Coloring Books: Therapy For Adults

Drawing, painting and coloring allows us to find contact with ourselves and to deal with our thoughts and feelings. From a psychological point of view, this has many advantages

Coloring books are not just for children, they can be a real therapy for adults. We have often talked about the psychological effects of painting on our blog, for example to reduce stress by coloring in mandalas. Many adults pursue this hobby and know about the positive effects.

Coloring books are a form of therapy for adults and promote perception, the ability to concentrate and enable us to deal with our feelings, which brings us emotional advantages.

We distract ourselves from the outside world and focus all of our attention on the image in front of us and on our inner being. Book and stationery stores therefore sell coloring books for adults.

It is these fascinating, incredibly beautiful drawings that invite us to rediscover childhood and to feel free from all the responsibility and stress that reality imposes on us.

We invite you to a painting lesson. Discover with us why painting can be as healing as a walk.

A joy for our brain: coloring books

Not so long ago we told you about the health benefits of handicraft and introduced you to knitting therapy. Similar to knitting, coloring in coloring books promotes our attention, concentration and memory.

This is a kind of “training for the brain”, the results of which will be of benefit to us in coping with everyday problems. In fact, painting is a great challenge for cognitive abilities. That is why painting is also used in therapy for adults.

Coloring books in clinical use

People who have psychological problems and are therefore being treated are often offered the simple but effective therapy of coloring. This exercise allows you to relax deeply and to control your emotions.

How does this work?

• Adults with mental disorders as well as autistic children and those with developmental deficits enjoy the peace that the coloring books offer them.
• You can improve your ability to concentrate and increase your psychomotor coordination.
• Painting also has a relaxing effect. Those who paint can express their feelings through colors and shapes and thus find the necessary calm for their soul. Nobody dictates how something is colored, it’s always a very personal decision.

• In fact, these people often keep painting as a hobby even after therapy is over. Coloring books then not only become a form of expression, but also provide positive stimuli and energies.

Coloring against the stress

You can find various coloring books in stores, including those compiled by the Scottish author Johanna Basford. She initially designed titles such as “My Magic Forest” , “My Magical Garden” and “My Fantastic Ocean” for children.

However, the editors quickly noticed that the pictures were very complex for children. It was also known that many adults search the Internet for mandalas and other pictures to color.

These were the ingredients for a real phenomenon: The “children’s books” were being bought en masse by adults, especially women, who consciously or unconsciously sought the health benefits of painting:

• Coloring relaxed. You come home and your imagination begins to work just by looking at the complex pictures lying here. Black and white become colorful and the pictures invite you to switch off from everyday life and its problems.
• As we color, we gain a new perspective on existing problems. We are then able to judge things more calmly and objectively. This becomes possible because we find inner peace while painting.

• Coloring calms the nerves. The respiratory and heart rates drop, as does the cholesterol level. There are few other therapies that are this simple and effective in reducing stress.
• We improve our attention and memory.
• The choice of colors we use for coloring reflects our mood, our feelings. Dark, cold shades indicate that something is going on inside us, something is being processed.
• Coloring is an experience during which we deal with our feelings.

Painting – a kind of therapy for adults

The famous psychiatrist, doctor and author Carl Gustav Jung did a study in which the art of painting and drawing was examined as a mechanism of expression and liberation.

While his work has mainly focused on mandalas and symbolism, many of his hypotheses can also be applied to the increasingly fashionable art of coloring.

• The art of coloring not only creates a close connection between our mind and our conscious feelings, but also to deeper hidden emotions that dwell in our subconscious.
• While we paint in peace, we give these emotions the opportunity to surface.
• Carl Gustav Jung called this spiritual art. He explained to us that in mandalas, for example, there are a lot of circles and circular elements because they depict the cosmos, our inner being, which develops from the inside out, where good and bad meet.

• If we pay a little attention when looking at coloring books, we will quickly see that circles and circular elements dominate here too . They help focus our attention. The chaos that prevails in us can be ordered here with the help of the colors.
• According to Carl Gustav Jung, drawing is just as therapeutically effective as coloring. Drawing is the freer art in which our emotions can be expressed through shapes. This also reduces stress. The drawings don’t have to be works of art. Rather, they are cleansing, liberating images of your feelings. It’s a form of emotional relief that we all need now and then.

So coloring can actually be used as a kind of therapy for adults. Will you also look for coloring books the next time you visit a stationery store?