Doodle As A Stress Therapy – Learn How To Calm Down Easily

As children, most of us have fond memories of doing crafts at school or at home. Doing this was always a lot of fun, and allowed us to flex our creative muscles. Much of our creativity as adults came from these childhood crafts and being able to express ourselves in different ways.

However, crafting isn’t something that you need to get away from as you age. In fact, not only is it fun and can be a great escape, but doing crafts can also be great for your mental health. It can reduce stress, build self-esteem and even keep your brain functioning better as you age.

Whether you decide to go with one of the many Craft Whack ideas or come up with your own crafting is a worthwhile way to spend your time. One craft in particular that is great for helping to reduce stress and anxiety is doodling.

But why is doodling so effective at helping people calm down? Keep reading to find out.

Doodling Can Occupy Your Mind

One of the best ways that doodling helps with your stress is that it can occupy your mind for a little bit. A lot of stress and anxiety come from an overactive mind that is always firing at a million miles a minute. You might be worrying about school, a relationship, your financial situation or anything else.

This can be debilitating and can feel like you never get a break. This overthinking can be prevalent in people of all ages and backgrounds, and is very hard to get over in some cases.

Doodling is great because it truly lets your mind be free. When you doodle, the only thing you are thinking about is the motion of the pencil, and your mind can be empty other than that. This can give your brain a major break and help you calm down in minutes. Even if you are drawing something in particular, you will be focused on the drawing and idea, and not on your stressors.

While this might not attack the root cause of your stress or what gives you anxiety, but can provide you with some relief and slow down your thoughts that would normally consume you.

It Can be Fun and Let You Express Yourself

Another way that doodling is good for reducing stress is by simply being fun. When you are having fun and smiling, stress can still exist, but it will often be much less than if you are unhappy. Whether you draw something abstract, a unique character, a landscape or anything else, the experience can be a very fun one and can keep you in a good mood.

You can even create fun little challenges for yourself if plain-old doodling gets a little bit boring or repetitive. While fun, drawing is also great for expressing yourself. Many people struggle with stress because they are unable to express and/or deal with their issues, which leads to them being constantly present. 

Drawing or doodling can also help you both express and tune into difficult feelings, memories, or situations that you can’t talk or write about. Doing so can help alleviate the impact they have on your mental health and allow you to cope or get past them. If you simply keep things in, without letting them out, it can be hard to get past them and move on with your life.

The Entire Process Can be Relaxing and Rewarding

The fact that the entire process of drawing and doodling can be relaxing is another reason it can help people calm down easily. Everything from the drawing, to the coloring, to the sharpening of the pencils can simply be lovely to experience. You can add to the experience by listening to relaxing music, turning the lights down and really getting into it.

The setting you doodle and what is going around you is also a good idea to think about. You can make your own little doodling ritual that you do every time that can be a wonderful experience, as well. This is similar to how cooking can be relaxing to people. It’s not only the cooking, but also other things like putting on an apron, cutting the ingredients and hearing the food sizzle as it cooks.

Not only is the process relaxing, but it can be rewarding too. By the end of it, you will have a piece of art that you created 100% by hand without any assistance. Even if it isn’t a Picasso, it can still be something to be proud that you created. Over time, if you make doodling a habit to keep stress levels low, you will also become better and your work will only improve as your art skills do. Who knows, you may eventually be good enough to display your art or give/sell them to others.

Doodling Can Help You Concentrate

Another way that doodling can help is that it can allow you to build your concentration skills. A lot of people who are stressed will say that dealing with the stress can make it hard to concentrate. This can negatively impact both work and school. Thankfully, doodling is great for those who may struggle focusing.

The repetitive motions and movements during doodling can often force you to focus and can build up your attention span. Focus on what you are drawing, and what shape or pattern you are going to do next. This can not only help in the long term, but also short. If you can’t seem to focus or concentrate, do a little doodle for a couple of minutes and it should help you out in many cases.

As you can see, doodling and crafting can be a great stress therapy and can help you calm down easily. So if you are ever feeling worn out or stressed out, grab that pencil and paper and spend a few minutes to recharge your batteries.