How crocheting helped me calm my nervous system?

When it comes to activities that calm me down, I am not sure I have anything particularly smart to share. What I can say is that over the past few months I have trained myself to have a daily ritual of drinking mango-flavored tea, which I truly adore, even though I do not enjoy the ritual of making and drinking tea at all. I do not like things that require waiting, that need a precise amount of time to be perfect, and that is probably why I never developed rituals or activities that relax me and that I genuinely enjoy. I like watching a TV series, eating reheated Chinese food from the day before, after which there is always a round of scrolling through every possible social network and an attempt, often unsuccessful, to go to bed earlier. After several weeks of practicing this routine, which aggressively sabotages my nervous system, I realized that during many late-night wanderings through the fields of the internet I repeatedly came across a wellness trend that many creators predict will dominate in 2026, and whose goal is the regulation of the nervous system.

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What does nervous system regulation mean?

Nervous system regulation, in this context, actually means giving the body and the brain tools to stabilize, calm down, and respond better to stressful or emotionally demanding situations. It is not just “relaxation” in the classic sense, but active management of one’s emotional and physiological state. The nervous system is like an orchestra: when every section is too loud or tense, the result is chaos, anxiety, nervousness, restlessness. Nervous system regulation is a practice that helps balance the tone of that orchestra, align body and mind, prevent impulsive reactions from taking over, and make emotions less sudden and intense.

In practice, this can look like this: very slow, repetitive movements like crocheting, embroidery, bread baking, or drawing direct attention to a single action, reduce stimulation, and absorb nervous energy that would otherwise go into stress. Breathing, meditation, rituals like drinking tea, or even carefully planned walks are all activities that help the body move from a state of constant alarm into a state of calm and relaxation. The effect includes greater resilience to frustration, better impulse control, and a sense that emotions are not taking over every moment.

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How crocheting helped me regulate my nervous system

If someone had told me that one day I would truly manage to master a skill my grandmother spent her whole life trying to teach me, I would have said we had accidentally jumped into some parallel reality, because crocheting was never interesting to me at all. At least not enough to spend more than ten minutes pretending I understood the steps and instructions my grandmother carefully guided me through. I would nod along while already having one foot out the door, glancing sideways at my thumb scrolling through Instagram stories before my grandmother even finished her sentence. “Some other time!” I would shout without even hearing whether I got a response. You know what teenagers are like. Now, more than ten years later, it took nothing more than a lot of fatigue, disrupted sleep, and a lack of concentration for me to realize that those granny activities are not nearly as boring as they once seemed to a seventeen-year-old. In my defense, everything that was relevant at the time and occupied 99 percent of my thoughts were chokers, fluorescent tops, shoes with massive soles, and how to perfect a cut crease technique.

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Today, crocheting has become something entirely different. Now, when I sit down with yarn and needles, the world around me automatically slows down. Instagram does not exist, TV series do not exist, the to-do list that follows me everywhere does not exist. There is only rhythm, loop by loop, a color slowly growing into a shape, the sound of yarn passing through the needle, and the silence in which my brain can finally breathe.

I realized that it is precisely in that monotony, which I once feared more than anything, that the magic lies. The nervous system calms down because it no longer has to process a million impulses at once. The focus is on one small task, which allows me to feel control over myself instead of letting feelings and stress pull me into chaos. It becomes a kind of bodily meditation, the hands work while the mind starts to breathe. When I finish a round, I feel as if I have somehow “reset” my nervous system. Crocheting taught me patience I did not have before and showed me that calm does not happen overnight. I have to commit to the moment, slow down my breathing, and be present. And, perhaps most importantly, I learned that it is okay for things to take as long as they take, and that sometimes it is okay not to have everything under control.

In the end, crocheting is not just an old skill that would keep my grandmother busy for hours while waiting for a new episode of a Turkish TV series to start. It is a small, quiet act of rebellion against the chaos of a world that constantly demands my attention, and if you know me, you know how important it is for me to view things as small rebellions and small victories. Thread by thread, I am learning that the nervous system does need rest, regulation, and regeneration at least once every couple of weeks, and that I need to keep overcoming myself daily as I try to stay present. Who would have thought that relief from stress was hidden in a needle and thread?

How to most easily master the skill of crocheting and tips that helped me:

• Start with thick yarn and a simple hook, this way progress is visible quickly and motivation stays high.
• Master the basic chain and single crochet, these are the foundational movements everything starts from.
• Practice in short intervals, ten minutes a day is better than an hour once a week.
• Focus on rhythm, not speed, crocheting is for calming the mind, not racing.
• Accept mistakes, they often make the work unique and interesting.
• Finish small projects, the sense of achievement keeps motivation alive.
• Let your thoughts go, crocheting is meditation in motion, allow your hands to lead and your mind to rest.
• Adapt the space to yourself, a comfortable spot, good light, and quiet sounds help you relax while learning.

The easiest crochet projects for beginners

• Crocheted headbands, perfect for a first project and quick to make
• A simple cropped top, great for practicing stitches and repetition
• A crocheted tote bag, it can be one color or, if you are more prepared and brave, multiple colors, ideal once you are a bit more experienced
• A crocheted headphone case, small, quick, cute, and great as a gift
• Crocheted flower-shaped coasters, a unique yet useful addition to your desk
• Bag charms, they can be any color or shape and give you all the creativity in the world