A Story Stacked with Love (and Hard Times)
I'm Sarah, and it's never easy telling the internet about yourself, but here goes nothing.
I've always had a passion for making things but never had a lot of faith in myself when it came to it. I don't think it helped that I was always starting and stopping craft projects, which contributed to the feeling of inadequacy.
Fast forward to having my daughter in 2022 and up bubbled all of those years of self criticising... you know where this is heading...
It took me a year to accept that I had postnatal depression.
Within the space of a year I had: lost our family pet of 14 years, became a first time mum, put our home up for sale, had the sale fall through, had a family member diagnosed with cancer, had to get a new job starting after my maternity ended which I didn't want because I was happy in my old job and then we eventually moved house (after living with my parents & a new baby for 8 weeks).
All while figuring out how to be a mum. It was just hectic.
I had to wake up and accept that a lot had changed and I wasn't okay with most of it. There was zero time to process and it felt like my husband and I were constantly facing uncertainty as our life around us changed. Thank goodness he was such a support through it all.
One of the first things to help me begin to process what had happened was making bracelets. Something I would never have attempted to do before, but thanks to a bracelet making workshop I had organised for my mums hen party, I was hooked.
It was all I could think about in my spare time. It wasn't like the other crafty hobbies I had done before, this felt like I was making something truly beautiful. I had found my 'thing'.
Making bracelets reminded me of how happy I was when I was being creative before I had my baby. It gave me a bit of myself back. It was a craft that I could do while Emily napped and if she woke up, then I could leave it and come back. There was no pressure associated with it, just joy.
I originally just wanted to make some for myself but after wearing them and getting compliments...
Well, here we are.
I'm not saying that if you are experiencing any form of depression to make a bracelet and you'll have a hallelujah moment. I had to put in tonnes of work and seek professional help. It wasn't an easy journey, and it took many, many months to feel like myself again, but I'm finally in a place where I'm happy and mentally healthy.
I have also met so many incredibly understanding mums (many running their own small businesses) that have been in a similar position. And through hosting lots of bracelet making workshops in 2024, I've learnt that this is much more common than I even realised.
If you are feeling in any way how I did, you are absolutely not alone.
Here are some fantastic organisations that could be beneficial for anyone in need:
Take care,
Sarah x
