Adult colouring books...

From sceptical to convinced

In and Out

Well, this is a first for me; since adult colouring books are useful for Anxiety and Depression as

well as Dyspraxia, I will be applying this post to both blogs; Inside Dyspraxia and D for Depression.

As I have been growing up I have come across and in (some cases) participated in the weird and wonderful world of phases. In junior school the obsession was tazoos', tamagotchi's and dummy sweets. Yes, you read that correctly dummy sweets! Given that I came from a rough area seeing 8 and 9 year olds that would have frequent visits from the bill, with dummies in their mouths, was truly peculiar.  As for myself I was into the Tamagotchi. The unusual thing is that these so called phases never stopped in secondary school. Aliens in goo, yo-yos and vibrating pets keychains were the 'in thing'. Must confess the aliens in goo fascinated me as I kept hearing about if you looked after it, it would have babies blah blah blah. What a load of rubbish, no baby aliens to be had I'm afraid. Anywho, by the time I reached the third year of secondary school I wasn't sure what the current 'in thing' was, I took to the library. Books were and are my 'in thing.'

Colour 'in'

A while back I saw an article on the news about the latest fad,  adult colouring. I admit my initial thoughts were sceptical.  After all how can sitting down and colouring improve your mental health and emotional well being? What difference does it make, really??I was curious to the point where
 I decided I had no choice but to give it a go. I have never been one to 100% accept the news as 'gospel truth' and given that I've observed the temporary nature of fads,
I really wanted to see for myself.

For those of you who don't know about adult colouring books; they are colouring books geared towards adults and they consist of various themes, such as; nature, under the sea, gardens', Harry Potter, Narnia, Bowie, Fashion, Patterns, Mandala's, buildings and even swear words! You name it and you can colour it. Now colouring books for Adults are a little more complicated then the ordinary run of the mil child's colouring book and this is why.

The focus of an Adult colouring book is to make you switch off from all your worries, stresses and to-do lists and simply pick a theme, pick a page and let loose with pens or pencils... it doesn't matter you have free reign. You just have to let loose... believe me its far harder then you think!

The first of many

According to colour-meanings.com,(2017);

" Colouring is not just an activity for keeping kids occupied; we only associate it with children.     
 In reality, colouring books and colouring pages for adults are also extremely therapeutic and can    help generate wellness, quietness, mindfulness and the exact same benefits which meditation imparts on the brain".

As we already know Dyspraxia and Depression are neurological conditions, so I thought it would be interesting to find out what affect it may have on the brain.  Dr Martinez, in (2015) highlighted the neurological benefits of adult colouring books. Colouring utilizes the left and right side and left side of the brain, which in turn enhances our problem solving skills and helps improve our fine motor skills.  Another aspect to be considered is that colouring strengthens the part of the brain enhances focus and concentration. Also beneficial to our organization and problem solving skills.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-nikki-martinez-psyd-lcpc/7-reasons-adult-coloring-books-are-great-for-your-mental-emotional-and-intellectual-health_b_8626136.html ( In case you wanted further information.)

The verdict

At first I was really sceptical, I even stopped trying to colour as I was feeling stupid doing so. However, as stupid as I felt an even bigger  part of me was curious. My first adult colouring book was the mindfulness colouring book by Emma Farron. I found that I picked an image and some colours and I went for it. It slowly but surely emptied my mind, the brain racing ceased  and even if just for a little while there was some distraction, some relief from everything and anything. No it does not take your physical pain away, but when you are so content, colouring it gives you a much needed cut off point . At present I have eight colouring books and the one I'm focusing on is the Narnia colouring book. I would highly recommend adult colouring books for anyone, whether they are dealing with stress, depression, anxiety, dyspraxia, and or chronic health conditions it can help you  Now and again some phases are worth taking on board.