Anonymous Poem and Crochet Contribution to Mandalas for Marinke

Here is the next of the beautiful, inspiring, special contributions coming in to the #MandalasForMarinke remembrance project. I am grateful for each and every amazing contribution. You are invited to join; learn more here.

Beautiful Crochet Mandalas

This contribution includes three beautiful crochet mandalas, each one unique from the others. They each have their own great color palette. I especially love the yellows.

Meet the Maker

This anonymous maker shares herself through writing:

“One day at a time is what I say,

One day, one pattern

One hour, one minute, one second,

One pattern, one round, one stitch

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 …..

It’s morning. I’ve made it.

Now what?

More yarn, more patterns, more counting

The counting drowns out the negative voices, negative thoughts, negative feelings

ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX! …..

I’ve made something beautiful to brighten the day.

one, two, three, four ….

Words by Wink

Marinke didn’t always know what she would make with a yarn when she got it. She let it inspire her. She wrote on July 23, 2014 about a new yarn.

“I have no idea what I’m going to make with it yet, but what I do know is that it has to become something wearable. Something suited for summer, something I can wrap myself in.”

About Depression

One purpose of this project is to raise awareness about depression so each post will end with some facts, thoughts or quotes about depression, suicide and/or mental health. Today I want to discuss recurrence of depression; once you’ve had a major depressive episode, you’re much more likely to have another one than someone who has never experienced this.

Research suggests:

• More than half of people who recover from a first episode of major depression will have at least one more episode in their lives
• 8 in 10 people who have had two episodes will have at least one more
• On average, people with a history of depression will have 5-9 major depressive episodes in their lives
• Recurrence typically happens within five years after the first episode

The risk factors for recurring depression are not all the same as the risk factors for a first episode of depression. For example:

• “It appears that sex, SES, and marital status are not risk factors for depression recurrence” although they linked with risk factors for a first episode. (Women, for example, are more likely than men to experience first depression but not more likely to have recurring depression.)
• “There is evidence that both age at onset and number of prior episodes are related to recurrence. … In addition, the severity of the first or index episode (as measured by number of symptoms or presence of suicidal thinking, but not duration) has been linked to increased risk for recurrence in adults but not in children.”
• Having other affective disorders is linked with recurrence in adults.
• Family history of depression and other affective disorders is also linked with recurrence.
• “In addition, several psychological and psychosocial variables have been proposed as risk factors for recurrent depression, including negative cognitions, high neuroticism, poor social support, and stressful life events. There appears to be ample evidence from the studies reviewed that each of these variables is related not only to risk for first onset of depression, but also for recurrent depression.”

All contributions to Mandalas for Marinke are welcome and will help raise awareness about depression while honoring her work in the same way that this great contribution has done today. Details to join here.