Are you feeling anxious or overwhelmed?
This therapeutic art exercise uses principles of grounding and mindfulness to help manage anxiety and other overwhelming emotions, no matter what setting you're in.
![Colourful doodles on a piece of paper.](/sites/default/files/styles/activity_full_2x/public/2024-03/CalmingDoodles_Cover.jpg?h=12beeefe&itok=l_KkCg1o)
How to Prepare:
Collect the following items before you begin:
- Paper (any size, type, colour)
- Drawing materials (markers, crayons, coloured pencils, whatever you enjoy!)
Time to Draw!
Step 1: Have your piece of paper ready to draw on and grab the drawing material of your choice.
Step 2: Begin by freely making swirls, loops and lines without lifting your marker/crayon/pencil off the page.
💡Activity Hack! The more times your lines cross and overlap each other, the more space you have to colour in afterwards!
Step 3: Once your scribble is complete, begin colouring in the spaces with your markers, crayons, pencil crayons, or a combination!
Doodle Complete! Congratulations!
How It Works
Grounding is the process of becoming aware of ourselves in the present moment, instead of focusing on ourselves in the midst of our anxiety or other overwhelming emotions.
This is a great exercise because it can be done anytime, anywhere, and with any art or writing materials you have on hand.
This activity is inspired by: