Adult Coloring Books

Real Benefit or Marketing Genius?

Adult coloring books…really?? And, no…there is nothing X-rated about the ones I’m talking about. These are simply coloring books for grown-ups. The folks who sell adult coloring books are claiming that they’re great stress reducers. An alternative form of art therapy, if you will. Non-believers are standing back scratching and shaking their heads in disbelief, convinced that the people who market them are brilliant scam artists (no pun intended) and the people who buy into it are as gullible as can be and will likely buy anything if you give them a good enough story to go along with it. Johanna Basford is the artist and creator of several such coloring books, like The Secret Garden , which has become one of Amazon’s best sellers. But is there truth to the so-called benefits of adults coloring, or is it all just hype and another way to waste time?

The Secret Garden – One of many adult coloring books by Johanna Basford

Before we get into this thing with adult coloring books, is art therapy even a real thing? It’s no secret that scientists and mental health professionals have been studying the effects of art in its various forms on the human mind for a very long time. Art therapy has been in practice since the 1940’s by artist, Adrian Hill while he was being treated for tuberculosis in a sanatorium. He suggested art to his fellow patients, perhaps just as a way to while the hours away. But he referred to it as ‘art therapy’ in his book Art Versus Illness. British artist, Edward Adamson expanded on Hill’s work and brought art therapy to mental institutions in England. He eventually opened a studio where patients could freely create art without fear of comment or judgment from others. He became an advocate for “non-interventionist” art therapy, allowing patients to simply created art for self-expression rather than for psychological interpretation.

Soon after in the United States, psychologist, Margaret Naumburg began using art therapy as a means to unlock the unconscious by encouraging free association. At the same time, Dr. Edith Kramer, an Austrian woman who studied art in Vienna, founded the art therapy graduate program at New York University after becoming a U.S. citizen in 1944.  She served as the Adjunct Professor of the program from 1973 to 2005. She was also the Assistant Professor of the art therapy graduate program at George Washington University in D.C.

By the middle of the 20th century, many mental health facilities had begun adopting art therapy programs based on observations of how it could “promote emotional, developmental, and cognitive growth in children.” It has continued to develop as “an important tool for assessment, communication, and treatment of children and adults alike.”

In his book Flourish, Martin Seligman, often regarded as the father of positive psychology — writes that there are five critical elements of psychological well-being: “positive emotion, engagement, accomplishment, positive relationships, and meaning.” I think it’s pretty clear that art can provide each of these elements of mental well-being. Most obviously, people who create art or are creative in some way, shape, or form, enjoy doing it. They immerse themselves in it. Time seems to slip away. There is satisfaction in doing it, a sense of accomplishment. Art also helps people to connect with, and work through their emotions, even though they may be unaware of the process as it happens.

Certified art therapist, Megan Robb, at News In Health’s Clinical Center, says, “When traumatic memories are stored in the brain, they’re not stored as words but as images. Art therapy is uniquely suited to access these memories.”  This may be why many people cannot put what they are feeling into words. Art can help a person reach into these areas of the mind and experience parts of themselves that would otherwise remain buried. I would venture an educated guess here and say that much of the daily stresses and anxieties we experience, which we often stuff and bottle up and never give voice to are also stored in the brain as images or vague emotions, and not in words. Through the arts people can find ways to express these memories and emotions usually left in silence. And once these images have been expressed outside the mind in some form of art, it can be identified and words can be used to describe it. In this way, healing can begin, as in the case of someone surviving a trauma. Philosopher and art critic, Arthur Danto said that art is the “transfiguration of the commonplace.” In other words, art somehow becomes infused with far more meaning than what is seen on the surface.

I would have to agree based on personal experience. There have been times when I was dealing with troubling times and the drawings I’ve created during those times seem to have more depth to them and have generally been some of my better works. It’s as though the troubles going through my mind had been released and channeled into my drawing. Creating art can have this very profound and cathartic effect. There is a definite release of emotions and stress. It is not unlike meditation, which has been proven scientifically to reduce stress. Like meditation, creating art helps quiet and focus the mind, often allowing the mind to work through difficult issues. I’m not saying it’s a cure for mental illness or the magic pill that will melt all of your problems away. But, if it can reduce my stress enough that I can continue doing what I have to do on a daily basis and to function acceptably in society, then I think it’s a major plus.

Relaxing can greatly reduce the stress hormone, cortisol, which is responsible for a number of health issues and disease, including obesity.

The problem for many people with overloaded schedules or highly stressful lives is that they have trouble sitting still for even a short period of time and therefore cannot meditate in a way that benefits them. Their frustration with trying to quiet the mind in this manner only serves as an added source of frustration. They know they should do it for their mental well-being, but they struggle with it. And many, if not most, are not gifted with any artistic talent. For those people, I’d be willing to bet that trying to draw or paint would be just as frustrating and stressful. In these cases, two of the best solutions for relieving stress might actually add to it. These adult coloring books would then provide the perfect solution. We’ve already established that creating art has a way of quieting and calming the mind, thus reducing stress much like meditation does. These coloring books provide a ready-made image to be colored in.  It’s there, stress-free and ready to go.

You may argue that coloring is not creative at all and I would beg to differ. Creativity is absolutely involved! If you give the same picture from a coloring book to ten different people, you will get ten different results. Creativity happens in color selection, tint and shade selection, choosing which color would look nice next to the previous one used, etc. Take places like Color Me Mine that offer plain white, un-fired pottery or dishware for people to come in and decorate. The person coming in to paint was not the artist who created the pot, dish, or mug. The fact that someone else created that item does not negate the creativity of the person who painted it to their liking.

Guys…coloring won’t affect your masculinity, I promise! Still, you don’t have to color flowers or mandalas if you don’t want to. DC Comics has got you covered.

I also believe that coloring books, adult or otherwise, are not threatening. There is no right or wrong. It’s simply a benign way for someone to lose themselves in a pleasurable, stress-free activity for brief moments out of their otherwise hectic day. It’s a safe, easy, non-frustrating way for them to ‘meditate’, to let their minds relax and focus on one single moment…or to systematically work things out as a relaxed mind is more capable of doing. In any case, it’s fun! And in this rat race that we call life, I think people would be a lot nicer to each other if they could manage to find brief moments throughout each day to be calm, centered, and relaxed. If that comes with the help of a coloring book, then so be it. I won’t be the one to judge. Maybe it’s time to try something new. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! It can’t hurt and besides, it’s cheaper than therapy…