My Latest Favorite Books
My latest favorite books are...coloring books! My recent blog shows much of my work and discusses this - http://stopeatingyourheartout.com/201...
Color Me Peaceful
Have you heard that coloring for adults is the newest fad? And, unlike some other crazes, this one is really good for you!
I have wanted to write this article for several weeks, but I’ve just been too busy coloring to sit down and write this blog!
Coloring has many health benefits including:
Reduces stress and anxiety
Exercises fine motor skills
Trains the brain to focus
Is inherently fun
Generates wellness
Improves your vision
Allows you freedom of expression
Leads to a sense of personal satisfaction
What some psychologists are saying…
According to the clinical psychologist Dr. Ben Michaelis, since coloring in a coloring book is structured, it activates the logic part of the brain and generates creativity. And, “because it’s a centering activity, the amygdala, which is the part of the brain that is involved with our fear response, actually gets a bit of a rest and has a calming effect over time.”
Furthermore, psychologist Gloria Martinez Ayala explains that the action of coloring “involves both logic, by which we color forms, and creativity, when mixing and matching colors. This incorporates the areas of the cerebral cortex involved in vision and fine motor skills. The relaxation that it provides lowers the activity of the amygdala, a basic part of the brain involved in controlling emotion that is affected by stress.”
Coloring is not new. We did it as children. In addition, Carl Jung saw coloring as a relaxation technique and gave mandalas to his clients to color as part of their therapy in the early 20th century.
Psychologist Antoni Martinez recommends it as a relaxation technique. “We use it to enter into a more creative, freer state” and says that we can also use it to connect with how we feel, since we will choose different colors and intensities depending on our mood.
Check out the recent best seller list on Amazon – it includes several adult coloring books!
My Experience…
My friend gave me a beautiful coloring book of mandalas. But they were so intricate I felt very unsure of myself and, actually, overwhelmed at the thought of attempting one.
So I purchased a coloring book for adult beginners. The patterns were simple and it got me started. Here are a few of the early ones that I did using crayons.
Then I graduated to more challenging images (I purchased several books!)
Sometimes I use colored pencils …
Sometimes I use crayons. This one, for instance, is the same image and I used crayons for a bolder effect.
Sometimes I use thin markers – which gives me the boldness of color that I sometimes seek but might bleed through the paper.
Sometimes I use gel pens, but found the colors weren’t bright enough for me. And most often, now, I use a combination – usually markers plus colored pencils.
These are my favorite creations (so far) - see them at http://stopeatingyourheartout.com/201...
Oh, that easy book that I started with – I am now using it to color with my non-dominant hand, which studies show, helps the brain better integrate its two hemispheres.
And the image you saw me starting at the beginning of this post, I used a combination of colored pencils, markers, gel pens, and crayons…here’s the finished product.
http://stopeatingyourheartout.com/201...
I now only half-jokingly say that coloring is my newest addiction! I have been coloring for about a month and find that I need to color every day for at least a little while. Some days, I will admit, I color for hours and hours. Not only is it very relaxing, it brings me a great amount of joy and pleasure.
Want to give it a try?
My friend and colleague Edwina Curtis is an awesome graphic designer and is gifting you two images to color – just click on this link: Coloring Pages For Adults and you can download these:
http://stopeatingyourheartout.com/201...
Have you done any coloring yourself? What’s been your experience?
Love and Blessings,
PS An added benefit for compulsive overeaters – it keeps your hand busy and might keep you from mindless eating!
Speaking of mindless eating, I did my share of it in my earlier years. You can read about my trials and tribulations with overeating and emotional eating AND the tools I used to recover in my Amazon best seller, Stop Eating Your Heart Out, available in 5 formats:
Print version (for those of you like me who prefer turning paper pages of a book and writing in the margins!) StopEatingYourHeartOut.com/my-book
Kindle and Nook eBook versions
Audiobook (check out how you can get it for free) StopEatingYourHeartOut.com/Audible
Workbook – pdf version. Newly revised, expanded edition. StopEatingYourHeartOut.com/RevisedWor...
