Post 5 - Coloring for Stress Relief

Remember when you were a kid and coloring was a fun activity? Well, it turns out that coloring is a great activity for adults too! Coloring provides the opportunity to focus on creativity and repetitive motions, which can contribute to stress reduction. Who knew that coloring could promote a feeling of calmness? I guess when you really think about it, kids do tend to calm down when they’re focused on coloring their favorite characters. 😊

A friend gave me a stress-free coloring book at work one year when she saw me stressing out a little too much. It took me awhile to really get into it. In fact, it wasn’t until my son went away for the first time on a school trip that I realized I needed something to distract me from my incessant worry. I pulled out the coloring book and got totally absorbed in all the different coloring options. All the patterns and different colored pencils provided me with hours of laser focus. When my brain was concentrating on coloring the different shapes and patterns, there wasn’t room for intrusive thoughts about everything that could possibly go wrong on my son’s school trip. It was just me, the colored pencils, and the masterpiece that I was working on.  I loved it, and it gave me great comfort to complete a page. I worked on several pages the week my son was gone.

As strange as it sounds, coloring saved me that week. It became my coping skill, and it really helped me to stay present in the moment. Ever since then, I have incorporated coloring into my routine when I feel like I need a simple activity that grounds me. I color, or I even have watercolor kits and acrylic paint sets. It feels great to just pull out my books or a canvas and create something just for me. I’m able to express myself through shapes and colors, and somehow it all helps me to unwind and get into a better headspace and alleviates my busy mind.    

If you’re looking for a fun and simple activity to help give you a break from your anxious mind, try coloring. You can purchase stress-free or Zen coloring books, print coloring pages from the internet, or even borrow a kid’s coloring book and test it out. There are various coloring tools such as pencils, crayons, or markers that can be used. Or if you’d rather explore painting, there are all types of painting tutorials on YouTube.

Have fun with it! There are no rules… color outside the lines if you feel like it.   

Wishing you love, light, and a life filled with authenticit-E.

Estella