Annotated Bibliography

Alban, Deanne. “Anti-Stress Coloring Books For Adults: The Latest Way to Relax.” ​Be

Brain Fit,​ 21 Jan. 2018, ​https://bebrainfit.com/anti-stress-coloring-books/

Coloring enthusiasts say coloring makes them feel calmer, mentally clearer, happier,

and more relaxed. This is almost expected because it focuses the brain similar to

meditation. Many art therapists support adult coloring as a destressing method because

it could act as a “gateway activity” to those that would benefit from art therapy. Coloring

is also beneficial to calm and relax yourself for sleep without disturbing your melatonin

levels.

Dovey, Dana. “The Therapeutic Science of Adult Coloring Books: How this Childhood

Pastime helps Adults Relieve Stress.” ​Medical Daily, ​6 Sept. 2016,

www.medicaldaily.com/therapeutic-science-adult-coloring-books-how-childhood-pastim

e-helps-adults-356280​.

Coloring is not completely accepted as a form of art therapy because by only coloring in

between lines, a part of artistic flair is taken away, but it is still helpful. Coloring helps

people focus and seeing as how the inability to focus is often a symptom of anxiety or

stress, it only makes sense that coloring would help with that. Coloring mimics

mediation in that it allows individuals to relax and switch of their brains and really focus
on the moment and/or focus on one thing. While coloring, individuals’ heart rate and

brain waves change because of the repetition and attention to patterns and details that

coloring comes with.

Healing From Complex Trauma & PTSD/CPTSD. “Colouring is good for adults and ‘Carl

Jung Recommended’ too for Stress Management :)” ​Healing from Complex Trauma &

PTSD/CPTSD, ​15 Oct. 2014,

https://healingfromcomplextraumaandptsd.wordpress.com/2014/10/15/colouring-is-good

-for-adults-and-carl-jung-recommended-too-for-stress-management/

Coloring causes a general wellness and quietness but it also stimulates motor skills,

senses and creativity within the brain. Psychologist Gloria Martinez Ayala says that

people activate different areas of their brains when coloring, “The action involves both

logic, by which we color forms, and creativity, when mixing and matching colors. This

incorporates the areas of the cerebral cortex involved in vision and fine motor skills

(coordination necessary to make small, precise movements). The relaxation that it

provides lowers the activity of the amygdala,a basic part of our brain involved in

controlling emotion that is affected by stress.” Basically, coloring makes people focus on

one thing, something that isn’t a stressor.

jeffreyb129. “Does Coloring REALLY?” ​Art Therapy Coloring, ​Art Therapy Coloring, 21

July 2016, ​https://arttherapycoloring.com/does-coloring-relieve-stress/

Coloring has a long history of being “stress relieving.” Coloring works to suppress

stress-related hormones and decrease brain activity in areas associated with stress and

fight-or-flight while increasing brain activity in the regions related to logic and creativity.

Coloring is/ can also be used to help patients with the discomfort and stress of

treatment and diagnosis. Therapists also often use it to get their patients to a calm and

comfortable state. Coloring also helps people focus in meetings because it gives them

something to do with their hands.

Publishing, Harvard Health. “Focus More to Ease Stress.” ​Harvard Health,

https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/focus-more-to-ease-stress

Focusing is one of the best ways to counter stress. Multitasking doesn’t allow

individuals to focus on things very well and multitasking is one of the biggest reasons

individuals are stressed. Focusing is a direct path to mindfulness, which is the direct

opposite of multitasking. Mindfulness-based stress reduction programs have been

created to treat people struggling with mental issues.

“Stress | Definition of Stress in English by Oxford Dictionaries.” ​Oxford Dictionaries |

English​, Oxford Dictionaries, ​en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/stress

Stress is defined as a ​state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from

adverse or demanding circumstances. It is also defined as ​pressure or tension exerted

on a material object, physiological disturbance or damage caused to an organism by

adverse circumstances, and particular emphasis or importance.