Whether you are preparing for an career-defining meeting, losing cool over bills or just feeling a bit nervous before making that much-awaited presentation, you've experienced stress at some point in your life. While some quite unflinchingly believe that stress is a part of life, there are many who don't want to dismiss it as a natural reaction. From fatigue to stomach aches to cardiovascular diseases, and even death, it can prove detrimental to one's life.
Agreed, there are multiple ways - taking a walk, implementing breathing exercises, adhering to healthy eating habits - to beat stress. But did you know, one simple and proven way to de-stress yourself lies in your child's playroom? Yes, the idea of getting a coloring book and some crayons and sketch pens has started to grab everyone's attention. So the activity which children do for fun, is now being recommended to adults by art therapists to help them relax their brain.
The Art of Staying Calm
As art therapist Aditi Kaul puts it, this expressive medium has helped many of her patients communicate, beat stress, and delve deeper into different aspects of their personalities. "Art therapy is a scientific therapeutic technique that encompasses a wide range of media which we utilise to work with clinical patients diagnosed with clinical illnesses and for their well-being. This includes visual arts, expressive writing, story-telling, theatre, and movement. And this works fantastically with adults," she says.
And what's interesting to study is the surge in the popularity of adult coloring books in the recent past. From abstract images, mandalas, to your most liked characters, these books come with a wide range of themes to help the adults connect with their inner selves and live a content life.
For Bhawna Kapoor, a Chartered Accountant by profession, it is the nostalgia for coloring that she thoroughly enjoyed as a child that made her pick up the hobby after almost 20 years. "Color as a design tool has the power to make me feel more comfortable and cheerful. I loved the designs that I found in adult coloring books. Even though intricate, filling in these patterns with my favourite colors left an enormous impact on my mood," she explains.
MBA professional Shweta Sahni found the books appealing because they helped her create something she could take pride in. "I don't treat Mandalas as just adult coloring books. For me it is a tool that provides me with a creative outlet that helps me break my inflexible routine.
Staying Away From Technology Feels Good
There is no denying the fact that we all live in a time period where technology has become crucial in order to navigate through life. From depositing our checks via mobile banking to reliving our memories through photos and videos, we need technology for virtually everything.
So is there anything that can help us break our technology addiction? For Shweta, coloring books helped her take a much needed break from smartphone addiction. "Technology addiction is indeed a very real addiction and one that is tough to break because we use technology on a regular basis. However, if you are determined to stay away from it, you can achieve it," she says, adding, "While my 7-year-old daughter is busy coloring different patterns, I invest the same time in coloring stress-relieving patterns. Even though some adult coloring books are intricately designed, they are created only to help you de-stress and focus the mind. Honestly speaking, the colouring-in craze helped me stay calm and creative."
As Aditi says, it is the entire process of taking up a creative project such as colouring and completing it successfully that helps one develop a sense of achievement. "Adult enjoy coloring and investing in Mandala. In fact, we have had many asking for take backs. These books allow them to do something for themselves where they don't need an expert to guide them through that process. Our daily life is exhausting and pace of life is increasing such books help us ease that stress, and infuse a sense of achievement too."
From therapy sessions to discussion forums and even counselling, coloring books are instrumental in helping one practice mindfulness, the ability of seeing one’s own thoughts from a distance.
Comments
0 comment