Hey! Welcome to Ollie Oxen Knitting. I’m glad that you’re here; hopefully you’ll find something that resonates with you! In case you were thinking “Golly gee, I wonder who the author of this site is?”, this is me:
My name is Jess and I’m a millennial living in the good US of A. I learned to knit when I was 18 and I’ve been hooked ever since! I love just about everything about it from the history all the way down to the art possibilities. And yes, I have and will tell anyone at anytime why they should learn to knit. When you love something you share it, right?
As far as mental health goes, I also started showing signs of depression and anxiety at 18 years old. I, like many, many people, tried to “get over it” for a few years before I realized that this might not be me “choosing to be sad”.
Now, I’m not a therapist and I have absolutely no professional training with dealing with mental health. But I have been there and I go through many of the same emotions and struggles that you may be going though. I’m hoping that these articles will feel like a close friend that “gets it” and can give you tangible ideas of things to try next.
My dream is that this blog will be able to reach even just one person and help them to know that mental health doesn’t have to control you; you can learn to have more control over mental illness and start to feel much better. I know first hand that mental illness is dark and scary but it doesn’t have to be that way.
If we work together, we can create a community of like minded people that collectively work towards improvement. Individuals that aren’t afraid to work on themselves so that they can help others. It’s a big world out there and with an extra dose of care, work, and yarn, it could be a beautiful place. You in?
If you need extra help (we all do sometimes!), please check out the links below. High five for knowing when to reach out to someone and for taking control of your life. You’ve got this!