How Coloring Books Help Adults With Depression And Anxiety

It’s hard to believe that coloring can help with a person who has depression or anxiety — especially in adults. Come on, adult life is difficult. Think back to when you were a child. Coloring gave a feeling of bliss — somewhere to run away to in your mind and just be at peace. That’s exactly why adults are going back into the habit. It can actually be prescribed by a psychologist.

Think we’re crazy?

Carl Jung, one of the greatest psychologist who discovered analytical psychology, suggested coloring to his patients in order for them to get in contact with their subconscious and self-knowledge. It’s like meditating or reading a book – but coloring helps a person express the stress away through colors and calms your nerves from all the negativity around them. The time and focus coloring needs take away from the thoughts swarming around a person’s mind when its overloaded with ideas, stress, and depression.

Is it weird to think that coloring has an intellectual aspect?

Yes! Coloring utilizes both right and left side of the brain. When you put two and two together the artistry awakens the right side of the brain. Though, choosing colors and placing them on paper is a type of problem-solving — awakening the left side of the brain. It takes focus and concentration to create something that is aesthetically pleasing.

The adult color books are slightly different than those for children. Most coloring books figure out images and landscapes that would give the mind a go workout – per se — as well as calm the inner-self. The more difficult the design the more concentration and focus needed in the end. For example, many adult coloring books have mandalas. Mandalas are shaped as a circle and have other shapes and intricate designs in between. The circle shape itself is seen to be calming than those with angles. In the Eastern and Native American cultures, it’s seen as a meditative shape since it’s easily found in nature. Some of these coloring books also have nature and landscape designs that help the mind focus on the bigger picture.

This will decrease the mind to think about the little stresses and focus it on the drawing they are painting. When the artwork is finished, it gives a sense of an accomplishment and delight. Think about it, a person turned a black and white photo into life.