After 11 months of near-daily knitting (with only two days off!), it’s no surprise that my elbow finally started to protest. What began as a twinge turned into full-blown tennis elbow, forcing me into the break I’d been avoiding.I knew being unable to knit for almost a week was going to be torture. Knitting is everything to me — my emotional regulation tool, my entertainment, my outlet for creativity, I knew it was going to be rough, I just wasn’t expecting it to be this impactful.
My screen time shot through the roof. On average I spend about 3.5 hours on my phone a day (which is honestly disgusting to me, I need to change that) which shot up to over FIVE hours per day this week. Most of that was doom scrolling on tiktok and instagram reels, which never leaves you feeling better than when you started.
My distress tolerance was way lower this week than usual. I attribute this to both the lack of knitting and the big spike in doom scrolling. Usually I can manage tough weeks at work fairly well, but this week I was either really prickly or really checked out. I felt myself bargining with myself that “I could just knit a row or two” just to feel the calm that knitting brings me. Ultimately I waited because I didn’t want to create a bigger issue in my elbow, but it made me realize just how much I rely on knitting to manage any emotional overload.
I was so bored and none of my other hobbies even seemed remotely interesting to me. I tried everything — sewing, reading, gmaing, gardening — and nothing captured my attention or put me into that flow state like knitting. This was really interesting to me, it made me think about all the years I tried and “failed” at hobbies because they just never put my brain into the steady flow state that they did for everyone else (running does that, but because of my giant ovarian cyst I can’t run right now). I remember thinking that I just “wasn’t good” at having a hobby, when in reality I just needed the right one. I found it fascinating that those hobbies are most enjoyable and engaging to me in tandem with knitting.
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My sleep suffered. I got on average 7.5 hours a night when I usually get 8.5-9. I also slept really poorly when I was asleep, and I went to bed on average 2 hours later than usual (doom scrolling). My sleep latency grew and my overall sleep score dropped. One day my Oura ring actually alerted me to “minor signs of strain” on my body. I didn’t end up developing a cold or anything like that, so I’m attributing it to the sudden shift in sleeping habits.
My cravings and snacking increased drastically. We’re all conditioned to want a lil sweet treat at the end of the day while we’re watching our shows and I am no different. I used to snack and snack and snack at night until I started knitting. Knitting keeps my hands busy and my mind occupied which was always the feeling I was hunting for in food. I noticed that over this last week I snacked A LOT at night, almost to the point of being so full I felt sick.
This past week has shown me that knitting isn’t just something I enjoy, it’s an integral part in helping me regulate, relax and slow down. Without it, I felt unmoored. My sleep suffered, my screen time skyrocketed, and I found myself chasing the feeling knitting usually gives me through less fulfilling habits like scrolling and snacking. I needed the physical rest and in a way I also needed the real time data and insight into the larger impact of knitting in my life.
I think what surprised me most was how little else could hold my attention. I think it’s really special to be able to find your thing and honestly I didn’t think that was going to ever happen for me. Like I said, running and reading are close, but there are seasons when either I’m not interseted in them or I’m managing illness/injury and can’t engage in them for months. I feel really lucky to have found and clicked with knitting the way I have, and it’s really enlightening to see how knitting impacts me more than just something to do at the end of the day.
If you’re like me and knitting is your lifeline, here’s a tip: take lots of breaks, do your hands and arm stretches, and don’t develop tennis elbow.
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