Anti Stress Coloring Book for Adults

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The story behind this anti stress coloring book is kind of personal. I will share it in a moment but first, I wanted to share the goal. Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.

 

 

Sometimes, the best way to calm yourself, especially when you know that the anxiety is exaggerated, and goes beyond reason, is to “drill it into your brain”.

 

I know for myself, that repeating certain “mantras” over and over again have worked wonders for me. “Keep Climbing.” “Stop Fighting, Start Living.” And my all-time favorite: “Perfection is a myth…”

 

Coloring can be a mindless endeavor, but it can also be a time to think, meditate, become mindful. Coloring these encouraging statements have caused me to repeat them over and over again, drill it in my brain…

 

Check out the anti stress coloring book here, or scroll on for a full preview of the interior and more details of how it came to be.

 

 

The story behind the anti stress coloring book:

I had just had a baby.

We purchased a house. Moving day was 3 weeks after the baby was born.

I was living my worst nightmare: it was time to go and more than half the house was unpacked.

Then came a hectic summer, trying to get our boxes unpacked with relatives visiting for weeks… Did I mention I had a newborn to care for too?

 

I found that the depression and anxiety I had experienced during pregnancy wasn’t going away. It was mounting with added responsibilities.

 

As I shared how I was feeling with some friends, one of them gave me this brilliant idea: to create an anti stress coloring book that featured these expressions that you can repeat to yourself again and again as you color as a calming tool that’s also lots of fun.

 

A friend of mine created these free printable motivating planner stickers you can check out too if you love this concept!

 

 

Check out the anti stress coloring book here, or scroll on for a full preview of the interior.

 

 

How this anti stress coloring book developed:

 

I was debating whether I should make a full coloring book, available for print, or a smaller packet, but decided to do something in between: a ten-page digital packet. 

 

 

But there was one thing I KNEW I needed as a main feature of this anti stress coloring book: stress-free pages to color.

My goal when designing the borders on these pages was to allow some room for creativity as I typically do, but to keep the focus on mindless coloring – easy patterns that you can fill in with small markers (these are my favorites) and that will look great even if you don’t do it perfectly – because isn’t that the point?

 

I started with this page that reads “think happy thoughts”. I colored it using STABILO markers that I wanted to try out (I’m a brand ambassador for STABILO so they sent me lots of cool things that I’m still playing with.)

 

 

I colored this page more “on the go” – not at a desk, so I chose the Trio 2-in-1 and the Point 88 Mini. I like the Trio 2-in-1 because it has two tips – the wider tip was perfect for larger spaces, and then it has a smaller tip on the other end, allowing me to have multiple sizes in the same tone.

Check out the anti stress coloring book here, or scroll on for a full preview of the interior.

 

A peek at the pages inside the anti stress coloring book:

 

As I mentioned above, I decided to go with an in-between size digital coloring book for this. There are ten pages in a single PDF file (where you can choose which page number to print.)

 

I personally like offering digital coloring books:

1. It keeps the price down for you.
2. It gives you options how you’d like to print it (for example, on cardstock…)

 

Here are low resolution sample previews of the pages in the anti stress coloring book:

 

You’ve got this.

 

 

Sometimes you just begin to feel like you’re losing your hold. Tell yourself you’ve got this. Remind yourself how you had it in the past.

 

 

This too shall pass.

 

I feel like this expression is something we relate to only when an actual bad thing happens – and not in relation to our own bad feelings. But our sadness, depression, feelings of helplessness will pass too. The anxiety we feel, the out-of-control, overtired feeling that gets so many moms (new moms and not-so-new moms…)

A year later, I know that this expression is so true, as yes, those feelings HAVE passed – at least for the time being!

 

Think Happy Thoughts:

 

Trying to eliminate a bad feeling can be hard – trying to replace it with a good thought is a bit easier. It’s like how I talk to my toddler, instead of “don’t do this”, I’ll say “do this instead”. Or how I diet, instead of “don’t eat that” it’s “eat this instead.” Your thoughts can be treated the same way…

 

 

Take care of you:

 

It’s something I talk about a lot here on Moms & Crafters – especially when talking to moms. Taking care of yourself – even giving yourself the break you take while coloring these anti stress coloring pages – is so important. Rushing, rushing, doing, never stopping is a recipe for… crashing.

 

 

Stop fighting start living:

 

At one point I know I felt like I was just fighting what was happening, I didn’t like my home, I was dissatisfied with the blog… when you’re down, everything seems bleak. Stopping and focusing on what I DID have allowed me to live it, and to start really enjoying it. It can be life-changing.

 

 

Perfection is a myth:

 

 

This is a personal favorite that you’ll also hear me saying a lot. When you let go of that perceived goal of perfection, and realize that it’s not a human trait, that your goal is just to do as good as you can, you can suddenly feel much more accomplished.

 

Keep climbing:

 

This follows through on the above coloring page: as long as I’m climbing. I don’t need to be there yet – ever. I just need to be progressing.

 

I will be okay:

 

Just keep reminding yourself – that you’ll be okay, it will pass, things will work out.

 

It will work out even if not how I planned:

 

Letting go of our perceived control of things lets go of a huge part of the anxiety. I know that it can be challenging to embrace changes in plans, but reminding yourself that it will work out even if it’s differently, you can let go a little.

 

I can handle this:

 

Above everything else, know that whatever life throws your way, you can handle it. Just keep telling it to yourself.

 

 

Ready to treat yourself (or someone you love) to the anti stress coloring book?

Good news is, I made sure to keep it affordable for everyone. You can purchase it on Etsy or Gumroad below. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

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