive psychoanalytical therapy in
Canada in 2011 was $83 per hour. 28 To put that in perspective,
that hourly rate was $73 more than the minimum wage in Nova

25 Merriam-Webster.com. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/
psychoanalysis>.
26 Payscale.com. <http://www.payscale.com/research/CA/Job=Psychologist/Salary>.
27 Statistics Canada. <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/
cst01/famil108a-eng.htm>.
28 Chron.ca. <http://work.chron.com/salary-benefits-psychiatrists-9166.html>.

15

Scotia at the time, which was $9.65-$10.00.

29

Medication for

mental instability can also be expensive. If it were not for my

insurance

in

2014,

would

have

been

charged

$90

for

prescription meant to last 12 days.

I also find issue in the language and categorization that
occurs

within

Complicated
alienate

the

clinical

medical

the

terms

individual

treatment
and

from

of

names

their

mental

for

own

instability.

mental

disorders

experiences.

Language

surrounding the treatment and perception of mental instability

is

highly

important.

It

can

be

the

difference

between

an

individual continuing with care that does not work for them, and
finding

solution

suitable

to

their

unique

mental

needs.

Language surrounding mental instability defines how individuals

experiencing

it

and

those

around

them

perceive

it.

It

is

language that diminishes the vastly different connections within

a mind into specific, scientific categories. It is language that
reinforces

hierarchical

power

binary

between

doctor

and

patient, between healthy and unhealthy, and between sane and

insane. It is language that alienates the individual from their
own

experiences

categorization.

through
But

it

is

complicated
also

language

medical

terms

and

that

validates

an

experience like anxiety, which tells the individual over and

over again of its unreality.

29 Novascotia.ca. <http://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20110510001>.

16

Accessible Solutions for Mental Instability

For myself, traditional psychoanalytic therapy and medication
were not successful in managing my mental instabilities. I find
support

from

relationships

and

friendships

in

my

life,

connecting with individuals in person and over the internet who

are
to

experiencing
me,

similar

things

visualization

and

grounding techniques, and most of

all

craft

processes

to

be

extremely helpful in managing and

encouraging

Figure 1: Embroidery by Amy Chandler,

2016. Photograph courtesy of the
author.

my

mental

Crafting,

especially

has

been

paramount

in

my

mental

feelings

that

health.

embroidery,
in

assisting

wellness.
come

with

The
being

creative and productive, no matter how small or fleeting, are

instrumental in my maintaining a healthy balance with my mental
space.

17

Throughout
project,
fervently.
thoughts

the

I
I

have
have

and

course

of

this

embroidered

also

feelings

recorded
on

my

blog

online 30 as I craft, as a resource to

draw upon to support my hypothesis of
the creative process aiding in mental
wellness.

created

four

pieces

of
Figure 2: Embroidery by Amy
Chandler, 2016. Photograph
courtesy of the author.

embroidery art (see Fig. 1, Fig. 2,

Fig.

3,

and

visualization

Fig.
to

4)

manage

that

representing

anxiety.

In

some

my

technique

instances,

of

and

for

myself, anxiety is the hyperactivity of negative thoughts. I use

visualization to try to focus my
thoughts
image

on

or

specific

motion.

mental

picture

my

heart in my chest, then I encase

it in a wooden box (see Fig. 1).
Then

place

outlandishly
encrusted
crystals
Figure 3: Embroidery by Amy Chandler,
2016. Photograph courtesy of the author.

30

www.craftingcomposure.tumblr.com

pink

and
(see

box
heart

in

an

case,

bejeweled

with

Fig.

That

2).

heart-shaped case gets enclosed

within

that

stainless

steel

18

spherical case that is terrifyingly sharp with spikes and studs

(see Fig. 3). That weapon of a case is then set into a deep
purple sphere, and encircled with gold bands connecting into an
all-seeing, protective eye (see Fig. 4). This process continues,
continually enclosing, with focus on minute visual details of
each case and box until I begin to feel the pending anxiety
attack recede. This aspect of my coping techniques paired well
with the process of embroidery I explored in my practice-based
research. Embroidery allows close focus on a manual process. It
slows the mind because it slows the hands as well.
Through my research I also was able to conclude that for me,
embroidery

also

assisted

in

the

process of grounding. Grounding

is a process where an individual
focuses

on

their

physical

environment to situate themselves

in

reality

and

hopefully

away

from an anxiety attack. Grounding

is often practiced by thinking of
find

five

things

you

can

see,

four things you can touch, three

things

you

can

hear,

etc

Figure 4: Embroidery by Amy Chandler,

2016. Photograph courtesy of the author.

or

something along those lines. I find embroidery, and other craft

practices helpful in grounding techniques, as it requires focus

on

19

specific

physical

activity

that

engages

the

mind

in

creativity and repetitive action.

Another way embroidery has been helpful in reducing mental
instability is in its social aspects. Stitching is usually quite
portable and small. I often carry mine in a Ziploc bag wherever
I go, and can bring it out whenever I feel uncomfortable. There
are also many stitching bees, where one can go to embroider or
craft and chat with other folks. Earlier this semester, I had
the good fortune of being asked to co-host the Mental Health
Collective here at NSCAD University to talk about this project
and to discuss solutions for mental instability through craft
processes. We had a small, very casual gathering, where we all
crafted and had an open discussion about techniques we used in
our own lives to reduce mental instability. Many folks at the
meeting

found

the

repetitive

nature

of

crafting

helpful

in

reducing anxiety or mental instability. It was noted that visual

progress

was

very

important

in

this

process.

