{"id":190,"date":"2020-01-16T17:05:31","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T17:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/blog\/?p=190"},"modified":"2025-05-15T18:36:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T17:36:34","slug":"jigsaw-puzzling-against-anxiety-depression-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/jigsaw-puzzling-against-anxiety-depression-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Jigsaw puzzling against anxiety, depression, and more"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u2018It sorted me right out after an interview knockback.’ <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018I came to most of my insights subconsciously whilst doing a\njigsaw puzzle. It was meditative.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018All I wanted to do was come home and get on with my\npuzzle.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sold. I nipped down to a local charity shop the other week,\nto cast my net for a jigsaw puzzle. I\u2019d sought advice on the best approach for\nprocurement. Charity shops I was told. BUT MAKE SURE THE PIECES ARE IN A\nSANDWICH BAG<\/em>, my jigsaw mentor insisted. The relative merits of patterns\nversus pictures were also discussed; as were post-procurement jigsaw methods.\nFor example, whether or not to look at the cover whilst \u2018puzzling\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I came home with Handsome Frank’s<\/em> ski resort. And it delivered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mindful jigsaw puzzling: an antidote to anxiety and depression <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process of doing a jigsaw puzzle is, intrinsically, a mindful\none. By this I mean awareness is brought to direct experience in the present\nmoment. Given that anxiety and depression are invariably linked to difficult\nfeelings about the past or future, mindfulness as an antidote has been the talk\nof town for quite some time. So, \u2018puzzling\u2019 is also a balm for these mental\nhealth problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Rangan\nChatterjee, author of \u2018Feel Better in 5\u2019, also advocates immersing yourself in\na jigsaw puzzle for 5 minutes at a time as a way of bringing yourself\ncompletely into the present moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The science: why puzzles are prescribed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a 2007 study of mindfulness<\/a> from a neuroscience perspective, when we are mindful as when doing a jigsaw (or painting, reading, or listening to music perhaps) we are using a brain network that is (unsurprisingly) called the \u2018direct experience\u2019 network. Most of the time, however, we are using an alternative network, called the \u2018default\u2019 or \u2018narrative\u2019 network, when we are planning for the future or ruminating about the past, for example. As Dr David Rock, author of Your Brain at Work<\/em> puts it, ‘there’s nothing wrong with the default network, the point here is you don’t want to limit yourself to only experiencing the world through this network.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each network\n\u2013 default and direct experience – attunes to different kinds of information. The\noft-neglected or underused \u2018direct experience\u2019 network \u2013 exercised when doing a\njigsaw puzzle – yields visual and sensory information pertinent to our mental\nhealth. The more we use this network, the more we will be able to choose to do\nso, rather than automatically use our default networks. For example, we can\nchoose to be in the moment and focus on the visual details of that (damn) piece\nwe are missing; or we can think about what is on our work schedule tomorrow. Puzzles\ncan expand our choices and ability to engage with the wider world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further, the\nauthor of Mindfulness on the Go<\/em>, Anna Black, highlights that the area of\nthe brain that activates the stress reaction \u2013 the amygdala \u2013 is less active in\nthose people practising mindfulness, through doing a puzzle for example. This\nis because mindfulness activates the body\u2019s internal calming system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greater self-awareness – and improved relationships – from a puzzle?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doing a jigsaw puzzle confronts one with their relationship\nto patience. In the modern world, much of our experience \u2013 and now expectation\n– is of immediate gratification. Jigsaw puzzling is the antithesis of this. So\nfar, I\u2019ve been dipping in and out of this puzzle for a week and a half, and am\nnowhere near finished. I\u2019m good with that: cultivating patience could help me\nin a myriad of ways, including, of course, in relationships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One\u2019s approach to a puzzle could facilitate other valuable\nlearning, too. For instance, in the process I discovered I was a bit of a\nwildcard, sticking pieces all over the shop initially, then coming to some\norder later on. A trial and error kind of puzzler\/person. I have myself down as\nquite a careful character, so was pleasantly surprised that I wasn\u2019t so \u2018neat\u2019\nhere. Others are slower and more deliberate – strategic? Perfectionist? What\nis\/would be your \u2018puzzling\u2019 vibe? And, if this is the approach to take more\ngenerally, is this helpful to you\/how you want to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The activity invites me to shimmy up to another self-awareness biggie: how do I value a process<\/em> versus an outcome<\/em>? Some puzzlers savour their masterpiece at the end; others couldn\u2019t care less for the finished product. This very concept \u2013 journey versus destination – is one that I discuss with clients on a regular. Valuing a process rather than coveting mainly or only an outcome speaks of health, not least because it keeps us somewhat in the present. Again, this could be particularly helpful for those suffering with anxiety or depression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not puzzling but dazzling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surely we are then agreed that jigsaw puzzling is ridiculously healthy – and empowering – an activity? And<\/em> you don\u2019t have to persuade yourself to step outside, spend a fortune (my baby set me back \u00a32), or even utter a word. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018It sorted me right out after an interview knockback.’ \u2018I came to most of my insights subconsciously whilst doing a jigsaw puzzle. It was meditative.\u2019 \u2018All I wanted to do was come home and get on with my puzzle.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[11,12,13],"class_list":["post-190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-anxiety","tag-depression","tag-mindfulness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":584,"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190\/revisions\/584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}