Imagine that one day you were walking your dog in the neighborhood when suddenly somebody lit a firecracker causing a loud cracking noise. You were startled by the sound immensely. You suddenly hear sounds and feel the fear from a horrifying memory from the past. Your heart feels as if it is being squeezed very very tightly. You start to have cold sweat.
You are in a state of panic—not the nicest feeling in the world, right? This is actually what is experienced by a lot of our military veterans who has PTSD. PTSD stands for post-traumatic stress disorder and is also known as shell shock or combat stress. It occurs after experiencing severe trauma or a life-threatening event. It’s normal for the mind and body to be in shock after such an event, but this normal response becomes PTSD when your nervous system gets “stuck.”
It means that even if you are no longer in a stressful environment, your nervous system is not able to cope up and go back to the state of balance. This is likely for those who have experienced severe stress.
Military Veterans with PTSD
Military veterans who came home after being in war for a long period of time are prone to develop PTSD. Those who come from wars in Afghanistan and Iraq usually come home feeling paranoid like somebody is going to kill them anytime. If you are familiar with the movie American Sniper, Bradley Cooper actually played the role of real Navy SEAL sniper named Chris Kyle. Chris suffered from PTSD when he went back home to his wife and kids after fighting in the war.
Adult Coloring Therapy for Military Veterans with PTSD
Anyway, let us cut all the negativity and heaviness short! We are sure we have enough already just by reading the news so let us all move on to the good news. The good news is that military veterans with PTSD can get cured through therapy. One of the surprising ways is through art therapy specifically adult coloring therapy.
According to Erin Maynard, president of PTSD Survivors of America, coloring is especially useful to those who have PTSD since their amygdala — the brain’s integrated center of emotions, emotional behavior, and motivation — is hyperactive. She said, “The problem with that is that it’s the part of the brain that controls the fear response.
PTSD is a disorder of memory storage and recall, and you fixate on these terrifying memories and they become ever present for you. Adult coloring therapy actually reduces the activity of the amygdala, so that’s part of the reason that it helps calm you down.”
Color Across America for PTSD Awareness Program
Seeing the effect of adult coloring therapy, PTSD Survivors of America, a charity that aims to educate, assist and help spread awareness on PTSD, has initiated a program called “Color Across America for PTSD Awareness”. They are organizing coloring activities for all those who suffer from PTSD across the country. The program became a venue not just for adult color therapy but also for survivors to socialize with each other which also help in managing PTSD.
Amazing What A Crayon and Coloring Book Can Do
It is really amazing how a simple crayon and coloring book can go a long long way. It is no longer just a fad, a hobby or something to do to pass time. It helps elderly people deal with depression. It gives kids a reason to put away their iPhones and iPads even for a short time.
It helps in military veterans and all other people who suffer from PTSD. The simple crayon and coloring book truly goes way beyond what it is just supposed to do. Given all the benefits and uses we can get from a simple crayon and coloring book, there is no wonder as to why coloring books have sold millions and millions of copies not just in the United States but even worldwide.
There is no wonder as to why many many people has been hooked to adult coloring books. We hope that one by one we can all go and color this world to be a better place for all of us.