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
These wonderful crochet Mandalas for Marinke came in a gift package for me that included a variety of things including what you see above – the two mandalas, a beautiful crochet rainbow and some mandala coloring pages. The neon crochet mandala is made using Wink’s standard free 12 round crochet pattern. The other mandala is made using Dedri’s Sophie’s Mandala free crochet pattern, which comes in small, medium and large designs; this is the medium.
Meet the Maker
These lovely crochet mandalas come from Flo, who you’ve met before on this blog when she shared her Sophie’s Universe crochet experience.
She’s also shared her grandmother’s vintage crochet doilies with us before and was generous enough to send me a couple, one of which is round and I think I’ll include it in the Mandalas for Marinke art show as well!
She shared her contribution: “in honor of the beautiful spirit that is Wink – you are in my heart forever”. And she shared about herself:
“Crochet got me out of bed last year. Crochet broke through my pain threshold of sitting more than 15 minutes. Crochet brought joy back. I can’t do everything I want to do in the body I live in. I give thanks every day I can crochet!”
You can connect with Flo on Instagram @ahappycrocheter.
Words by Wink
Wink describes her Forget Me Nots Cowl crochet pattern:
“Wow your friends with this cowl that is crochet, but looks like knitting! Using the knit-look stitch and the cable stitch combined, this design is a versatile and gorgeous cowl that can be made in your own favourite colors to keep you warm during winter, or to keep that chill off your neck in spring! You can make this pattern in two designs; one that wraps around your neck like a tube, and one that you can wear long or doubled. Both are described in the pattern.”
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 let’s talk about mental health issues in the workplace. Many people have to call in sick to work due to depression and other mental health issues but a large percentage fear judgment and so lie about the reason for their absence.
Emily McLaren writes at PsychCentral:
“Recent research by AXA PPP healthcare found that 23 percent of employees say they won’t tell their line manager the real reason for their absence when calling in sick because they’re afraid of being judged. Even more concerning is that a further 15 percent said they’re afraid that they won’t be believed.
Employees are much more likely to lie to their boss about the reason for being off sick if the cause of the sickness is related to mental rather than to physical health. The reluctance to disclose mental health issues is also more pronounced in small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as opposed to much larger firms.”
The University of Michigan Depression Center is one of many advocates who say that employers would care about the mental health of their employees, working to reduce depression in the workplace but also to reduce stigma around mental health issues. They say:
“Programs focused on raising awareness and promoting early identification and effective treatment of these disorders can improve both clinical and workplace outcomes, and help employees thrive at work.”
Depression is not correlated with workload but rather with work environment.
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.
Very topical that you should discuss depression and mental illness in the workplace this week.
This fortnight one of Australia’s star AFL players has taken leave due to mental illness and I have heard nothing but positivity around it – no stigma. Positivity that people are sympathetic to his needs and are expressing genuine care and concern and praise for the way his employer is supporting him.
The football club that employs him and the AFL community in general are leading by example by being open and honest about discussing mental illness in general as just another thing that happens to people and not creating a stigma about it or blaming the player. The talk is of giving him all the support he needs now and on his return to the game. It has been a good opportunity to dispel the myths of mental illness in the public forum.
It is a shame that more workplaces do not put their employees’ wellbeing first. Can they not see the benefits of doing that? Take care of your people and they will take care of you! We are people, after all, and not robots. It is distressing when a workplace environment exacerbates or causes mental illness. I hope the support shown by the AFL will rub off on other businesses and organisations.
Thank you so much for pointing this out! It’s so great to hear that there’s been support. I just watched a documentary (Walking Man) that mentioned that there was a time when you couldn’t talk about cancer because there was stigma around it … and now of course we can, so there’s hope that someday mental health issues will be discussed just as openly and with support.