壓力無所不在，本篇介紹的紓壓方式大家試過嗎?
這篇裡面的句型我們上課都有教過
同學不妨試著翻譯看看這幾句
“Stress can come in more hues than you’ll find in a box
of crayons.”
“Fans of the rainy-day activity that has taken off in
popularity say it can induce a meditative state that helps people ease their
anxieties and unwind.”
請看以下 Orlando adults erase their
stresses through coloring全文:
Jobs. Grades. Bills. Parking lots swarming with holiday
drivers. The crazy countdown to Christmas.
Stress can come in more hues than you'll find in a box
of crayons.
But in Central Florida and elsewhere, adults in need
of a break are finding peace inside the blank spaces of a coloring page.
Fans of the rainy-day activity that has taken off in
popularity say it can induce a meditative state that helps people ease their
anxieties and unwind.
"I always experience calmness when I color with
my grandchildren," Clermont resident Mary Ellen MacKay said.
Lately, she and grown-ups around the globe have been
enjoying the calmness, minus the children.
Ten of the top 20 best-selling books on Amazon are adult
coloring books — not to be confused with the simpler versions many might
remember from childhood.
Coloring books published in recent months offer page
after page of intricately drawn mandalas, animals, inspirational phrases or
woodland scenery. Some are so large and detailed, they can take hours to fill
in.
Just two of the best-selling coloring books,
"Secret Garden" and "Enchanted Forest," have been printed
13.5 million times, according to a spokeswoman for Laurence King Publishing.
"There isn't even a superlative that could
describe the market growth. It's grown by 10 or 15 times this year and is not
slowing down yet. I've never seen anything like it," said Gabe Coeli,
co-founder of a publishing group that produces Blue Star Coloring books.
Blue Star has turned out 40 coloring-book titles since
forming in March, Coeli added
Book stores and libraries around the region are
responding to the craze by organizing group events where people can pick up
their colored pencils together.
The Minneola Schoolhouse Library in Lake County is
hosting a series of four sessions called "Color Me Calm." At one
December morning gathering, blackberry and caramel-vanilla tea bags steeped on
the tabletop, and a flute melody called "Morning Stillness" drifted
out of the CD player.
MacKay, one of those who came to color, used watery
tones to shade a peacock illustration. Rae Menke, 56, a fellow Clermont
resident, worked on transforming a colorless flamingo into a swirl of orange,
blue, green and purple feathers.
MacKay, 71, said there's something restful about
engaging in a tactile activity that demands a degree of attention.
"You're focusing so thoroughly on one thing
rather than letting your mind go," she said.
There is research to back up the idea that coloring
can be relaxing.
During a 2005 study at Knox College in Illinois,
students were asked to spend 20 minutes coloring a mandala or plaid design or
free color on a blank piece of paper. The undergraduates who worked on the
patterns experienced a significant reduction in anxiety, while coloring on a
blank page didn't help ease their stress, said Tim Kasser, a psychology
professor who helped with the research.
The study didn't delve into what caused this outcome,
but Kasser said the calming effects of repetition might have something to do
with it.
"We think that engaging in that structured
coloring exercise, it has some parallels to what people do when they meditate
or when they pray the rosary, for example," Kasser said.
The concept of coloring as a meditative aid has caught
on with religion publishers, who have started producing their own versions of
the popular books.
Donna Kannon, bookstore manager for Northland church
in Longwood, said she sells a Psalms coloring book and another that features
Bible passages accompanied by illustrations. Working on a picture can help
focus people whose thoughts tend to wander, she said.
"As a spiritual discipline, we don't do silence
and solitude very well," she said. "When you're coloring, it makes
you focus on one thing, so … you can meditate on Scripture."
Sylvia Norman, Orlando chapter leader for the Modern
Widows Club, said her group in November hosted a coloring workshop, in part to
teach members a new technique for dealing with emotion. Norman said since then,
she has been doing coloring and ink drawing as a way to unwind.
"I don't really know how to explain it. It's very
calming, very therapeutic," Norman, 49, of Winter Garden said.
Diane Merchant, manager of the Minneola library, said
she started the coloring events at the suggestion of a friend. Though the surge
of interest in the pastime is new, she said her aunt, now in her 80s, has been
coloring for years.
"She's a trendsetter," Merchant said.