Adult colouring books have become all the rage, even in Pakistan

Adult colouring books have become all the rage, thanks to their therapeutic, relaxing impact.

KARACHI: Bringing to life a pencil sketch using poster colours or sorting prized possessions such as crayons and oil pastels used to be the favourite childhood pastime for many of us. However, with adulthood happening, most left these activities behind, embracing dull and uninteresting hobbies of grown-ups.

However, with the stress of work life and the growing number of mental health issues in adults, one can note that colouring has indeed made a comeback.

Although adult coloring books first became commercially available in 2012, the trend picked up pace in the past year or so, with several books becoming monthly bestsellers on platforms such as Amazon. Today, the activity of colouring is being considered an alternative to meditation.



Like several other countries, Pakistan too has recently seen a surge in demand for adult colouring books.

“Colouring is a de-stressor; it works the same way in adults as it does in children. It takes away your attention, allowing you to focus on details,” argues behavioural psychologist Irsa Usman. She connects the increase in demand to the economic and psychological stressors present in our society today. “This stands true for the rest of the world too. No doubt our people have caught up with the trend to relieve some of their daily stress,” she says.



Since the activity does not require any special skill and all one really has to do is fill in colour in patterns or pictures, it is also used as a therapeutic intervention. Cancer patients, for instance, can get help in decreasing disease-related distress through colouring. Usman says it can also help people with depression, anxiety, dementia and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Readily available

So how did these books manage to catch our attention from among the easily available e-books and e-book readers?

Firstly, reading a book stimulates thinking but for the times when we are riddled with anxiety, colouring books can become saviours.

Adult colouring books are comparatively different from the ones designed for children. These are based on geometric patterns with intricate designs. Choosing the perfect shade of a colour to fill in the various patterns requires focus and takes away all the other thoughts from the adult brain. Also, the repetitive motion of filling in the details of these patterns creates a centre point around which our thoughts revolve.

Secondly, these books are easily accessible. While several bookstores have made these books available on their shelves, various patterns are also easily available online on sites such as Pinterest. One only needs to print a few of these pages, pull out the crayons and get to work.



Finally, colouring lets us unplug from our devices, which is a major source of stress and unhappiness. According to a research held at University of Gothenburg, Sweden, heavy use of technology leads to fatigue, stress and depression in young adults.

Pakistan’s first-ever

Abdullah Syed, a Washington DC based Pakistani artist and illustrator, designed Pakistan’s first-ever themed adult colouring book. Rangeen Pakistan features Lahore with more than 30 illustrations of the magnificent city. “Adult colouring is popular these days. I bought a colouring book some time ago and also made a sketch of Minar-e-Pakistan. While colouring this illustration, the idea of compiling a few illustrations on Lahore struck me. That’s how it happened,” says Syed, when asked about how his book came into being. Luckily for Karachiites, he does plan on illustrating the city of lights.

Sense of achievement

Taking on a creative project such as colouring and finishing it successfully, develops a sense of achievement. Many college students have thus started carrying these books to their classrooms as colouring helps them remain focused on learning. Therapy sessions, discussion forums and counselling have all found these books useful as they can help avoid anxiety-associated mental images. Individuals practicing mindfulness, the ability of seeing one’s own thoughts from a distance, will also benefit by colouring.

The writer is a bio-technologist, writer and feminist. She blogs at kanwalmeghjii.wordpress.com

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2016.

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