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I intend to work during the weekend to meet the month's deadline.

I feel upset about having to work during Christmas.

It is disappointing to know that I did not get a good evaluation.

This job is not giving me an opportunity to explore my skills.

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About 15 years ago, I was invited to join a knitting group. I agreed to give it a try. My mother had taught me to knit at 15, and I knitted in class throughout college and for a few years thereafter. Then decades passed without my touching a knitting needle. But within two Mondays in the group, I was hooked, not only on knitting but also on crocheting, and I was on my way to becoming a highly productive crafter. I've made countless baby blankets, sweaters, scarves, hats, caps for newborns. I take a knitting project with me everywhere, especially when I have to sit still and listen. As I discovered in college, when my hands are busy, my mind stays focused on the here and now.

It seems, too, that I'm part of a national renewal of interest in needle and other handicrafts. The Craft Yarn Council reports that a third of women ages 25 - 35 now knit or crochet. Even men and schoolchildren are swelling the ranks, among them my friend's three small grandsons. Last April, the council created a "Stitch Away Stress" campaign in honor of National Stress Awareness Month. Dr. Herbert Benson, a pioneer in mind/body medicine and author of The Relaxation Response, says that the repetitive action of needlework can induce a relaxed state like that associated with meditation and yoga. Once you get beyond the initial learning curve, knitting and crocheting can lower heart rate and blood pressure.

Betsan Corkhill, a wellness coach in Bath, England, and author of the book Knit for Health & Wellness, established a website, Stitchlinks, to explore the value of what she calls therapeutic knitting. Among her respondents, 54 percent of those who were clinically depressed said that knitting made them feel happy or very happy. In a study of 60 self-selected people with persistent pain, Ms. Corkhill and colleagues reported that knitting enabled them to redirect their focus, reducing their awareness of pain. She suggested that the brain can process just so much at once, and that activities like knitting and crocheting make it harder for the brain to register pain signals. Perhaps most exciting is research that suggests that crafts like knitting and crocheting may help to keep off a decline in brain function with age. In a 2011 study, researchers led by Dr. Yonas Geda at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester interviewed a random sample of 1,321 people ages 70-89, most of whom were cognitively normal, about the cognitive activities they engaged in late in life. The study, published in the Journal of Neuropsychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences, found that those who engaged in crafts like knitting and crocheting had a diminished chance of developing mild cognitive disorder and memory loss.

Although it is possible that only people who are cognitively healthy would pursue such activities, those who read newspapers or magazines or played music did not show similar benefits. The researchers speculate that craft activities promote the development of nerve pathways in the brain that help to maintain cognitive health.

Some people find that craftwork helps them control their weight. Just as it's challenging to smoke while knitting, when hands are holding needles and hooks, there's less snacking and mindless eating out of boredom.

But unlike meditation, craft activities result in tangible and often useful products that can enhance self-esteem. I keep photos of my singular accomplishments on my cellphone to boost my spirits when needed. Since the 1990s, the council has surveyed hundreds of thousands of knitters and crocheters, who 'routinely list stress relief and creative fulfillment as the activities' main benefits. Among them is the father of a prematurely born daughter who reported that during the baby's five weeks in the intensive care unit, "learning how to knit infant hats gave me a sense of purpose during a time that I felt very helpless. It's a hobby that I've stuck with, and it continues to help me cope with stress at work,provide a sense of order in hectic days, and allow my brain time to solve problems."

A 2009 University of British Columbia study of 38 women with an eating disorder who were taught to knit found that learning the craft led to significant improvements. Seventy-four percent of the women said the activity lessened their fears and kept them from thinking about their problem.