It’s time-consuming and meticulous, you have worked on it for days, stopped and started, almost given up, but the end result is rewarding and you are happy to do it all over again. No it’s not an essay, a fitness regime or a difficult work proposal, it’s the adult colouring book that you picked up from the bookstore last week – and boy are you hooked.
You are not alone; the craze that has swept the country will see ‘adult colouring’ place as the bestselling category of books in 2015. With consecutive works by Johanna Brasford (namely Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest) claiming the top two ‘best-selling’ books on Amazon earlier this year.
So what’s with the resurgence in our desire to draw between the lines? Is it a nostalgic attempt to relive our ebbing youth, or is there some legitimate benefit in the therapeutic nature of the pastime?
Perhaps there is truth in both.
Adult colouring books as a genre have existed for some time, however the recent reframing of the activity as ‘therapeutic’ or ‘calming’ has effectively altered the way we perceive and understand the activity. The change in social perception, from immature to beneficial, allows individuals to feel increasingly comfortable about partaking in a hobby they might have previously dismissed as childish.
The ‘therapeutic’ framing of the hobby is not without legitimacy, with studies concluding that after only one hour of art therapy, adult cancer patients of all ages “overwhelmingly expressed comfort” and a desire to continue with the therapy. Art therapy has also proven helpful to individuals dealing with a plethora of mental conditions; including depression and anxiety. In a modern environment, where an estimated 45% of all Australians are expected to experience a mental health condition at some point in their lives, perhaps adult colouring books present a simple, accessible and natural remedy to a growing social and medical concern.
Although critiqued by some as mindless and lacking in individual expression, the figures are overwhelming, with consumers around the world attesting to the fact – Basford’s debut book, “Secret Garden,” has sold 1.4 million copies worldwide to date.
Whether employed for remedial, leisurely or nostalgic purposes – this craze sure has been one to draw attention.
