Whether any of us would like to admit it, especially in public, we’ve all struggled from time to time just coping with the onslaught of life changes that are thrust upon us. This isn’t to say that life is supposed to be easy or fair. Duh. “Captain Obvious, can you step in here for a moment?”

Still, I’d like to explore one facet of mental self care that when originally applied to the recurring weekly timeline of my life, actually made a significant positive difference in my attitude, outlook, and in the way I interacted with other people.

Of course this is a woodworking blog, so is the answer to all these life challenges to just spend more time in the wood shop? What, am I high? Am I a professional psychologist? Am I suggesting that a wood shop is the answer to all mental health issues?

Answering in order; “No. I wish. No and No.” But, I am saying that the benefits received from drawing up a new design, working with your hands, focusing your attention and your energy on making something from nothing all help to elevate feelings of self-satisfaction and worth. The same could be said for a number of other craft work, artistic design or any activity that involves the use of your brain, your physical attention to a task, and the use of your hands. If you are already have a hobby like woodworking, welding, quilting, photography, videography, jewelry making or baking, you may already know the joy of creating something new and better yet, sharing that with other people.

I’m not suggesting that you get the same benefits from all hobbies. Um, no. Gamers, I’m choosing you as an example. In that hobby, satisfaction is fleeting. Engaging in that hobby is intrinsically frustrating. You’ve mastered a level or wiped out another PvP team? “Great! What now?” When you’re mentally or physically exhausted after hours immersed in a game, what do you have in the end? Lost time maybe. Nothing tangible. Worse if you have been getting defeated hour after hour. Like binging a bad series on Hulu. It’s entertainment only; a time filler.

COVID Escalated the Problem

If people weren’t already frustrated, frail and on edge thanks in part to the growth of technologies that impersonally separate us from each other, COVID hammered us into the ground. literally. (I felt like using the wrong word there because youngsters like to use “literally” to incorrectly punctuate the severity of “like”, everything.) Okay. Okay then, “Figuratively.”

I found myself slipping into a deeper funk during those two years, where my regular job was just that; regular. All communications were remote and I didn’t feel like I was contributing anything to the betterment of society or the company despite finishing my assigned tasks. I unconsciously dumped a lot of that frustration onto my own family, because they were handy rather than deserving. It was a bad time for many of us.

A creativity void widened during the COVID years. Not recognizable as a problem at first, the lack of creativity and the sense of personal accomplishment had faded over that time, though in honesty the problem had existed far longer than that.

The Fix

I’m not sure if self-awareness can be credited for the change. It definitely wasn’t because of a book, or a video or the friendly advice from a friend. I just happened to start spending more time down in my tiny wood shop. Back in 2018 our modest little colonial 2-story home would only accommodate woodworking tools down in the mechanical room of my basement. Dust was always a problem especially trying to keep it out of the internals of the furnace and water heater. Space was a problem as well where the longest linear working surface was less than 7 feet or just over 2 meters. I couldn’t really work on anything large down there but my point is, (Yes, Mark. Can you get to the point?) the point is I invested myself more in my little wood shop.

Spending time in front of and behind the camera was also something I was familiar with, (a different story for a different time), so I thought I would take on small wood projects and video the process as well. By that time I had been working with wood, doing rough construction, making cabinets, benches and basic furniture for about 20 years. What about finding a need in our home, designing and videoing something cool to fit the need?

Suddenly, each new little project was exciting. Some of them were trivial and easy. Finding a cool piece of live edge Walnut, doing a little sanding and slapping some legs on to make a coffee table for the basement as one example. But the process of design, maybe drawing up some plans on paper or on the computer and working with my head and my hands was therapeutic and invigorating. It didn’t matter what I was working on. It mattered that I was engaged and analytical in my approach to creating something new.

That last part is the gold in this story. Unlike other hobbies or time spent on any activity that doesn’t produce an outcome, woodworking leaves you with something useful that offers the maker a sense of fulfillment and purpose during that creative design and build process.

I ramped up my production from the wood shop, especially after we moved to a new (used) home with a much larger empty space in the basement. New wood shop? Yes, thank you very much. My mood and overall outlook on life dramatically improved even during the COVID years and even when my projects were smaller and less ambitious. I don’t believe the size of the project or the wood shop factored into my level of personal enjoyment and fulfillment.

Size Doesn’t Matter

You can almost always count on me to stick in a double entendre where it doesn’t need to be but let’s have some fun with that. It’s not how big your wood shop is, it’s how you use it. You can choose to work with soft material but hardwood is always preferred. The project doesn’t matter either, it’s all about how creative you are in bringing that project to a climactic end.

Sorry.

There is a point here, I swear. The benefit to my own mental health was derived from the process of creating something useful from nothing. That use of my head and hands working on literally anything in the wood shop was a boost to my interpretation of self worth and value. And yes, I used the word literally correctly in that context.

Making simple beverage coasters with my son to give out to family as gifts. Designing wood art pieces that fit the open spaces of our home. Building furniture that will stand the test of time and become family heirlooms that our kids are already staking claim over. “Uh, we’re not dead yet. Back off.”

The mental reward is in the design and build process, the sense of real accomplishment, the creation of something that didn’t exist before. You did that. Feel good about it!

You don’t even need a formal wood shop. Some of the coolest stuff I’ve seen at art fairs and from other woodworkers was created in the corner of their garage with pretty basic hand and power tools. You don’t need big space and expensive tools to create something cool or to find this sense of accomplishment and fulfillment.

No Panacea

Mental health is more important here, and I’m not trying to say that woodworking answers all your personal health care needs. You shouldn’t be embarrassed or hold back on having that sort of personal conversation with your regular doctor. They do actually want to help and are ready with a referral to the right professional should you need. For this blog, I’m not kidding when I tell you that the creative process, the mental process of analyzing a problem or a need and then using my head and hands to design and create a solution was huge for me. It doesn’t resolve all life challenges of course and it’s not supposed to. My outlet, my fix, just happened to be woodworking with a small helping of videography on the side.

Finally

This is a woodworking blog so we’re focused on wood stuff, but again, it doesn’t matter what your craft or hobby preference is provided you are using your head, heart and hands to make something useful, cool and new. If your hobby just happens to be woodworking, then join me in becoming a Superhero. We transform wood into things!

Best Always, Mark – TFW

And no… I don’t look this cool.