5 Tips for Coloring Bliss–Pain Relief

Compiled & Practiced by Jennifer Stay

Coloring is a powerful tool. It can calm your mind, relax your body, eleviate depression, and distractract you from pain. This blissful state promotes healing, creativity, and overall well being.

This is how I color for pain relief:

1: Get Comfortable

In my home, next to my favorite most comfy chair, I have a stash of favorite art tools always ready and waiting for me. The first step is to select art tools that are easy for you to use and then keep them in a convenient place where you will use them often. Choose a supportive and comfortable chair (I elevate my feet). Do everything you can to make yourself relaxed before you begin. Are you warm enough? Is the lighting right? Get a glass of water. Finally, before you begin take a deep breath and relax the muscles in your body. Pain causes unconscious tension..–make the release of this tension part of your coloring ritual.

2: Create–Don’t Produce

In school and work, so much emphasis is put on the end result and achieving perfection. This coloring time is about healing and creating, not about producing masterpieces of art. Let go of any expectations you have for your coloring page. The process of creating is where the pain relief will come. Learn to relax into the artwork and ignore your inner critic. This is not the time to over analyze light and contrast, color balance, or whether you stayed inside the lines. No one has to see your art unless you choose to let them, so embrace your inner 5 year old and start coloring.

3: Immerse Yourself

You know that wonderful feeling when you first slip into a nice warm bubble bath? That’s the feeling we want to create when coloring. Immerse yourself in the entire artistic experience. I love the way my markers smell when I first pull off the cap. I take time to run my fingers across the paper and feel its texture. I like to watch the colors fill the spaces of the paper and see how it changes the way the art feels

4: Let Time Pass

There are times when coloring has helped me endure hours of pain. I get lost in the bliss of creation, and at the end of the journey I have a beautiful piece of art to enjoy. When you sit down to color, put away your clocks and phones and just let the time pass. Set an alarm to remind you when you need to stop and then let the art completely distract you from pain, stress, and all other things that are out of your control.

5: Nurture Your Body and Soul

Have you recently watched a child coloring? They often hum, tilt their head from side to side, use their whole arm, swing their feet, and grin from ear to ear. Coloring for them is joyful and involves their whole body. While you color, try taking a deep breath every time you change colors. Drink a large glass of water while you create. Roll your shoulders and stretch your neck each time you start a new section. Think about happy things and SMILE!

Need somewhere to start? Click Here for Dozens of Coloring Pages