Self care adult coloring post: I'm a very type A person... as if that's not completely obvious. Anyways, a couple months ago I began adult coloring and I must say there is a therapeutic quality I derive from sitting and coloring with my markers. I discovered I like color markers over color pencils because markers take less force to achieve the opacity I like for the depth of my colors on the page to appear. I enjoy adult coloring themes such as this one because I find it to be equally calming and hilarious! It's also a great conversation starter because I've worked on this piece at the bookstore or on the train and people are SHOCKED to see me coloring such a thing! I've always enjoyed providing "shock factor" moments whenever I can get away with it! ***Below is an excerpt from a recent CNN article on the benefits of adult coloring: Despite the fact that coloring and art therapy aren't quite the same thing, coloring does offer a slew of mental benefits. "Coloring definitely has therapeutic potential to reduce anxiety, create focus or bring [about] more mindfulness," says Berberian. Groundbreaking research in 2005 proved anxiety levels dropped when subjects colored mandalas, which are round frames with geometric patterns inside. Simply doodling, though, had no effect in reducing the other subjects' stress levels. Just like meditation, coloring also allows us to switch off our brains from other thoughts and focus only on the moment, helping to alleviate free-floating anxiety. It can be particularly effective for people who aren't comfortable with more creatively expressive forms of art, says Berberian, "My experience has been that those participants who are more guarded find a lot of tranquility in coloring an image. It feels safer and it creates containment around their process," she adds. Source: http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/06/health/adult-coloring-books-popularity-mental-health #AdultColoringTherapy 🖍🖌🎨 #SelfCare #SHAMELESSLYmyself #YouTubeCreator #TMIthursdayWithTasha #GoodVIBESOnly 💙#TriniGyalTings 💁🏾🇹🇹 (at Washington, District of Columbia)