A couple years ago I received a colouring book as a gift. That book was Johanna Basford's Enchanted Forest. My friend gave it to me because they were really into colouring and I had expressed interest in it as well. They had extra colouring books and thought that I would enjoy colouring just as much as they did, and so they gave me my first adult colouring book.
At first glance, I was intimidated. The amount of detail she puts into every page is astonishing! From every outline of an animal to a blade of grass, she draws every line with immaculate precision, creating a madalaesque effect on every page. After flipping through the book, I decided it was a bit daunting and put it aside for a day when I was feeling a little more ambitious.
A couple weeks later, I went through one of the most difficult times in my adult life and was an emotional wreck. I was in a really terrible place and couldn't get myself out of the hole that I was in. I tried many things, failing to distract myself from thoughts going through my head that were only feeding into the abyss I was feeling inside.
One day, I recall looking through a box and spotted the book my friend had given me. Remembering that art can be used for therapy, I went down to my local art supplies store and picked up a pack of pencil crayons so I could attempt a different method of healing my wounds.
It was great! I sat down and opened the book to a random page and began colouring almost immediately. As soon as I touched the pencil crayon down, my mind went to a happy place filled with vibrant and warm colours beaming with joy. I could concentrate and focus again for the first time in days! I was hooked. I would spend hours sitting there lost in a different world, with only one thing on my mind and that was all I cared about in that moment.
In the calming state of art therapy there is a lot of time for a person to work around situations that lead you to the spot you're currently stuck in. The ability to dissect your thoughts in a more conducive manner. Often times it would feel like 15 voices were trying to talk inside my head, constantly telling me how things went wrong or what I should have done better. With colouring, I was able to clear my thoughts and process things in an orderly fashion without too much clutter inside my head.
Art therapy was a huge part in how I managed my emotions and helped me overcome one of the more difficult times in my life while being able to express myself creatively at the same time. I'm grateful to Johanna Basford for creating her books and to my friend for giving me something to distract and help heal myself with art.