The Mental Health Benefits of Coloring
A Unique Way Of Meditation
The goal of meditation is to bring your restless mind some well deserved peace. Coloring can help induce a meditative state that can be difficult for some people to enter into using the more conventional form of meditation. Some people shy away from meditation only because it makes them overthink everything – contrary to the actual purpose of motivation. As a result, they can feel worse than they did before. Coloring brings peace and calmness to your mind making you feel relaxed and refreshed. You can then refocus your thoughts on what is important to you and cherish the present moment.
Become More Thoughtful
When you have entered into a meditative state, the next step comes naturally as your mind will start to calmly wonder into happy thoughts. The creative process generates more positive thoughts and ideas and opens your mind into contemplation and introspection. It can help you put things in perspective or make peace with those issues that have been bothering you for a long time. Coloring can lead you through doors you have kept locked in your head from fear and anxiety, and allow you to move beyond them to dig into what lies beyond them. This impacts how you internalize situations so that weaknesses can become your strengths. Having a health mindset is key to having a healthy outlook on life.
De-stress After a Hard Day
Day-to-day stresses can add up if you don't confront them on a daily basis. It is essential to take some time off to de-stress. Weekend getaways and spa sessions can help, but they make a large dent in our wallets. Coloring is not only the easiest and most effective stress-relieving activities you can do, but it has the added benefit of not putting you out of the bounds of your budget. Thirty minutes of coloring a day can unwind and de-stress you better than any luxury outing or activity!
Keep Anxiety at Bay
Coloring books are among the top recommended activities that therapists recommend to their patients who battle anxiety. It allows them to relax their thoughts so they can respond better to other forms of therapies. Coloring books can serve adults as the first step of conventional or regular treatment for various mental issues. During a coloring session, patients naturally regularize their breathing to allow a steady supply of oxygen into their blood with each steady breath. This takes the pressure off of your overthinking mind and allows you to channel that energy into the picture you are coloring instead.
Battle Depression
Art therapy has long been a tool that many professionals use and highly recommend. For people who deal with depression, coloring books can have an almost miraculous effect. in conjunction with medication, coloring naturally promotes positive thinking. For many people who suffer from mental health issues (myself included), sleep depravity has a huge impact on mental health making our minds hyperactively compound negative thoughts. Coloring before bed can help curb insomnia, induce a sound sleep, and minimize nightmares. This allows you to wake up refreshed and ready to battle another day.
Check out these other articles about the benefits of coloring in a Coloring Book.