The last few days I have felt really stressed, anxious and tense and although exercise helps relieve alot of those feelings of anxiety and stress, an adult colouring in book and pretty pencils actually really made a difference.
My lovely sister dropped by with the book and pencils to cheer me up and I left them on my coffee table until I felt like giving it a go.
Today was that day, it was raining outside, my husband is travelling for work and my Spoodle Zoe is having a lazy day sleeping because she can’t go to the park while it’s wet outside.
So here I was tense, stressed, anxious and alone with time on my hands so I sat down to colour, and after around 10 minutes I started to finally relax. My heart stopped racing so much and my tension headache eased. I could feel my blood pressure drop and I started to feel ‘zoned out’ – the same sort of feeling as what I know to be mindfulness. I felt soothed.
The reason being is that neuroscientists have produced evidence that colouring in has an impact on brain function. Coloring has a de-stressing effect because when we focus on a particular activity, we focus on it and not on our worries.
Although coloring a couple of hours does not eliminate all problems and worries, it takes us away and relieves us from the stress that overwhelms us. You should give it a go! Its better than binge eating!
Hope this helps
Suzanne The Lifestylist