Kindle Workbook – The digital version allows you to take the exercises with you! StopEatingYourHeartOut.com/DigitalWor...
Color Me Peaceful
Have you heard that coloring for adults is the newest fad? And, unlike some other crazes, this one is really good for you!
I have wanted to write this article for several weeks, but I’ve just been too busy coloring to sit down and write this blog!
Coloring has many health benefits including:
Reduces stress and anxiety
Exercises fine motor skills
Trains the brain to focus
Is inherently fun
Generates wellness
Improves your vision
Allows you freedom of expression
Leads to a sense of personal satisfaction
What some psychologists are saying…
According to the clinical psychologist Dr. Ben Michaelis, since coloring in a coloring book is structured, it activates the logic part of the brain and generates creativity. And, “because it’s a centering activity, the amygdala, which is the part of the brain that is involved with our fear response, actually gets a bit of a rest and has a calming effect over time.”
Furthermore, psychologist Gloria Martinez Ayala explains that the action of coloring “involves both logic, by which we color forms, and creativity, when mixing and matching colors. This incorporates the areas of the cerebral cortex involved in vision and fine motor skills. The relaxation that it provides lowers the activity of the amygdala, a basic part of the brain involved in controlling emotion that is affected by stress.”
Coloring is not new. We did it as children. In addition, Carl Jung saw coloring as a relaxation technique and gave mandalas to his clients to color as part of their therapy in the early 20th century.
Psychologist Antoni Martinez recommends it as a relaxation technique. “We use it to enter into a more creative, freer state” and says that we can also use it to connect with how we feel, since we will choose different colors and intensities depending on our mood.
Check out the recent best seller list on Amazon – it includes several adult coloring books!
My Experience…
My friend gave me a beautiful coloring book of mandalas. But they were so intricate I felt very unsure of myself and, actually, overwhelmed at the thought of attempting one.
So I purchased a coloring book for adult beginners. The patterns were simple and it got me started. Here are a few of the early ones that I did using crayons.
Then I graduated to more challenging images (I purchased several books!)
Sometimes I use colored pencils …
Sometimes I use crayons. This one, for instance, is the same image and I used crayons for a bolder effect.
Sometimes I use thin markers – which gives me the boldness of color that I sometimes seek but might bleed through the paper.
Sometimes I use gel pens, but found the colors weren’t bright enough for me. And most often, now, I use a combination – usually markers plus colored pencils.
These are my favorite creations (so far) - see them at http://stopeatingyourheartout.com/201...
Oh, that easy book that I started with – I am now using it to color with my non-dominant hand, which studies show, helps the brain better integrate its two hemispheres.
And the image you saw me starting at the beginning of this post, I used a combination of colored pencils, markers, gel pens, and crayons…here’s the finished product.
http://stopeatingyourheartout.com/201...
I now only half-jokingly say that coloring is my newest addiction! I have been coloring for about a month and find that I need to color every day for at least a little while. Some days, I will admit, I color for hours and hours. Not only is it very relaxing, it brings me a great amount of joy and pleasure.
Want to give it a try?
My friend and colleague Edwina Curtis is an awesome graphic designer and is gifting you two images to color – just click on this link: Coloring Pages For Adults and you can download these:
http://stopeatingyourheartout.com/201...
Have you done any coloring yourself? What’s been your experience?
Love and Blessings,
PS An added benefit for compulsive overeaters – it keeps your hand busy and might keep you from mindless eating!
Speaking of mindless eating, I did my share of it in my earlier years. You can read about my trials and tribulations with overeating and emotional eating AND the tools I used to recover in my Amazon best seller, Stop Eating Your Heart Out, available in 5 formats:
Print version (for those of you like me who prefer turning paper pages of a book and writing in the margins!) StopEatingYourHeartOut.com/my-book
Kindle and Nook eBook versions
Audiobook (check out how you can get it for free) StopEatingYourHeartOut.com/Audible
Workbook – pdf version. Newly revised, expanded edition. StopEatingYourHeartOut.com/RevisedWor...
Kindle Workbook – The digital version allows you to take the exercises with you! StopEatingYourHeartOut.com/DigitalWor...
No comments have been added yet.
