3 months ago
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ANXIETY, STRESS and depression can have a negative impact on your physical health and may even increase your risk for heart disease and stroke. Mental wellness is crucial for overall well-being, impacting how we think, feel, and behave, and significantly affecting our ability to cope with life’s challenges, build healthy relationships, and contribute to society.
According to Rachel Barrett-Dolcine, mental wellness equips us with the tools to manage stress, anxiety, and other negative emotions, allowing us to navigate life’s challenges effectively. Strong mental health, she said, enables us to respond to difficult situations with resilience, rather than getting overwhelmed.
Barrett-Dolcine is the chief creative strategist at JoVera Creative, the entity responsible for ‘Crafting For My Sanity’. The series of workshops and luncheons she said, provide a safe space for people from all walks of life to have the opportunity to take care of their mental well-being by participating in self-care creative activities.
“Creativity has long been a proven asset in the cultivation of good mental health. Doing creative activities with our hands, for example sewing, crafting, colouring, drawing, painting etc, give our brains an opportunity to rest as we focus on repetitive movements with our hands. A rested brain leads to a relaxed body and reduced stress,” Dolcine said.
Mental wellness influences our interactions with others, impacting our ability to form and maintain positive relationships. A healthy mind, she said, allows us to communicate effectively, understand others’ perspectives, and foster empathy.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), promotion and prevention interventions work by identifying the individual, social and structural determinants of mental health, and then intervening to reduce risks, build resilience and establish supportive environments for mental health. Interventions can be designed for individuals, specific groups or whole populations.
Considering how much of a role your mental health plays in each aspect of your life, it is important to guard and improve psychological wellness using appropriate measures.
Whether young or old, the importance of mental health for total well-being cannot be overstated. When psychological wellness is affected, it can cause negative behaviours that may not only affect personal health but can also compromise relationships with others.
Barrett-Dolcine who recently held a ‘Crafting For My Sanity’ workshop at the Footprints Café in New Kingston, said the benefits of play, should not disappear because we are adults.
“I do not think creative activities are promoted enough for adults as a way to enhance mental health. Many creative activities are considered children’s play activities, leading many adults to dismiss or shy away from participating or prioritising creativity as a tool in their mental health toolkit,” Barrett-Dolcine said.
“Adults can garner significant benefits from play such as stress reduction, improved mood, enhanced creativity, strengthened social connections, boosted cognitive function, and joy and purpose. According to George Bernard Shaw, ‘we do not stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing’,” Barrett-Dolcine said.
In the first 30 minutes of the programme, attendees introduce themselves and complete the sentence, “I am feeling __”. Introductions are followed by lunch and fellowship. The event concludes with a make and take project, another round of “I am feeling ___” to gauge feelings after the make and take and group pictures.
“Attendees love these sessions. I have done two Crafting For My Sanity networking luncheons so far in Jamaica, and I have repeat attendees. Every attendee feels different at the end of the event verses when they started,” Barrett-Dolcine said.
This year, Barrett-Dolcine has three workshops planned for Jamaica and three in Maryland in the United States. Her next workshops in Jamaica will be in August and October 2025.
“If your mental health is in good standing, you might be more capable of providing your friends and family with quality time, affection, and support. When you are not in emotional distress, it can be easier to show up and support the people you care about,” she said.
English (US) ·