Adult Coloring Books by Dr. Stan Rodski

The holidays are here, and it can be stressful to select just the right gift for a friend or family member who is grieving. During the first two years of grief, most people are struggling with the reality of the loss, causing them to alternate emotionally between shock and a kind of unexpected spinning in their heads. Dr. Stan Rodski’s adult coloring books “Anti-stress, Meditation Through Coloring” and “Modern medi-tation, Coloring for Focus and Creativity” are an ideal gift for these times.

Grieving takes a completely different path (and length of time) for each person who experiences the death of a loved one. Grief experts explain that as a person mourns, it is important to engage in activities that allow them to “do their work.” This means allowing themselves to feel the pain, work through their grief and slowly move on with their lives. Dr. Stan Rodski’s adult coloring books help those who are grieving to do this work in a playful way, using colored pencils or markers, paint or even crayons.

I have spoken personally with many people who have expressed how working to become “unstuck” in their grief is one of the most difficult tasks of their lives. There are many ways to do this, such as writing a diary, writing each day to the person who died, going to an empty beach and screaming and many more. These neuroscience-based adult coloring books present another beautiful option.

Dr. Stan Rodski is a neuroscientist, and all of the pages in both books contain repetitive patterns that encourage the brain to enter an “alpha” or relaxed state. Both books are laid out in the same way, but introduce different aspects of brain science and offer different exercises. Each begins with an introduction, followed by three parts devoted to the science behind the brain and suggested coloring exercises. Each introduction explains the four brainwave states of beta, alpha, theta, and delta and their role in our mental health. The author walks us through how coloring automatically promotes an alpha state through repetition and control —  by coloring between the lines a “cognitive nutrition” takes place.

The “Anti-stress, Meditation Through Coloring” book focuses on how this kind of coloring can calm the brain for 30 minutes a day, allowing it to “enter a world in which there are no voices, no demands, no thoughts…” It feeds the brain’s desire for pattern, repetition and creativity through specially designed coloring exercises. Easy instructions make you aware of the role repeating patterns and color play in stimulating the brain for better health, rest and focus.

In his other book “Modern medi-tation, Coloring for Focus and Creativity” Dr. Rodski introduces sound as part of the coloring exercise by providing a link to prerecorded ALPHAsounds on soundcloud to color along with. The specially created sounds combined with the act of coloring are designed to create feelings of peace, contentment and relaxation.

Understanding the basic science behind how our minds work and how the task of coloring can promote peace of mind is fascinating. What’s more, Dr. Rodski’s adult coloring books enlighten us on how to unstick ourselves when we are stressed or upset. Although they are not specifically designed for grieving, I think one or both of these books would be a perfect activity gift for a person during their bereavement.