I enjoy creating things, and that includes coloring, so I've gotten a lot of adult coloring books over the years. But they have quickly overstayed their welcome. At first, they were a fun challenge, but now they're more frustrating than anything.

For one thing, there are so many spaces that you have to color. It's overwhelming to look at and it's hard to stick to a decent color palette when there are so many things that need color. And sometimes the sheer number of little patterns and details make it hard to see where one object ends and the next begins.

The highly detailed drawings also leave little room for creativity. Sure, you can choose which colors to put in which spaces, but there's not enough blank space for experimenting with shading or doodling, which is part of the appeal of coloring.

Also, the line art is thin and the spaces are small. For people who don't have good coordination, this is endlessly frustrating as it's nearly impossible to color inside the lines.

Coordination can be learned to some degree, but especially when you're trying to calm down, you're not going to be at your best when it comes to precision work.

Even if your hands aren't shaking like crazy, they are unsteady when you're anxious, so trying to color in a coloring book is not a good distraction, at least to me.

It just draws attention to the fact that I'm not at my best. And the sense of failure makes me feel worse.

There's also this pressure to make something that's worthy of displaying or showing to other people. Most adult coloring books are printed on sturdy paper that is meant to be framed after the picture is completed, and as a result they can also be quite pricey.

These two factors combined can send the message that each page should be "gallery-worthy."

The highly detailed and restrictive illustrations in adult coloring books also sends the message that it's more about the illustrator's talent in drawing than it is the colorist's individual creativity.

I never feel like I'm creating something, I feel like I'm completing someone else's work.

There is some evidence to suggest that coloring in this way can help people improve their motor control, and I've seen the same effects myself, but when it comes to coloring as a way to calm down, meditate, or clear one's mind, I prefer to draw my own creations or use a children's coloring book where I don't have to worry about having the precision of a brain surgeon.