(Day 4) Therapeutic Coloring to De-stress
Before we dive in, you need to know there is more to coloring than what meets the eye.
Science demonstrates there are definite benefits to therapeutic coloring, not just because of recent trends but over the course of decades and historical correlations to coloring, they’ve seen proven evidence of its positive uses in societies worldwide.
Wow! How cool is that–you can sit and doodle while de-stressing at the same time!
This activity is not only fun for me but with the research behind it demonstrating astounding therapeutic benefits through the simple mechanism of coloring, it becomes a no-brainer implementing this fun activity into my life.
A study cited in MedicalDaily.com said art therapy, or the use of therapeutic coloring, in cancer patients reduced physical and emotional distress during the treatment. Although it won’t cure cancer, it can definitely help with the side effects and toils it brings on an individual’s mind and body during this illness. Not only has it helped cancer patients, but the study goes further into explaining how its helped people strugging with depression, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), dementia, and… guess what? Anxiety!
Scientists have even studied brainwaves of how the brain interacts with therapeutic coloring. Dr. Stan Rodski, a nuerologist, explains how coloring produces a relaxed mindset by switching our brains off temporarily from the stressful thoughts to focus on the moment. Heart rates slow, brain waves change—all in response to repetitive uses of coloring.
This statistic gets me super excited! As I mentioned earlier in my first post about how we need to find ways to turn off the stress mechanism that feels permanently ON for those of us who struggle with chronic anxiety. We MUST spend time doing things to turn off our anxiety, even for a brief moment during the day, so we don’t get burnt out and crash even harder because we don’t stop for a few minutes to do something about this constant stress.
I’ve heard from others though that some of those detailed coloring books make you feel MORE stressed and overwhelmed just looking at those crazy patterns and designs. I GET IT!
But guess what? Apparently not all coloring books invoke a sense of calm.
There’s new research being done on how our brains and bodies react to certain types of patterns and designs… some invoke relaxing mechanisms, whereas other designs stir up the mind. Personally, I find repetitive patterns and coloring books WITHOUT overly intricate and detailed designs to be the MOST soothing to my present nerve-wracking state. Now there’s science which suggests this to be true as well! So be aware, not all coloring books may invoke a more restful, calm state of mind, whereas other books or coloring activities are more specifically geared toward calming the mind.
With that said, I’m super excited to share with you my book to help not only YOU de-stress, but your kids as well! It was thoughtfully crafted to be relaxing enough for the adult but engaging enough for kids (boys and girls)!
It’s called Big and Little Coloring Devotional.
I created this book with my friend and Illustrator, Jacy Corral, because we believe life is far too precious to be in a constant state of panic all the time!
Tomorrow, I will be going even deeper, bringing in scriptural-related truths and stories unpacking the deeper rooted fears in detail that we all struggle with related to anxiety, and help you understand what God’s Word has to say about that.
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