One local woman is helping people with OCD by making bracelets.
The National Institute of Mental Health defines OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder as “a common, chronic, and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts ("obsessions") and/or behaviors ("compulsions") that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over.”
Katie Craven, a Thornbury Township resident and the Director of Engagement at the Residence at Chadds Ford on Route 202 agrees but phrases it differently. “It’s like a broken record that keeps playing in your head.”
She should know. Craven’s been dealing with her own OCD since childhood. She acknowledges that it’s a mental health issue and said it’s difficult to live with on an everyday basis.
“It’s the repetition of unwanted thoughts, that’s the obsession. Then the compulsion is the way people try to get rid of the thoughts that are in their head,” she said.
Those thoughts, she said, are those that “attack the things that are important.” Those important things might be family or faith. “The thoughts are just random thoughts that pop into your head that attack your values.”
One example of compulsion is excessive handwashing, among other overdone cleaning activities. She said that makes them feel more organized to help stem the negative thoughts.
Craven was uncomfortable revealing how her own OCD manifested itself but did say she was diagnosed with the disorder in March of last year even though she had been dealing with signs of the problem since she was about 7 years old. She said it typically takes 14 to 17 years to get an OCD diagnosis.
She involved herself with online groups but then came up with her own idea to make bracelets and started Chainyana Jewelry.
“Yana,” she said, “is an anagram for You Are Not Alone.” It was a phrase used in some online help groups for people with various illnesses and disorders. The “chain” part of the name comes from the connection between people who share those same problems. And she works that chain of people concept into the bracelets she makes.
There are two parts to the beadwork. The first is a color representing the condition the person is dealing with. In her case, blue for OCD. But there are also white beads with a number on each. Strung together, those numbers are the GPS coordinates of the person for whom the last bracelet was made.
As an example, person B gets a bracelet with the GPS coordinates of person A, while person C gets a bracelet with the coordinates of person B. Those coordinates represent the person that the new wearer is carrying.
“I wanted to create a way for people to feel less alone in their struggle and to help lift up others as well. I wanted people to feel a direct connection to an actual person and it is with that goal in mind that I decided to use geographic coordinates…Chainyana Jewelry creates a chain of people who are not alone and who are supporting each other in whatever struggle they are going through, wherever they are.”
What does she want to accomplish with her jewelry?
“I just want people to feel connected and to feel like they’re not alone.”
For more information about Craven and Chainyana Jewelry, visit her site at https://www.chainyanajewelry.com
For more information on OCD, go to the NIMH website.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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