Remember how as a child you would whittle away the hours with your crayons and your coloring book, totally oblivious to your surroundings, fully engaged in coloring without a care in the world? Coloring books are making an appearance again, but this time for adults. You can literally color your stress away.

What a great way to gift a friend for the holidays or the New Year. A coloring book is the kind of gift that instantly brings out the inner child and melts stress.

According to an article on Mercola.com, “The history of coloring as a stress reliever goes back to the time of psychologist Carl Jung. Jung recommended coloring to his patients as a way to reduce their stress levels and to help them feel calmer.” 

The website also states that, “The first coloring book was created in 1880 by McLoughlin Brothers, later part of Milton Bradley Company. Their first book, ‘The Little Folks’ Painting Book’ is credited as the first published coloring book.”

“Up until 1970,” the article continues, “adults were using children’s coloring books if they wanted to enjoy spending time coloring with their children. Dover Publications was the first to publish a book aimed at adults in 1970. It was called “Antique Automobiles” and since that time, August 2nd has been declared as the National Coloring Book Day.”

A recent article on Time.com reports that Crayola, has jumped into the adult coloring book arena. They have created a line of books and art supplies called Color Escapes, intended to provide “a soothing, creative experiences that’s easy to do and easy on your mind.” According to the article, “The kit includes four collections – nature, kaleidoscope, geometric and garden.” 

There are literally dozens of techniques available to help relieve stress, with EFT tapping and self-hypnosis being two of my favorites. However, sometimes there’s just nothing as soothing as sitting down with a box of crayons and colored pencils for a mindless session of adding color to a page of black and white images.

The adult coloring book trend is a growing one as reported on gizmodo.com, which says that an artist owns “two slots of the top seven books on Amazon.” They are “wildly popular” coloring books for grownups and contain the artist’s black and white drawings and they are selling millions of copies. 

Do you remember coloring with your friends as a child? I do. It was so much fun. Imagine inviting your grown up friends over to color: A cup of tea, some brightly colored crayons and pencils, soft, soothing music in the background.  Make sure you collect all electronic devices at the door and really unplug from the world. It’s a great way to feel like a kid again, safely engaged in an imaginative endeavor without a care in the world.

Want to learn more about how to practice self-hypnosis?

If your answer is yes, then you will love my Stress Free NOW! Self-Hypnosis Combo Pack™.  You can check it out here https://lindaallred.com/stress-free-now/