Today we have a set of three matching crochet mandalas – all the same design, all worked in red and pink, but each with slightly different color changes. I love the combination!
These come from Heather Gibbs of Keep Calm and Crochet On UK, who says that although she didn’t know Marinke personally, she wanted to help because she think this is a fabulous project with a good intention.
Heather’s “about” page tells us that she’s a “busy working wife and mum with a young daughter and a massive passion for crochet” who loves literature, Sia’s music, Clover Amour crochet hooks and yarn by Sidar and Stylecraft. She designs crochet patterns, offering them in both UK and US crochet terminology, and you can find those on Ravelry and Craftsy.
If you’re wondering about the name of her site, she shares on Ravelry:
“With a hectic lifestyle the one thing that keeps me sane and calm is crocheting. If like me there are times when you are stressed and just want to pull out your hair with frustration at something or other remember my motto and ‘Keep Calm and Crochet On!’”
You can also find Heather on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram.
For the depression awareness portion of today’s project, I thought I’d share “what not to say to someone with depression“. Prevention had a good article about this that explains why the messages are so hurtful. For example, they suggest that you don’t say, “why don’t you exercise; that should help” because it implies that the person isn’t trying hard enough to fix the problem, and that it’s just a lifestyle issue not a mental health condition. I’d add that when I hear something like this, I know that the person saying it means well and wants to try to help but that it’s a lot more helpful for me to hear, “I’m so sorry that you’re going through this, that sounds hard” than to hear, “here’s what you should do”. Believe me, I know all the “shoulds!”
Other things that the article says not to say to someone with depression:
- You need a vacation.
- It’s all in your head.
- But you look so happy!
- But there’s nothing wrong.
I was intrigued that one of their suggestions was not to say, “let me know if I can do anything”. I actually think that this is super helpful to hear. The article says that if you can’t actually follow through, this can be more damaging than helpful. That might be true in some cases. It’s not entirely invalid. But for me personally I like hearing that people want to help even though I probably won’t actually ask them for help. It reminds me people are there.
PsychCentral has a list of nearly 100 things that are damaging when said to someone struggling with depression.
love these!