The most popular articles documenting this trend were run in the Huffington Post in October 2014 and then just a few months ago in The New York Times.
While this trend may be surprising to many, to me it makes perfect sense. While reading over the many wonderful articles I read about the topic, I remembered back to a time when crafting and coloring really helped me to relieve stress.
On Friday, September 14, 2001, all of the media were continually broadcasting stories and updates about the terrorist attack on the twin towers. We were still in a state of complete shock and unaware of what would come next. While I can not imagine what it must have been like for people who were in the City then, I was just a few hours north in Saratoga.
I was staying at my sister's and she had previously planned a stamping and card making party. She decided to go ahead with it and so her friends came over and we started crafting. The stamps my sister provided were outlines that were meant to be colored in. As we pieced together our works and colored in the lines, our minds were allowed to focus upon something, anything else for just a few moments. A guest remarked, "This is the longest I've gone without thinking about what happened." She was referring to a 30 or 40 minute period. We all could relate.
What we experienced through coloring was the therapeutic benefit of crafting. As Jayme Kinsey says in the article Benefits of Coloring Books for Adults, "Because coloring (or any other type of art) requires attention to detail, it helps you to "zone out" and forget other things going on in your life."
Coloring is a great craft to have in your repertoire for stress relief, meditation, or fun. I loved doing the research for this article and stay tuned for a book review, free coloring downloads, and a coloring book giveaway this month!
Do you like to color? If so, what do you like about it? If not, why not? Please leave your thoughts, ideas and questions in the comment section below. Don't forget to comment & share on social media!
