DIY for mental wellbeing

Well, who would have thought that DIY could be a genuine promoter of mental health and wellbeing? Given the frustrations that can occur with DIY it may seem odd to talk about the mental health benefits, but they are real and varied. It doesn’t matter whether the DIY project is for an entire house makeover or for refinishing a table or decorating cannisters for a kitchen bench, we still reap the health benefits DIY can give us.

To start with, DIY is really good for our freedom needs. We decide what we want to do and how we want to do it. We make choices about the design, décor, timing and schedule. Choosing to DIY means you have great control over the whole project, including exactly how much you choose to do yourself and how much you might like to engage someone with skills or equipment you don’t yet have.

DIY is also fun in the sense that learning new things is an enjoyable and needs satisfying experience for us. Developing new skills and purchasing the right equipment to do the job, then mastering how to use that equipment is highly enjoyable. If you need to buy equipment, it doesn’t have to be top of the range, just suitable for the task at hand.

When cooperating with someone else in your DIY project, it can be highly satisfying for both of you as your love and belonging needs are met too. It is likely that your relationship will grow stronger as you cooperate with them and reach a successful conclusion. Building your relationship through teamwork and supporting each other is an excellent way to help you grow closer.

Standing back and looking at a successfully completed project is immensely satisfying. We all need to experience success and achievement in our lives, and DIY is a brilliant way to do this. It is even better when we have others comment favourably on the work we are doing and on our finished project.  

Of course, if we approach a DIY project with a negative attitude and don’t allow ourselves to get a task wrong then figure out how to do it better, then we are likely to perceive it as a very negative experience. We may even be anxious or explode in anger as things don’t work out the way we had pictured them.

If we approach our project as a great  opportunity to learn and grow, don’t expect too much of ourselves by expecting to be an expert in all things, then seek help and advice to further our knowledge and skills, we are likely to get immense satisfaction from our choice to DIY. Give it a go, your mental wellbeing will benefit greatly.