How Adult Coloring Books Help Calm My Anxiety

 I plan to do a whole post on coping skills because… come on, they’re coping skills. I could talk for days about coping skills. However, that is not the point of today’s writing adventures. No, no, today the focus is on one favorite coping skill I have: coloring.

(Side note: For those of you who know me well or know my writing well might notice my tone is a little off at the moment. I’m very excitable right now. Probably because I forgot to take my 5 p.m. anxiety medication until 6:30. Sorry, Mom. Anyways, back to coloring.)

Now I am not talking about a little kid getting out their princess coloring book and jumbo crayons, no. I am talking about the art craze that hit the world in the past couple years. You guessed it: adult coloring books.

I am a fan. I am a fan of one artist in particular. Her name is Johanna Basford and she lives in Scotland. She is a cute little mom of a toddler and an infant and in the past four years she has released five adult coloring books and is working on a sixth.

Johanna’s art is unique because all of her work is done by hand. Let me tell you — it is amazing. I haven’t been able to use any other printed coloring book now after using her’s for so long. You can go to her website to check out her books. They even have an art gallery on the website where you can send in your own art.

I go to my coloring all the time to use as a coping skill. I, at times, have really bad anxiety or restlessness, but sitting down to color can always calm me down. I use different books depending on the mood I’m in. If I need to focus hard and lose myself in the details, I will use the Lost Ocean book because it is very intricate. If I want to just relax and fade away I will use Secret Garden or Magical Jungle, which happen to be my two favorites.

Coloring allows me to relax, breathe and launch myself into an inky world of flowers and animals in any color you can imagine. I love being able to use my emotions to create something beautiful. It brings some calm into my otherwise chaotic world.

Coping skills are so important. I cannot say that enough. Coloring works well for me and I will always suggest you try it. Pull up a seat, grab your colors and let’s dive into an inky adventure.

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Unsplash photo via Mari Pi