Art Therapy, Adult Coloring Books and Your Mental Health
According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is a mental health profession in which the process of making and creating artwork is used to "explore feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety and increase self-esteem." So basically, it's similar to good old therapy. (Don't think you need therapy? Here's why you should take a mental health day now) Yet art therapy is not only about learning and improving yourself — it's a means of personal expression, too.
However, it is important to note that using an adult coloring book is not exactly the same as completing an art therapy session. "Coloring itself cannot be called art therapy because art therapy relies on the relationship between the client and the therapist," says Marygrace Berberian, a certified art therapist and the Clinical Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator for the Graduate Art Therapy Program at NYU. And while art therapy was first practiced in the 1940s, the first research on using coloring as therapy is generally believed to have only begun as recently the mid 90s, according to Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association.
The Health Benefits of Adult Coloring Books
Despite the fact that coloring and art therapy aren't quite the same thing, coloring does offer a slew of mental benefits. "Coloring definitely has therapeutic potential to reduce anxiety, create focus or bring [about] more mindfulness," says Berberian. Groundbreaking research in 2005 proved anxiety levels dropped when subjects colored mandalas, which are round frames with geometric patterns inside. Simply doodling, though, had no effect in reducing the other subjects' stress levels.
Just like meditation, coloring also allows us to switch off our brains from other thoughts and focus only on the moment, helping to alleviate free-floating anxiety. It can be particularly effective for people who aren't comfortable with more creatively expressive forms of art, says Berberian, "My experience has been that those participants who are more guarded find a lot of tranquility in coloring an image. It feels safer and it creates containment around their process," she adds.
How to Get Started
Want to fill in some pages? Keep in mind, if you're dealing with significant mental or emotional issues, art therapy is going to be more effective than coloring solo. But for those who just need a hobby to help them chill out, these books could be the ticket. As Berberian puts it, "I truly believe that people should be engaging in activities that make them feel restored."
According to ColoringBooks.net, adults should skip the crayons and go straight for the colored pencils (precision is everything when it comes to tuning in). And Crayola has a complete guide that shows how to take your tools up a notch by blending colors, shading and adding highlights and lowlights to your newfound masterpieces. Now get scribbling!
mprove Sleep With Coloring Books
There are few daily activities that can improve your mood, productivity, and ability to cope with stress as much as getting enough high-quality sleep.
Coloring before you go to bed can help. (7)
One of my favorite uses for coloring books is as a pre-bedtime ritual.
Let’s face it, it’s almost impossible to avoid engaging with your electronics at night, whether it’s answering emails, catching up on your favorite shows, doing online research, or reading on your e-reader.
3. You’ll have reduced stress
Like I said, coloring isn’t exactly a strenuous activity. With a crayon or colored pencil in hand, it’s easy to let all your cares and worries drift away. Not only is coloring a great meditative activity that rests the mind while engaged with a picture, but it’s also been shown to reduce a person’s overall stress levels. It also reduces a person’s overreaction to stressful situations in the future.
. You’ll express yourself
Coloring is an individual activity, but it’s also a great way to express yourself. Whether you realize it or not, when you color, you create something that was not there before using only the powers of your own mind. No other person would have used the exact same colors or the exact same technique as you had when you sat down to color in that previously blank piece of paper. Your creation is an extension of your mind and body, which, when you think about it like that, is incredibly profound.
6. You’ll enhance your abilities
Like I said, coloring requires focus and attention. But while focusing on the paper mentally, you also have to use your sense of sight in conjunction with your fine motor skills. Doing so allows both hemispheres of your brain to communicate, making connections that strengthen a variety of abilities within your mind. In fact, it’s been posited that coloring may delay, and perhaps even prevent, dementia in the elderly.
1. Coloring pages for adults help de-stress
One of the earliest scientists to have studied the therapeutic benefits of coloring pages for adults was Carl Jung. He studied coloring of Mandalas as early as the first half of the 20th century. He often used Mandalas (which have concentric circles and geometrical patterns in them) for his patients and found that it helped them become calmer and witness lesser stress.
4. Coloring is like meditation
Meditation is the art of doing nothing. It is also the art of ‘de-concentrating’ which helps relax and reduce the chatter of a restless mind. While most people find it difficult to meditate, coloring pages and books for adults easily help induce the same meditative state. It is no wonder that many publishers in UK, France and USA have come up with coloring books just for adults. Coloring Mandalas are especially relaxing since coloring of the round and round patterns and concentric circles of these ancient designs relax the mind and make a person more mindful. It also keeps him/her focused on the present moment-just like meditation!
5. Coloring for adults helps reduce anxiety
Anxiety is a common mental condition affecting hundreds of adults. Anxiety and panic attacks cause many symptoms including: thoughts of death or dying, excessive worry, nausea, headaches, chills, fever, insomnia, etc. By using coloring pages for adults, therapists help their adult patients relax. The artistic expression helps patients go deeper into a relaxed state making other forms of therapy more effective. Research has now proven that coloring pages and books for adults can be used as prelude to regular or conventional therapy for many mental disorders.
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