Adult/mindfulness colouring books - The new big thing, apparently

[LagoonaBlue]

OK, so adult colouring books have been on the scene since at least 2015, but they're now becoming super popular, with every man and his dog getting involved.

Apparently the majority of people that use these books are students. Someone told me when I was at university that they were good stress relief tools, however I didn't buy into the fad.

What's everyone's opinion of them? Are they going to stick around or are they just another faddy thing, like loom bands? Does anyone do them?

Spoiler: Examples of what I mean. Image heavy.

As far as I know those are free to use. You're supposed to print them out and colour them in.

 

[ToroidalBoat]

I don't get the fad. Why not just learn to draw, instead of coloring in something someone else drew?

 

[LagoonaBlue]

I don't get the fad. Why not just learn to draw, instead of coloring in something someone else drew?

I think it's more to do with "Some people lack the time/patience" required to learn to draw, but are ok colouring a pre-made template because it saves them time.

 

[Wallace]

I believe it's designed to be a tool for practicing mindfulness, for when meditation is too boring and mainstream.

 

[Infidel]

I don't get the fad. Why not just learn to draw, instead of coloring in something someone else drew?

Drawing is stressful and makes you wanna kill an entire litter of kittens even if you are a reasonably good artist.

... But I agree on the 'not getting the fad' thing. I can understand the use but not the burst in popularity.
Either adults who wished they were still kids or attempting to calm themselves down by using something used for people with actual autism or severe cases of anxiety.

Cause not being entirely mentally sane is cool y'know.

 

[LagoonaBlue]

... But I agree on the 'not getting the fad' thing. I can understand the use but not the burst in popularity.
Either adults who wished they were still kids or attempting to calm themselves down by using something used for people with actual autism or severe cases of anxiety.

Wouldn't adults who wished they were still kids be colouring kiddy colouring books though? Just a thought.

 

[Doc Cassidy]

Gay

 

[Varg Did Nothing Wrong]

This shit is no different than the giant coloring posters I had when I was like 10-15 years old. Psychedelic-looking patterns and shit.

This "mindfulness" shit sounds like made-up hippie Newspeak. If they just said it was for relaxation or something, whatever - who am I to judge someone's hobbies. I don't understand why everything has to be couched in buzzwords these days.

 

[AnOminous]

This shit is no different than the giant coloring posters I had when I was like 10-15 years old. Psychedelic-looking patterns and shit.

This "mindfulness" shit sounds like made-up hippie Newspeak. If they just said it was for relaxation or something, whatever - who am I to judge someone's hobbies. I don't understand why everything has to be couched in buzzwords these days.

It's to make it sound like it has some spiritual virtue to it. It's a cultural appropriation of a Buddhist concept.

 

[José Mourinho]

Didn't some university tried to have coloring books for adults to get over their election tensions or something

 

[LagoonaBlue]

This "mindfulness" shit sounds like made-up hippie Newspeak. If they just said it was for relaxation or something, whatever - who am I to judge someone's hobbies. I don't understand why everything has to be couched in buzzwords these days.

The thing is, a lot of publishers actually print "Mindfulness Colouring" on the books. That's what they are marketed as.

:powerlevel: I'll admit now I own one of those books, it's a cheap one I picked up in Poundland and it's fun to sit and do if I'm completely and utterly bored out of my skull but I have other hobbies I like to focus on.

Didn't some university tried to have coloring books for adults to get over their election tensions or something

No idea. Might have to look into that! I know some unis recommend them to people who are going through exams as a form of relaxation. To be fair I used to hate doing exams (I also hated assignments and my dissertation) but back when I did my coursework I focused on other things to take my mind off things.

 

[Mimic]

Like many I can see the usefulness, but the popularity is baffling. It is pretty relaxing to let your mind go and just color and stuff, but even just handwriting something can have the same effect.

So yeah, not a bad idea, but why is it so popular suddenly?

 

[Wallace]

 

[Xarpho]

I first noticed them early last year at a Target. I later told myself that they probably sold like hotcakes on November 9th in liberal areas.

 

[_blank_]

Years ago when I was warming a seat as a rep in a collections department, coloring books were a hot commodity. You'd have these bitter 40-year old women, drug-addled college dropouts, and the recently let go from a better job because of the recession ( *ahem* ) , all scribbling away at whatever coloring book they could get from Wally World.

The main idea behind this was to essentially be a stress relief from having to cold call a bunch of deadbeats and/or people who don't understand how credit cards work and being hung up on and/or yelled at for hours at a go. It was either that or collecting pamphlets about suicide. (I had eight!)

Only thing was that back then there weren't any coloring books. No one cares if you're a 56-year old woman getting through your second divorce and your stepson in the reincarnation of John Gacy, Hazel - you get a choice of either goddamn Frozen or Applejack's motherfucking super fun time at the pony carnival! Now get back to work collecting money from DairyQueenNaquisha Jones.

So yeah, I can totally understand the appeal of adult coloring books- it's a small respite for those stuck in cubicles making $13 an hour while some stuck up hipster from Seattle yells at the rep for five minutes about how much better he is because he drives an Audi (and yet still can't figure out how to pay $50 on his credit card).

 

[Maiden-TieJuan]

I tried the coloring book route to stress relief. It works pretty well, by forcing you to focus on something else (coloring, choosing color, etc.) AND slowly the reason you were stressed or upset slowly loses focus and the feeling goes away. Say your daughter just got in trouble for not turning in a term paper, and told the teacher to "fuck off!" When asked for it. Feel like wrapping your shaking hands around her preteen throat? Try coloring! The act of concentrating on the coloring book makes the immediacy of your situation fade and your anger and irritation goes down to manageable levels. Simple!

I tried it for a bit, but it gets boring quickly. Also it doesn't work 100% of the time either. I prefer to use cooking or other hobbies to reduce my urge to smack a bitch. Too bad there isn't anything that works for road rage. THAT is my problem.

 

[vertexwindi]

So yeah, not a bad idea, but why is it so popular suddenly?

A generation of overcoddled children turning into adults that can't go of their childhood.

 

[LagoonaBlue]

So yeah, not a bad idea, but why is it so popular suddenly?

Pretty sure news anchors, women's weekly magazines etc. have touted them in the UK which is probably why they're popular here.

 

[Steve Mayers]

This shit is no different than the giant coloring posters I had when I was like 10-15 years old. Psychedelic-looking patterns and shit.

This "mindfulness" shit sounds like made-up hippie Newspeak. If they just said it was for relaxation or something, whatever - who am I to judge someone's hobbies. I don't understand why everything has to be couched in buzzwords these days.

"Mindfullness" is nothing more than the Yuppie spirituality fad de jour. Much like how a few years ago every single yuppie did yoga and thought they were yoga experts. They'll move onto some other vapid spirituality fad within a year or 2.

 

[Tranhuviya]

These look like what I saw when I dropped some bad acid.