Music Therapy for Depression (Mandalas for Marinke)

In this Mandalas for Marinke post we talk about music therapy. Wink, who inspired this project after her death by suicide, played many different instruments and loved music very much. This crochet mandala post celebrates that love of music as well as the ways in which music can help people heal. As can crafting.

Crochet Mandala by Alessandra

This colorful crochet mandala is made using the spoke mandala free crochet pattern by Marinke. This seems to be one of her most popular mandala patterns and I can see why; the texture of the spokes adds fascinating dimension to the piece. Plus it brings your eye from the center out and back again, making it feel a little bit like the piece moves. I love that the maker used a different color in almost every round, repeating a couple to tie the whole thing together into a cohesive design.

Meet the Maker

This terrific crochet mandala contribution comes to us from Alessandra Hayden of Just Be Happy. She is a terrific crochet designer originally from Brazil who is now a SAHM of 2 here in the United States. Her designs have been published widely in craft calendars and magazines, on her own blog and through Ravelry. She recently wrote a book about tapestry crochet that I’ve had the opportunity to connect with her about and will be sharing a review/interview in the upcoming months (late 2019) on the American Crochet Association blog.

Words by Wink

I thought I’d share a lighthearted fun fact from Wink today. She shared this on her blog in 2011:

“I love music. I play like 13 different instruments and used to own even more! Sadly I had to get rid of some of them because of the space issue, but I still own (and would NEVER get rid of) my first love, the flute, an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar and a couple of other wooden flutes & recorders and tin whistles.”

In 2013, Wink shared a more complete post about her musical history, which she ended by saying:

“If you ask me what my one dream is, it’s definitely music. I would love love love to go to music school and really develop my talent and just play!”

About Depression

Since we’ve already mentioned music, I thought I’d share some information about how people use music therapy in the treatment of depression.

In a small clinical study published in 2011, “Researchers found that adults who were given music therapy sessions, in which they played drums or instruments such as xylophones, showed fewer symptoms of depression or anxiety than those who just had standard counseling.”

Another study a few years before that found that “listening to music can reduce chronic pain by up to 21 per cent and depression by up to 25 per cent”. So it seems that both making and listening to music can be healing for people with depression. The American Music Therapy Association has found that music can also help people on the autism spectrum. Marinke had Asperger’s and is an example of someone who found music helpful, whether or not she engaged in a formal music therapy practice.

Many of the benefits of music therapy are similar to the benefits of crafting for depression.  It is the act of creative expression, the focus of the mind on a positive outlet, the creating within community that all come together to provide benefits that can help reduce the impact of depression. Music therapy also touches parts of the brain that we don’t access through words or other forms of therapy. Therefore, it can help when talk therapy or other options for treating depression don’t seem to be useful.

 

You can see images and excerpts from the entire Mandalas for Marinke crochet project when you purchase the book.

 

Feature image by Spencer Imbrock on Unsplash