‘Crafting and creativity helped me to heal and calm my body from chronic illness’

Back in 2017 Grainne McLaughlin's life changed when she suffered from a debilitating flu that led to her developing a long-term chronic illness.

The Derry woman shared how her daily life is majorly impacted by her health struggles and how embracing her creative side has managed to provide her with some relief from her struggles.

Grainne spoke about her diagnosis with chronic illness saying: “I had a really bad flu and I never came around from it. I was pregnant with my daughter at the time and it made the pregnancy really hard. From that moment on I battled with severe fatigue.

“I ended up developing further into some neurological conditions. I was diagnosed with a condition called functional neurological disorder (FND) as well as chronic fatigue syndrome.

“Most people are diagnosed with these conditions after experiencing a psychological trauma however we determined mine wasn’t triggered by that instead it was attributed to post viral infection after having the flu. I have a hyper awareness of my whole body.

“When I’m really unwell I would feel a hair move, I can’t wear tight clothing, if someone touched me I would feel real pain. It is an overactive nervous system, it’s like being stuck in flight mode.

“A lot of the medical professionals are sceptical of chronic conditions. It is mostly because some don’t really fully understand those areas. There isn’t a lot of support out there.

“Whenever my doctor diagnosed me with FND the treatment and recommended pathways were to be directed to a website to learn more about it.

“There is only one specialist in the whole of the UK dealing in FND. You have to do a lot of the work yourself in order to heal. A lot of the treatments that they were directing me to weren’t working for me. I was sent to occupational therapy and physiotherapy and they were trying to get me to exercise more but that would only make me feel worse.

“It was frustrating. Prior to this I was a healthy person, I was in the gym three or four times a week. I used to process stress through movement and being active.”

According to the NHS, chronic conditions FND and CFS are described as follows: Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), formerly known as conversion disorder or hysteria, is a condition where neurological symptoms, such as weakness, seizures, or sensory problems, are not caused by a physical disease or injury. The symptoms are real but are not explained by a structural abnormality in the nervous system. Instead, they are thought to be caused by a problem with how the brain processes information or sends signals to the body.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS), is a complex, long-term illness characterized by severe fatigue that is not relieved by rest and can be exacerbated by physical or mental exertion. It also often involves cognitive dysfunction, sleep disturbances, and other symptoms.

Grainne continued explaining saying: “I would have symptoms similar to that of a person that has suffered a stroke but the doctors don’t believe I have the lasting damage or effects of a stroke.

“How many people describe the feeling is like if I was a computer all the hardware works but there is a glitch in the software. Another way that I describe it to people is that my body and mind don’t speak to each other in the right way.

“Sometimes the connection between my brain and body breaks. I have issues where my mobility is affected. It’s almost as if my brain forgets that my legs work. This often means I can’t walk for a few days.

“What’s very important for my condition is when I recognise that the fatigue is setting in, I notice little triggers and warning signs when I need to take the time to slow down and reconnect with the body. This is where mindfulness comes in for me.

“Rather than lying down and being defeated by it I decided to find alternative ways to deal with it. I tried all the alternative medicines, clean eating, cleanses, detoxes, you name it I tried everything to try and improve wellness. What I discovered along the way was that my body was more relaxed when I was doing crafting.”

The Derry woman explained how embracing her creative side allowed her to relax from the pain and the everyday stresses of life saying: “I’ve always been a person who makes things and does bits and pieces of crafting. It got to a point where I wasn’t working and housebound.

“When I was able to sit up I started making little metal sculptures or doing a bit of embroidery.

“I started to notice those were the times where my body calmed down a lot. I never got a good night’s sleep but doing this made me start to feel rested. I decided to look into it and figure out if anyone else felt the same way.

“It turns out there is real science behind it. When I found this out I thought I would like to share this with other people so I started a blog and a tik tok page surrounding my findings. I wanted to show people there are ways to deal with this.

“When you are suffering from a chronic illness that significantly impacts your life it is so easy to slip into depression and give up hope. It is great to have something that you can do to make yourself feel a little better. Even if you are just making something small for yourself or family it can give you a sense of achievement and you aren’t wallowing.

“People say find a distraction, it can be easy to fall into a hole of watching tv, scrolling on our phones which isn’t a form of positive distraction. When I open tik tok know I don’t want to be mindlessly scrolling I want to see educational information so that is what I want to use my platform to do.

“It’s been proven that if we are participating in a craft like embroidery or knitting then you are distracting yourself while regulating your nervous system.

“When your hands are moving in rhythm you can enter what is called active meditation. This can slow down your heart rate and shift your body into a rest and repair state. Rest doesn’t have to mean taking to your bed and lying down; you can be productive, creative and still be resting. For me that’s the kind of rest I tend to need more often.”

ABOVE: Grainne's handmade jewellery

Offering advice to others on crafting and meditation Grainne emphasises not to put pressure on yourself.

“Don’t put pressure on yourself to create something good just think this is just something to be doing and when I have it done I am going to feel good.

“Even if you feel like you can’t complete, just think this is something that will hopefully allow me to connect and slow down. I wouldn’t say this only applies to people with chronic illness if you are someone who has a stressful lifestyle and you are feeling burnt out.

“The nature of how we live today is so fast paced. Even if you can set aside 20 minutes a day, that is great. Pick up a sketch book, a colouring book or an embroidery pack. Just allow yourself to enjoy the process.”

ABOVE: More of Grainne's handmade jewellery 

ABOVE: Some of Grainne's flower arranging 

For more information visit Grainne’s blog here: craftingacure.substack.com

If you are struggling from FMD and need support, Grainne recommends a group you can attend. For more information see FND Northwest Facebook Page.