In social networks, pages and clubs of adult coloring lovers appear. Some people are said to motivate themselves to pay off their debts by doing coloring. Game of Thrones coloring book released. Have adults suddenly fallen into childhood?
Back in June, journalists were amazed at the unprecedented success of illustrator Joanna Basford’s second coloring book, The Enchanted Forest, which ended up at number 9 on Amazon’s UK bestseller list. And now she is already in 12th place in the Top 100 of the American Amazon, and in the first place — guess what? — coloring by the same artist «Secret Garden»1. Before our eyes, a simple children’s activity is rapidly turning into a popular hobby for adults.
Sales leaders
Basford is not the only one who managed to hit the top sellers thanks to the coloring book. The third place in the American list of the most popular books is held by a «stress-relieving» coloring book for adults, created by a team of artists. In the UK, animal coloring is ranked 3rd, anti-stress coloring is XNUMXth, and «relaxing» is XNUMXth. As we can see, this is a trend among such books — publishers emphasize in every possible way that coloring pictures is beneficial.
- Coloring pages bring us benefit and joy
But the coloring pages of the artist Jenine Morrison (Jenean Morrison) have already disappeared from the Top 100 of the American Amazon (they stayed there for 8 weeks at the beginning of the year), but she managed to benefit from the current fashion. For the whole of last year, she managed to sell 15 books on Amazon, and since the beginning of this year, she has already sold 414 copies. This increase in sales took her by surprise. “Have they wanted to do this for a long time, but were afraid to confess to their friends?” the artist is surprised.
Why they are loved
Adult coloring books have been produced before. But until recently, it seemed to many that it was somehow ashamed for an adult to get involved in such an activity that even young children can handle. Publishers circumvent these preconceptions by emphasizing the health benefits of coloring and emphasizing the scientifically proven benefits of the process. “By selling these books as a stress reliever, we kind of give people permission to enjoy a seemingly frivolous activity,” Michael O’Mara, a spokesman for the publishing house, told The Guardian.2.
Indeed, many fans of adult coloring books have embraced the idea that coloring promotes mindfulness and helps relieve stress. Zhenine Morrison receives letters in which readers say that this is what they like coloring. She recently received a commission from a prison where inmates use coloring books for therapy and stress relief, and patients recovering from surgery have written to her that the coloring pages help them endure the rigors of bed rest.
Why are they useful
Is it true that coloring relieves stress? One of the first psychologists who used mandala painting as a relaxation technique as early as the beginning of the XNUMXth century was Carl-Gustav Jung. However, over the past century, studies on the benefits of coloring specifically for adults have not yet been conducted. But many psychologists recognize the benefits of this exercise. “Through the repetitive movements of coloring, you allow your brain to relax and immerse yourself in the meditative process,” explains art therapist Saba Harouni (Saba Harouni).
During coloring, we activate different areas in both hemispheres of the brain. “This is where both logic and creativity come into play when we match and mix colors,” says psychologist Gloria Martinez Ayala. “Coloring is relaxing, which reduces activity in the amygdala, an area of the brain associated with managing emotions that is affected by stress.”
- Mandala, a journey deep into yourself
To put it simply, coloring relieves stress because when we focus on an activity, we forget about our troubles. But it also sparks our imagination and takes us back to childhood, a period in which we most likely had a lot less stress.
So unconsciously and very quickly we bring ourselves into a good state of mind. “I recommend coloring to clients as a relaxation technique,” says psychologist Anthony Martinez. “It allows us to enter a freer and more creative state.” And besides, it helps to be in touch with our feelings, because depending on the mood, we choose different colors or their saturation. “I did it myself,” the psychologist admits. — I advise you to paint in a quiet environment, maybe with calm music. And let color solutions arise spontaneously.”
1 Both books were published in Russian by the publishing house Azbuka-Atticus, KoLibri in 2015.
2 You can find out more about the list of best-selling coloring pages on the guardian.com website in the «Books» section.