A couple weeks ago, I was going through a period of time where I was super stressed and would randomly break out in either tears or random fits of anger. I was going through what some may call a “rough patch."

My best friend recommended I get myself a coloring book. At first I thought it would be dumb and a waste of money, but eventually, I decided to buy one. I went on Amazon and bought myself an adult coloring book and super fancy fine markers that don’t bleed through the page. After about 10 minutes of coloring, I was hooked.

I carry my coloring book everywhere, and I consider myself a strong advocate of coloring. For the stressed people of the world, I present you a solution to relax: sit back, blast some music, and color.

I don’t know what it is about sitting there and choosing my own colors to go with these silly patterns and flowers, but it makes me feel so satisfied. Even when the colors clearly look awful together, the feeling of completion relieves so much stress it’s truly unbelievable.

Whenever I’m I feel my blood boiling or find myself in a tricky situation, I grab my headphones, blast some music, and color. Yeah, in the real world this may be a bit unrealistic, but after a long day, coming home to color makes life a lot less stressful. I think it has to do with accomplishing something while focusing on nothing but coloring. It is as if you’re brain goes to a different place while you’re picking different colors to go with different patterns. It’s so comforting and tranquilizing.

I have talked to a couple people who have disclosed to me that coloring makes them more stressed because everything is so tiny and they want to make it look perfect; however, if this is the case for some people they should invest in some more fun and less advanced coloring books.

I, myself, am a perfectionist. If the colors don’t match or look good together it bothers me, but if anything it makes me more motivated to continue to color to make it look better. You need to place yourself in the right mindset to be able to relieve stress while coloring. You must allow your mind to go blank, and this sounds hard, but if you pay attention to the colors and the way they spread on the page. It’s very simple.

Coloring gives me a sense of control in a world that is very hectic and wild. If you are stressed or find yourself just worrying about nothing all the time, I would suggest investing in a coloring book because I think it’s worth it. Coloring books work, so buy yourself one and find yourself calmer and happier with each completed work of art!