Self-Care Integration as a Doctoral Student: How Knitting and Crochet Keep Me Grounded

Every semester of my doctoral program has been more intense than the last.

Coursework builds on itself. Clinical training adds a layer of responsibility that does not clock out at the end of the day. The academic calendar keeps moving whether you feel ready or not. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, you are still expected to show up as a whole person -- for your clients, your cohort, your supervisors, and yourself.

I have felt overwhelmed more times than I can count during this program. But I have also learned something important about myself through that overwhelm: I know what I can control, and I am deliberate about using that knowledge.

What I Can Control

When a semester gets heavy, my first move is to look at what is within my power to adjust.

I control my course credit hours. That is not something every doctoral student has the flexibility to do -- funding situations, scholarship deadlines, and program requirements all create different constraints -- but when it has been an option for me, I have used it intentionally. Taking one less class during a term where clinical milestones were stacking up was one of the most important academic decisions I have made. The results showed up in my grades and in my mental clarity.

I also overcommunicate. When I need support, I say so. I reach out to my professors before things reach a crisis point. I stay in constant contact with my clinical supervisors. I have found that most people in academic settings respond well to a student who is proactive rather than one who disappears and resurfaces in distress.

But the biggest thing -- the one that has helped me manage overwhelm more consistently than anything else -- is knitting and crochet.

How It Started

I have been knitting and crocheting for over fifteen years.

Long before I started my doctoral program, these crafts were part of my life. But during my PsyD program they became something different. They became necessary.

When the coursework gets heavy and my mind is moving too fast to settle, I pick up a project. Usually something small. Something that does not require a lot of thought or complicated pattern reading. Just my hands moving, the texture of the yarn, the repetition of the stitch.

It gives my hands something to do while my nervous system slows down.

What Knitting and Crochet Actually Do

I knit and crochet because they give me a creative and grounding outlet that balances the more physical and high-energy parts of my work. Pole dance instruction is demanding and energizing. Clinical training requires deep emotional presence. Academic writing asks for sustained concentration over long stretches of time.

Knitting and crochet ask for almost none of that. They are slow, tactile, and intentional in a completely different way. They allow me to slow down, focus on something small and tangible, and create something with my hands that has a beginning and an end.

That sense of completion matters more than it might seem. In a doctoral program, you are often working toward goals that take months or years to reach. A finished dishcloth or a small drawstring bag gives you something you can hold in your hands and say -- I made this. It is done. That is a feeling that academic work rarely delivers on a daily basis.

I also find the process calming and reflective. There is something about the rhythm of the stitch that creates space for thoughts to settle rather than spiral. I have processed a lot of difficult clinical material, worked through a lot of academic stress, and come back to myself more times than I can count with yarn in my hands.

What My Colleagues See

One of the things that surprised me was the reaction from my cohort.

I work on knitting and crochet projects in class sometimes, or on campus between sessions. My colleagues notice. Several of them have commented on it -- not with judgment, but with something closer to longing. They mention wishing they had something like that. Something portable, low-stakes, and grounding that they could carry with them through the demands of the program.

That response told me something. The need for this kind of grounding is not unique to me. Doctoral students across programs are looking for ways to stay tethered to themselves when the academic environment is pulling in every direction. Not everyone will find it in yarn and needles. But most people have something -- or could find something -- that does for them what knitting does for me.

Self-Care That Actually Works

I want to be honest about what I mean when I say self-care, because the word gets used in ways that do not always reflect what genuine restoration looks like.

Self-care is not always a spa day or a vacation. For me, it is the consistent, almost daily practice of picking up a project when I feel overwhelmed or lost. It is small enough to fit into a busy schedule. It does not require planning or money or a block of free time. It just requires a few minutes and a willingness to slow down.

That is the kind of self-care that actually integrates into a doctoral student's life rather than existing outside of it.

The practice has stayed with me for over fifteen years and I do not see it going away. If anything, the more demanding the program gets, the more I understand why I have kept coming back to it. It is not a hobby that competes with my academic goals. It is part of how I sustain the energy to pursue them.

Find Your Thing

If you are a doctoral student reading this and you do not have a version of this in your life, I want to encourage you to look for it.

It does not have to be knitting or crochet. It just has to be something that is genuinely yours -- something that asks nothing of you professionally or academically, something that engages your hands or your body in a different way, something that brings you back to the present moment without demanding performance.

That thing is not a distraction from your goals. It is part of how you survive the pursuit of them.

Jasmyn Steele, M.A. is a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology (Military Track) at Adler University, Chicago, IL, a fiber artist, and a pole dance fitness instructor. She is Treasurer of the Adler University Student Veterans Association and an active member of the Association of Black Psychologists. Follow her work at jasmynsteele.com.