I hadn’t touched a colouring book since I filled pages in with the help of my grandma. That is until a month-long overseas trip left me stranded with nothing but a Kindle for entertainment. Those hours spent waiting in the car or at the airport had my hands itching for something to do. After many sighs and long lost looks, someone shoved a colouring page in my hands and I began to explore different colour combinations with my arsenal of colouring pencils.
Just like that, I had rediscovered what it was like to be a kid again. Except this time, it was socially acceptable; my aesthetic choices weren’t an eyesore, and I could actually colour within the lines.
Not only was I entertained, but I found colouring to be a great way to relax. To my surprise, I found out I wasn’t the only one. According to the Huffington Post, colouring mandalas were first used as a form of therapy by psychiatrist Carl Jung in the early 20th century. Not only does colouring stimulate different parts of the brain, the simple act of putting pencil to paper has a de-stressing effect.
According to psychologist Gloria Ayala, colouring “brings out our imagination and takes us back to our childhood—a period in which we most certainly had a lot less stress.” Not only that, but focusing on a task has us subconsciously put all our worries on the back burner and become present.
I definitely wasn’t the only one having a great time with this. When I came back from my trip, I found that the selection of adult colouring books had exploded while I was away and I could literally be doing this everyday if I wanted. Simply Googling the words “colouring page for adults” had me rifling through just about a billion results, all of which were printable.
With all the stress of work, school, and the daily demands of life, colouring is something I highly recommend. Why not have a colouring party with friends? Making some art for a night and socializing is a great stress reliever, especially if you really need some time off and can’t afford it. You can even colour on the fly—a colouring book makes a great activity in-between classes or when waiting for a friend. In fact, why not have a go at it right now? Grab your pencils and find a copy of the Nav on campus, flip to #page22, and you may be surprised.