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While woodworking is a great hobby and a potential career, there have been recent studies and real-life experiences that show the benefits of woodworking as therapy and CPTSD/PTSD therapy. As long as you are creating something with your hands, doesnt matter if you prefer to work with a chainsaw for experts or a band saw and using your creativity it is gonna be therapeutic.
Both post-traumatic stress disorder and complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), both anxiety disorders that are triggered by trauma, can be combined. People who have experienced a trauma event such as a car accident, natural disaster or other traumatic events are most likely to develop PTSD.
CPTSD, on the other hand, is a result of repeated trauma that may have lasted for months or years. With the constant anxiety, difficulty in regulating emotions, and challenges with relationships of people with CPTSD/PTSD,therapy is needed to help them cope with the effects of their condition, or be treated altogether. Therapy’s goals are not always to treat the symptoms but to increase self-esteem. Amazingly, both of thesecan be achieved through woodworking.
While there isnt an actual medical data about woodworking as CPTSD/PTSD therapy, the craft allows people todivert their anxieties creatively, let themselves get busy ona woodworking project, and eventually take pride in the result of their hard work. Is it difficult to believe? We interviewed individuals who had experienced woodworking as CPTSD/PTSD treatment at certain levels. Read on to know more about their stories.
Mierop Mann
I am a 52-year-old guy that chooses to walk alone through life, as the memories of my childhood abuse became more recurring through triggers and abuse from my family up to the age of 40. After made a heartbreaking decision to walk away from my business and my family, it was a journey I was never prepared for.
I struggled with acceptance, trying to understand the cruelty of my family and the alienation that came with it. I didn’t know what CPTSD and estrangement narcissism had in common. It was through staying true to myself, withdrawing from reality, self-discovery and determination for self-help. I had to be creative in the most simple and basic way, and that was to work with my hands and keep my mind trained to stay healthy.
Q: How did your woodworking experience lead you to believe that it could have a therapeutic impact on you? What inspired you to start woodworking?
I’ve always been passionate about furniture. Before I began this journey, I was a successful entrepreneur with a vision to do things differently. I was able to combine the furniture and build a props house for film and events. The company was called CITRUS LOUNGE.
My creativity thrived, and I started making furniture. I began making simple squares and cubes. You can make your own furniture from plywood!
Then I started experimenting with larger pieces, and to fully understand the creativity, I was asked to design the backstage area for Kelly Rowland. She was invited by a cellphone company MTN for a private event here in South Africa. She wanted to have a love-seat in her dressing room as part of her technical rider. Although it was difficult, I was able to come up with a solution.
When people ask me about what I do, the only way I can explain to them is that I am an artist without a brush but with tools.The woodworking journey I am on at the moment is part of my healing process. My home and business were taken away and I had to give it up for my freedom. I don’t have much other than a motor vehicle, a dog, and a passion for furniture so I have adjusted my life to do the simple things I can afford. Even if one person is interested in my work, it makes me feel validated.
These are some of the proven health benefits that woodworking can have on your life.
Q: When did you start with the woodworking and what benefits are you noticing?
The work that I do now I started about a year ago. I had the material, but the furniture was broken and I couldn’t afford the work I wanted to do. I had to transform an old piece of furniture and make it work again without spending a lot.
It was an experiment, and I didn’t know what it would lead me to or whether it would make any impact. It was an opportunity that looked good to me, and I was feeling very emotional. Nothing I was doing was innovative or exciting. It was time to glue wood shapes together in a pattern that made sense. This is similar to a brushstroke on a blank canvas. It was terrifying, but it was exciting as I was witness to something.
When I saw a piece of furniture come to life, I realized that my childhood trauma and struggle to survive as a grownup were all communicating with me. It was passion and creativity working deep within. I felt alive, validated, and I had an urge to create more of these painstaking therapeutic furniture challenges. To find a new avenue through passion is extremely liberating, especially if it happens right in front of you.
Q: Which areas of your life have improved since youve started woodworking?
Living with anger and confusion. It’s wonderful to restore calm and balance to chaotic lives. It is very satisfying to find inner peace through creative expression.
Q: Whats your favorite thing about woodworking?
Every piece I do is a new chapter and has a new introduction like a movie. It takes me on a journey, allowing me the opportunity to reflect on various trauma at different stages in my life. This is the story of how my inner child struggles with abuse and tries to find the light at end of a dark tunnel. A very difficult life will be saved by woodworking.
Q: Who do you recommend woodworking to?
Every piece is a favorite, its like with children where you cant have a favorite. Every piece is a child, with its own challenges. You have to be patient and let it speak for itself.
Q: What was the most surprising reaction from someone to your being a female woodworker.
I can only speak from my experience and my recommendation would be basic: Creativity cant be taught, passion cant be bought. Follow that gut feeling and if it leads you to woodworking, then that would be recommended.
Are you interested in woodworking? A great book or power tool can help you get started in woodworking.
Laura B Paskavitz
I am a 50-year-old single woman from Boston, MA. I don’t work and have lived with a disability for 25+ years. This was due to mental & medical reasons. I have a great affinity for the well being of other living things. After being raised in a family of meat and potatoes, I am now a vegan. I have CPTSD as well as a dissociative disorder from being raised in a cult & around not-well people.
Q: How did your woodworking experience lead you to believe that it could have a therapeutic impact on you? Why did you start doing it?
I learned that woodworking can have a therapeutic effect after an artist friend of mine introduced it to me as a way to refocus my anxiety. I started doing it to have a creative outlet and as a way to give original gifts to nieces and nephews.
Q: When did you start with the woodworking and what benefits are you noticing?
I began woodworking in my 51 cms. I find that its a great distraction from the daily stressors life brings us.
