Telling Stories through Collaborative Crafting

In a society driven by the performance of an ideal self, the pressure of continuous self-surveillance leaves little space to simply be. The pervasive pursuit of 'normal' has been associated with neurodivergent individuals receiving late diagnoses and, in some cases, experiencing crisis. I used creative methods and an autoethnographic PhD quilt, a textile-based research tool, to investigate engagement with craft and its relationship with mental health. Specifically, I examine how the attention economy fragments the cognitive resources of neurodivergent individuals. Their sensory and attentional profiles, such as hyperfocus, are often pathologised within rigid institutional structures. These structures act as an 'iron cage', intensified by shifting expectations.

Data were collected through qualitative interviews, creative workshops, crafted artefacts and collaborative quilt blocks produced over a two-year period. Twenty-two participants described why they engage in craft and how it relates to their lived experiences of emotional distress and challenges with mental health. This was supported by the 'Ethics of the Veil', a practice of material negotiation that protects sensitive narratives within the academic institution and prevents further harm. The application of Soja's (1996) 'Thirdspace' spatial theory combined with Csíkszentmihályi's (1990) understanding of flow states informs my conceptualisation and unique contribution of 'Flow-Thirdspace'. In the thesis, I develop this new concept of Flow-Thirdspace as a socio-spatial site. It creates space to exist alongside challenges and is produced when neurodivergent attention aligns with the rhythmic act of making. It represents a space where we stop becoming and start being.

The findings indicate that craft supports coping with the pervasive pressures of modern liberal society, specifically the exhausting paradox of being never enough but always too much. Through engagement with craft, participants reconstruct narratives previously shaped by pathologisation, offering an alternative to Frank's (1995) 'restitution narrative' of medical recovery. This enables individuals to reclaim their sovereignty through making, offering respite from performance or expectation.

Although the research was undertaken with adults, the practical implications of providing creative tools for navigating mental health challenges could be developed into a resource for addressing the current mental health crisis among children. By prioritising process over product, individuals can access a Flow-Thirdspace where their innate attention styles form the foundation for an unflattened life and a means of coping in Han's (2015a) 'Burnout Society'.