Meet the Irish 'Colourtokers' who use colouring books to get through a stressful day

Adele Miner is enjoying the TikTok trend for colouring books.  Concentrating on what colours to use and staying within the lines is her playful way to unwind. 

Adele Miner with her colouring book at her home in Kilbarrack, Dublin. Picture: Gareth Chaney

Sitting down with a colouring book and markers at 29 is not exactly how I imagined spending my evenings, if you asked me 10 years ago. However, opening a blank page in my Girl Moments colouring book and working on a colourful scene is sometimes the only thing that gets me through a stressful day.

No matter how pressured my day has felt, taking time to curate an image carefully always leaves me feeling grounded and relaxed. In that moment, my main focus is on choosing the best colours to bring my image to life, staying inside the lines and creating shadows and textures. The sound of the marker moving back and forth on the page lulls me while I work.

Colouring for mindfulness isn’t a new concept, but with the inception of the TikTok trend ‘Colourtok’, it has taken on a new look. In a 2017 study by psychology researchers at the University of Otago in New Zealand, it was discovered that those who engage in colouring for as little as 10 minutes a day experienced reduced symptoms of mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.

Currently undergoing a resurgence, popular Colourtok books differ from the mandala colouring books we saw trending in recent years. Mandala art involves colouring in geometrical shapes to enter the brain into a peaceful state. Moving away from shapes and spirals, Colourtok sees wannabe artists, like myself, colour and bring to life various comforting scenes.

Book options vary from the aforementioned Girl Moments, which depict scenes like a girl making breakfast in the kitchen while her cat watches at her feet, or a girl watering flowers in a greenhouse. Another book popular among Colourtokers is Cosy Friends, which illustrates various endearing cartoon animals doing things like baking and shopping together. These sketches bring an added layer of relaxation as they immerse you in the scene you’re creating, eliciting feelings of cosiness and calm.

“Through colouring, a person develops a single focus awareness,” says mindfulness-based psychologist Geraldine Griffin. “By focusing on one object, the participant reduces the amount of ‘mental chatter’ or thinking in the brain. Then they come into a more embodied sensory awareness, allowing the nervous system to rest and abide in a calmer state. If the person colouring continues to be absorbed in focusing on colouring, the more relaxed they become and the more pleasurable and meditative the experience is.”

Age is just a number

Adele Miner: Colouring for mindfulness isn’t a new concept, but with the inception of the TikTok trend ‘Colourtok’, it has taken on a new look. Picture: Gareth Chaney

Sometimes when I’m colouring I imagine myself from an outsider’s perspective and feel a little silly. Here I am, at almost 30-years-old, using a colouring book and markers to relax myself. Shouldn’t I be doing more ‘adult things’ with my life? Like buying a house, or having children.

While thoughts of being a bit long in the tooth to spend my free time colouring creep in, I’m quickly reassured by other Irish Colourtokers online who also enjoy the activity greatly. Like 31-year-old Shauna Barcoe from Co Kildare. 

Sharing her creations with her followers online (@shaunabarcore94), Barcoe says she feels no embarrassment around her hobby. 

“I took up colouring as it’s a calming hobby. It gets me out of my head and I was looking for a way to reduce my phone screen time too, which it has done,” she says. 

“I would have no embarrassment letting other people know that I colour in colouring books. I think TikTok has completely normalised adult colouring and I’ve even had friends and family ask for recommendations on markers etc. 

It’s just a hobby at the end of the day, so no one should feel shame about it, especially if it brings joy.

For some, colouring can be a way to tap into your inner child, whether you coloured as a child or not. It can even be healing for those who experienced trauma during childhood, as Griffin explains: “Colouring can help a person tap into their inner child even if they didn’t colour much during childhood. Clients neglected as children can find colouring a useful way of becoming still and mindful. It is like the inner child who was ‘starved’ of playful activities, is still there waiting to be seen, heard and cared for and this can be healing.”

‘It brings out my creative time’

Rebecca Whiteley from Co Kildare says that colouring is very nurturing for her inner child. 

“When I started colouring as an adult it was reminiscent of my childhood. I was a very creative child, I was obsessed with colouring and all things stationery, the only difference now is I have more money so I can spend more on different colouring books and quality markers and supplies.”

The 22 year old says that through the Colourtok corner of TikTok, she found her hobby, however, feelings of self-doubt almost prevented her from beginning it. 

“At first, it was overwhelming because you see masterpieces online that other people create. I felt pressure to be good myself. But once you let go of the idea of being perfect, it’s very relaxing and rewarding to create art. It brings out my creative side through trying different techniques like patterns, textures and shading.” 

To combat feelings of perfectionism, Griffin recommends not overthinking it. 

“Studies have linked colouring to reduced stress, mood improvement, and increased mindfulness. While these studies are encouraging, if you enjoy colouring, it’s best not to overthink it. Its value is getting out of your head, calming the body and opening the heart to creativity, not how perfect the finished product is.”