Q: Which areas of your life have improved since youve started woodworking?
I feel more confident and inspired to live in the moment and enjoy it.
Q: What is your favorite part about woodworking?
My favorite thing about woodworking is the ability to transform a piece of wood with my own hands into something that is pleasing to the eye and that I can be proud of. And Ive learned that even if the final piece didnt turn out exactly as planned, the process itself made the experience enjoyable.
Q: Whats your favorite piece youve made so far?
The cabinet/tv-stand with the litter box inside is my favorite piece. The cabinet has an easy-to-clean litter box area and a side entry for the cat. It works well for me because I live in a small apartment.
Q: To whom would you recommend woodworking?
Woodworking would be a great option for people with low self-esteem who don’t see their worth.
Rolando Corral
Rolando M. Corral Sr., a 38-year-old US Army veteran. California’s central San Joaquin Valley was where I was born and raised. I made the decision to serve my country with the Marines at the age of nine. AlthoughI did not make the physical requirements for the Marine Corps, I was able to sign up in the United States Army with medical restrictions. I spent almost four years in the Army as a machine gunner and mechanic in convoy security. In 2005, I was medically released and returned to California.
, I foundedI.G.Y (Ive, Got, Your) Wood Creations. Our mission is to restore hope for military veterans and first responders through reclaimed wood. We make wooden flags by hand and sell them. Most charitable causes receive a free flag.
Q: How did you learn that woodworking can have a therapeutic effect on you? What inspired you to start woodworking?
In the earlier 1990s as a little kid, I enjoyed watching This old house TV show and many other home improvement TV shows. I dreamed of becoming one of those men who build things from wood.
When I was medically retired from the Army in 2006, after serving in the initial invasion into Iraq in 2003, I didnt know I was gonna be suffering from PTSD. Around 2008 I was diagnosed with PTSD. I was already attending college and something just didnt feel right.
I tried VA counseling, and spoke to someone behind the desk who had a fancy degree. The degree stated they knew what they were talking about, but I still was having dreams and nightmares and I felt the guilt for not being able to deploy the second time with my Army unit to Iraq. That was in 2005.
Q: When and what were your first steps in woodworking?
I wanted to go to a woodshop, because it was the mirror.
A Korean war veteran shared his garage wood shop full of tools with me. I passed his house on my way to class every day, and I decided to visit him one day to learn woodworking. He gave me a table saw made from scrap wood and a used Skilsaw.
If you don’t feel like making your own table saws, there are many options.
I started to feel like I had a new purpose in life after making my first project which was a window frame for my aunts 1950s home.
After many failed attempts at therapy, I began to have recurring dreams in 2010. The dream was about me being out in nature and feeling better about myself. And in the dream, another a veteran and I built a wooden American flag out of reclaimed wood and I convinced him not to commit suicide.
I used that dream to design my first flag.
Q: What areas have you noticed improvements in since you started woodworking?
The first time I ever upcycled wood it was my old fence pickets. My children wanted a table that was their size. So, I made them a small table, which I had never done before. I was a novice at this and had no experience. Joe Mohnike, an experienced woodworker, helped me to get started. I spent a lot of time asking him questions.
You see, it helped me open up and allow myself to let other people know that I was a veteran and encouraged me to not allow my military career to define me for the rest of my life. For the rest of my lives, I want woodworking as my identity. My kids loved the table and I was happy to see that my creations brought a smile to people’s faces.
Woodworking allowed me to open up to the possibility of allowing others into my space to share it for a moment. I believe Woodworker is a tool that can help me connect to other parents and help them find resources to improve the quality of their lives. Because woodworking helps heal the hidden wounds of war.
Q: What is your favorite part about woodworking?
Expressing myself through woodworking is what drives my love of building things. I dream about the trash that people throw away and I make stuff out of it. I restore it, bring it back to life, and it resurrects as a new creation (upcycle).
For inspiration, I turn to the vivid images I find in dreams. But I also enjoy the challenge of taking a well-known symbol, like the flag and using it as a medium for art and expression. It’s a pleasure to share my work and encourage people to consider other perspectives. There is something about that kind of connection that makes me feel like Im doing what Im supposed to be doing.
These connections are life-giving and I hope my art inspires others to continue lifting each other up. This is the tribal philosophy. We arent working for The Self, but for a community.
Q: Whats your favorite piece youve made so far?
Because I believe in the American flag, I chose it as my medium of work. It’s more than an idea. It’s a symbol that represents the hope that all people can achieve freedom. Since its creation, the flag has brought together dreamers, thinkers, servicemen and women, and families. Our symbolic flag is based on harmony and I hope my flags capture that essence.
My work is a labor of love and each IGY WOOD flag stands out as a one-of-a-kind piece of art, from my heart to yours. This connection and this exchange are what matters most to me at the end.
Q: Who do you recommend woodworking to?
Anyone who feels lost in their life purpose can learn woodworking. Just start small, witha handsaw, recip saw or even a cheap jigsaw. To make something out of wood, you don’t need to have all the tools.
Start your woodworking journey by getting your starter tools. This includes any of these great scroll saws.
Summary
Mierop Mann and Laura Paskavitz were just a few of the people who bravely faced their anxiety disorders. They also made something out of their therapy.
Their stories shed light on how a simple hobby can turn into a transformative way to live a full life, especially for CPTSD/PTSD patients. Kids experiencing CPTSD/PTSD may benefit from woodworking too, usingwood building kits for kidsto help them create their own pieces. Although we don’t have the full medical opinion on woodworking for CPTSD/PTSD therapy at this time, our patients have shown us that it can help with healing and coping to achieve positive results.
Take the first step on your woodworking journey by reading our review of Woodworkers Guild of America.
