Adult Colouring Books – Therapy or Fad?

Confession time: when I first came across the concept of colouring books for adults, I rolled my eyes and kept on scrolling. But the next time I was colouring with my 4 year old, it struck me that actually, I kept colouring long after she lost interest and went off to scold the children in her pretend nursery in her bedroom.

So I had to ask myself: why did I keep going when my child’s attention span had let me off the hook? Answer: there is something intensely satisfying about matching colours & turning something bland into something pretty. The activity itself is soothing; just enough concentration is required that you stop thinking about other things.

My life has been decimated by pain in recent years. What used to be chronic is now literally daily. So any activity or strategy that might lower stress levels a little or distract my mind from pain & related issues for a while is worth a try.

In that spirit, I ordered myself a few adults colouring bits & pieces to get started:

As my colouring starter kit, I went for:

Mermaids – Selena Fenech
Autumn Garden Colouring Book – De-Ann Black
BiC Conte Colouring Pencils (Tin of 12)
Staedtler Noris Club 326 WP20 Fibre Tip Pen In Wallet 20 Assorted Colours

I’ve had my colouring stuff for a few days and I love it so far. It’s a quiet activity that is oddly soothing and is a fun thing to do when I want my brain to stop thinking so loudly about pain, meds and oh-God-am-I going-to-hurt-everyday-for-the-rest-of-my-life type thoughts.

Will I still find it fabulous when the novelty wears off? I’ll do another post on a couple of weeks and let you know. I’ll also let you know how these particular supplies performed in case you fancy putting together your own colouring starter kit.

In the meantime, if you are living with a chronic condition & want are contemplating colouring, check out this post from fellow spoonie Sarah Willow (@SarahWillow87) who encouraged me to give it a try. For reviews of individual colouring books, check out the Colour with Claire website.

Have you tried colouring? Do you think it is an effective way to reduce stress or distract the mind from pain or worries?

Wishing you good luck & happy days,

Kindra x

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