Why Adult Coloring Helps Anxiety (and How to Start When Your Brain Won’t Slow Down)
- Jennifer DeSha
- Jan 24
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 7
Welcome to my Unmasking Autism series. This is where I share what I’m learning as I begin to understand my autistic experience and gently come home to myself. These posts are personal, honest, and written with tenderness for the parts of me that have spent years surviving.
There are some seasons of life where your brain just… doesn’t stop.
The thoughts stack. The noise builds. Even when you sit down to rest, your mind doesn’t follow.
I didn’t realize how loud my brain had gotten until I found something that finally quieted it,... coloring.
Not in a “this is productive” kind of way. Not in a “this will fix me” kind of way. Just something simple enough to hold my attention without overwhelming it.
And that’s exactly why it works.
🧠 Why coloring actually helps anxiety
Coloring gives your brain somewhere safe to go.
It’s repetitive. It’s predictable. It doesn’t ask anything from you.
There are no decisions that feel too big. No pressure to perform. No expectation to be good at it.
Just color inside a space.
For a brain that’s overstimulated or constantly processing, that kind of simplicity is regulating.
🌿 Why it works especially well for neurodivergent minds
If you’re autistic or experience sensory overwhelm, you probably already know what it feels like to need something that brings you back to yourself.
Coloring does that.
No social interaction
No fast pace
No unexpected outcomes
It’s one of the few activities that lets your nervous system soften without asking you to “push through” anything.
And honestly… that matters more than most people realize.
✏️ How to start (without overthinking it)
You don’t need a complicated setup.
Start simple:
A coloring book you actually like (this matters more than people think)
A small set of markers or colored pencils
A comfortable place to sit
That’s it.
You don’t need to turn it into a project. You don’t need to optimize it. You just need to start.
🕯️ Make it a calming ritual
This is where it gets even better.
Create a space that feels good:
your couch nest
your patio with a book nearby
soft lighting
a drink you love
Coloring becomes less about the activity and more about the environment you build around it.
And suddenly, it’s not just something you do—it’s something that supports you.
🤍 Final thoughts
If your brain has been loud lately, you don’t need to fix it.
You might just need something gentle enough to meet it where it is.
Coloring did that for me.
And if you’ve been needing something simple, quiet, and steady…
this might be it.
Somewhere along the way, I forgot that I loved to color.
When I was a child, coloring felt natural. Easy. Something I did without thinking about productivity or outcomes or whether I was “doing it right.” It was just joy in the form of crayons and blank pages.
As I grew older, I quietly set that part of myself aside. Coloring became something for kids, something impractical, something I did not make time for anymore.
Until recently.
A few weeks ago, I picked up a coloring book again. This time with good paper, smooth markers, and pencils that actually blended the way I wanted them to. And almost instantly, something in me softened.
I realized that I do not just like coloring.
I need it.
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Coloring has become one of the most soothing and regulating things in my life. The gentle repetition of filling in shapes. The way my hands move slowly and intentionally. The quiet focus of choosing colors and watching a page come to life. It pulls me into the present moment in a way very few things do.
For my sensory system, it is a gift.
The textures, the pressure of the pencil, the smooth glide of marker on paper. The predictability. The lack of noise. It calms my nervous system without demanding words or explanations. When my thoughts feel loud or my body feels overwhelmed, coloring gives me a soft place to land.
There is also something deeply tender about how childlike it feels.
Not childish. Childlike.
In the best way.
When I color, I feel free again. I am not performing. I am not fixing. I am not proving anything. I am simply creating because it feels good. Because it brings me peace. Because it reminds me of a younger version of myself who knew how to rest without guilt.
I think there is healing in returning to the things that once brought us comfort before the world taught us to rush and harden and outgrow them.
Coloring has become one of those small sacred practices for me. A quiet joy. A form of play. A gentle reminder that softness still belongs in my life.
And maybe that is the most beautiful part.
In choosing to color again, I am choosing presence. I am choosing calm. I am choosing to let my inner child breathe.
And that feels like freedom.
Thank you for being here. If any part of this resonated, I hope you feel a little less alone. I’m still learning, still unmasking, and still choosing compassion over shame one moment at a time.
xo,
jd
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