Coloring books were a girl’s best friend back when the times were simpler and the Internet didn’t exist. Well, coloring books are back and now they are for adults with the added bonus of stress relief! Talk about a dream come true!

Believe it or not, psychologists have prescribed coloring to patients for over 100 years! All thanks to famed psychologist, Carl Jung who gave his psychiatry patients mandalas to color as part of their therapy. Coloring actually comes with many health benefits:

• Coloring reduces stress and anxiety, allowing the fear center of your brain to relax, thereby relaxing you. Giving your amygdala periodic rests can actually reduce your stress overall. Since coloring is a meditative activity, it retrains your amygdala to respond less harshly to stress.
• Coloring helps your fine motor skills and vision because it requires the two hemispheres of your brain to communicate. Both logic and creativity are involved in coloring, which incorporate the area of the cerebral cortex involved in vision and fine motor skills that can delay or prevent dementia.
• Coloring also allows you to be you. It is your coloring book and you are free to color whatever you want, any color you want. If you want to color the cat purple, color the cat purple. You may not be able to control everything in life, but what you do in your coloring book is completely up to you.

Now that you know about the health benefits, you have to find the perfect coloring book for you! They come in all shapes, sizes, and themes so get ready to find your new stress relieving BFF!

For the 80s and 90s Kids

80s and 90s kids rejoice! Your favorite school supplies designer, Lisa Frank, is releasing an adult coloring book. Grab your gel pens and scented markers, it’s time to color your heart out! The coloring books will be available next month at Dollar General.

For the Yogi

Mindful Mandalas: A Mandala Coloring Book

For the Boy Crazy

Color Me Swoon: The Beefcake Activity Book for Good Color-Inners as well as Beginners

For the Chic Cat Lady

Cats in Paris: A Magical Coloring Book

For the 90’s Girl

The 1990s Coloring Book: All That and a Box of Crayons

For the Fashionista

The Look: An Around-the-World Fashion Coloring Book

For the Potty Mouth

Chill the F*ck Out: A Swear Word Coloring Book

For the Book Lover

Off the Bookshelf: 45+ Weirdly Wonderful Designs to Color for Fun & Relaxation

For the Beach Bum

Mermaids: Calm Cool Coloring Collection

If these don’t do it for you, they also have practically every cult movie ever including Star Wars, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Alice in Wonderland, and many other Disney movies.

Now get to coloring!