For

instance,

sanding of metals in jewelry-making techniques is a repetitive

task,

but

takes

vastly

long

time

to

produce

any

visual

progress. Embroidery on the other hand has the potential to

produce that visual satisfaction rather quickly in comparison.
I am not the first to connect craft practices with mental
wellness. Mary E. Black, a weaver and occupational therapist,
was

heavily

invested

in

crafts

ability

to

assist

in

many

aspects

20

of

personal

wellness.

Black

was

born

in

1895

in

Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. 31 She was educated in Wolfville,

Nova Scotia and graduated from the Acadia Ladies Seminary in
1913. 32 In 1919, Black traveled to Montreal, where she took a
course on occupational therapy, run by the federal government.
This course trained aides on techniques used to help soldiers
returning from war to reintegrate into society. The techniques
taught

at

this

course

were

basketry,

book-binding,

block-

printing, bead-work, designing, fancy-work, raffia, stenciling,

toy-making, woodcarving and weaving.

33

It was taught by the

federal government in 1919 that craft processes aide the mental

stability of soldiers returning from the horrors of war. Black
went on to work as an occupational therapist for many years, and
advocated for craft processes in connection with mental wellness
for the rest of her life. Black provided advice, resources, and
demonstrations

on

craftwork,

with

emphasis

on

helping

people

help themselves. Black taught individuals how to make simple and

useful objects for their own lives, or as a product to sell to
make a living. She advocated for quality craftsmanship and good
use of colours to assist in marketability. Blacks contribution
to the use of crafts to aide in mental stability is vastly

31 Catherine Brackley. Mary E. Black. Canadian Association of Occupational
Therapists, Web.
32 Ibid.
33 Ward Occupational Aide Graduation Certificate, 1919. NS Archives, reference
no: MG 1 Vol. 2876 12

21

important and I would not be approaching this project in the

same way if it were not for her research and community practice
beginning nearly a century ago.
Many of the folks I interviewed over e-mail agreed with my
findings that craft/creative processes aided in managing their
mental instabilities. Nicole said:
I find drawing mandalas to be an extremely calming and meditative
process. If I feel anxious/depressed, I feel relieved after
completing or even starting a new drawing. The feelings that come
with being productive and creative are essential to my mental
health.34

Another interviewee, Leanne, had similar things to say:

The process of weaving is very calming to me. Every part of it,
the planning, setting up your warp, threading the loom, which
takes almost as much time as weaving the actual cloth. It takes a
lot of patience but for me it is meditative because I dont have
to think about what I am doing, my body just does it The creative
transcendent-like zone you get into when making something is very
peaceful. When you are able to enter that realm its very freeing
and puts other life worries on hold. If you have things on your
mind it is good to get it out through some form of medium.35

Most

of

the

interviews

included

responses

with

the

word

meditative in them. I also find craft processes, especially

embroidery to be meditative. One may argue that having a mental
silence

while

embroidering

can

only

foster

more

anxious

thoughts, and of course for some individuals that may occur. In

my personal experience, and seemingly in others according to the

34 Nicole MacIntyre. E-mail interview, 1 Mar. 2016.
35 Leanne Hansen. E-mail interview, 4 Mar. 2016.

22

interview responses, the mental silence that accompanies close

focus on a physical process is meditative in the base sense of
the word. Meditation is the eschewing of thoughts, the clearing
of the mind of both negative and positive thoughts, allowing an
individual to just be in the moment, without pressure. This is
how embroidery serves me in coping with my mental instabilities.

Concluding Thoughts
Through this project, I hope to have shown that embroidery
and similar repetitive creative processes can have a positive
effect on some individuals suffering from mental instability.
This technique is in no way meant to be a universal treatment
for all forms of mental unwellness.
The

history

instability

of

within

the

treatment

society

has

and

shown

perception
that

of

mental

multitude

of

approaches and techniques have been used. The methods that have
proven

useful

have

stayed,

and

the

ones

that

were

useless,

sexist, and/or abusive have been actively eradicated or have

died

out.

Throughout

the

course

of

history

many

different

methods of coping with mental illness have been suggested and

utilized and I hope my research will add to that discourse.
There
society,

is

large

professional

accepted

myth

that

psychoanalytical

in

contemporary

treatment

and/or

medication are one of the only universal cures or treatments

23

for

mental

instabilities.

The

practice-based

research

and

primary interviews have definitively shown that the feelings an

individual
actively

experiences
counter

during

mental

and

after

instability.

the

Some

creative

act

interviewees

and

myself often set out to create something for the express purpose
of calming our mental spaces.
Finding
coping

accessible,

with

mental

free,

instability

and
is

flexible
of

techniques

paramount

for

importance.

Techniques like grounding, visualization, and socialization all

work hand in hand with craft processes, as my own practice-based
research and interviews have shown. The treatment of mentally
unwell

individuals

by

large

systematic

institutions

is

not

useful for all, although theyd like you to think their cure
is universal. It is my opinion that mental instability does not
need

cure,

only

healthy

management.

hope

through

this

research (and the continuance of it) I have started to develop a

possible
other

way

craft

of

managing

processes

mental

have

been

instability.

Embroidery

immeasurably

helpful

in

and
my

mental wellbeing, and I will be continuing to use it as an

effective weapon against depression and anxiety.

24

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