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If chronic stress from the coronavirus is eroding your resilience and you’re looking for a quick and inexpensive way to de-stress and rest your brain, consider coloring.
After her 10-week-old son's death, Dee Ledger found that coloring calmed her nerves and helped soothe her grief.
Devin Kent started coloring after a bad car accident left her with extreme anxiety. Coloring leaves her calm and confident, able to conquer the world.
Lydia Mansel discovered that coloring left her with fewer headaches and less back pain. When she started coloring, her sleep improved, and she ate less.
Research supports the wealth of anecdotal evidence that coloring helps people recover from stress and trauma.
A 2006 study found that art therapy for women with cancer helped significantly decrease physical and emotional distress during their treatment. Another study found that coloring an intricate geometric design reduced anxiety among undergraduate students.
According to psychologist Nikki Martinez, coloring can calm down our amygdala, the part of the brain that, when active, keeps individuals in a heightened state of worry, panic, and hyper-vigilance. She explains that coloring can have an exceptionally recuperative effect by taking you out of your present stresses and concerns.
Craig Sawchuk, a clinical psychologist at the Mayo Clinic, says that coloring books work like other mindfulness techniques such as yoga and meditation. Coloring can help slow down your heart rate and respiration, loosen muscles and stimulate the brain.
Sawchuk recommends that people who are new to coloring start slow, with a limited amount of time, and gradually increase every few days. He explains that some people focus better while working on simple symmetrical designs while others benefit from more complex, abstract patterns. People should try both types to see what works for them.
It’s not surprising that coloring books for adults are best-sellers. One of the first coloring books specifically for adults is Johanna Basford’s Secret Garden, and it has sold more than 11 million copies in 22 languages since its release in Spring 2013. In France, the publisher Hachette's release of "Art-Therapie: 100 Coloriages Anti-Stress" was such a success that Hachette launched 20 more coloring books, selling nearly 20 million copies.
There are thousands of coloring books adults can choose from and many websites that offer free coloring pages. If you’re looking for a quick way to build resilience and recover from stress during this global pandemic, give coloring a try.
Do you color? What impact does it have on your resilience and wellbeing?
I help individuals and teams thrive in adversity by providing practical skills and tools I developed over several decades as a U.S. diplomat in challenging environments. Visit my website to learn more about how I can help you and your team better adapt to stress and adversity. With resilience skills and tools, you and your team will be more creative, innovative, and collaborative. Resilient individuals and teams are less likely to suffer from burnout and are more open to change. Follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.