MAY 7 — Finally, after weeks of not meeting up with one of my besties, we sat down and did the customary lunch date.

This normally extends to coffee over which more catching up is done. And boy, do we talk up a storm.

In between gripes, she paused.

“Oh, I bought a colouring book,” she announced, to which I duly stared (note: this bestie is one-level headed girl although we feed off each other’s crazies).

Laughing, the woman told me that it was an anti-stress colouring book for adults.

I continued gaping. 

“It’s nice lah. I got some nice colouring pencils too,” she said, proceeding to shock me further.

Along with some expletives, I proceeded to ask her what this book was all about. 

“It relaxes me. I colour the pictures and before I know it, hours have passed,” she said.

“And the pictures are so pretty.”

Mind you, this bestie has a highly stressful job and her mind is constantly on overdrive when she’s at work.

Hamsters on a treadmill do not have any effect on this one.

Stress is a keyword for her. Admittedly, she’s not alone in that department.

Curious, I forced her to send me some photos of this colouring book a few days later.

Aptly titled Creative Therapy An Anti-Stress Colouring Book, the forward states the images are detailed and intricate because focusing on detailed tasks can be therapeutic.

It apparently relaxes and calms a busy mind. There is also a doodling section.

Heading over to Google, I found out that such books are the latest rage. Plus, they are topping Amazon’s bestseller lists.

It’s been reported that one particular book, Secret Garden by Johanna Basford, has sold 1.4 million copies worldwide to date.

Her newly released Enchanted Forest sold about 226,000 copies early last month.

And of course, having people like actress Zooey Deschanel and Korean pop star Kim Ki-bum posting about it on social media has gotten her a new legion of fans.

AFP reported in April that the trend took off in France a few years ago.

Publishers, it was reported, claimed that such colouring books can “lower anxiety, stabilise mood, increase attention span and serve as a sleep aid.”

Huffington Post, meanwhile, reported psychologist Gloria Martínez Ayala saying colouring has a de-stressing effect because when people focus on a particular activity, they focus on it and not their worries.

“It also brings out our imagination and takes us back to our childhood, a period in which we most certainly had a lot less stress. This leads us immediately and unconsciously to welfare,” Ayala said.

I popped the question to neighbourhood psychologist Prof Owl, who takes to drawing images of owls and posting it on Facebook.

And when these images pop up on my timeline, I smile. A lot. They are cute.

The latest instalment he sent me pays homage to Star Wars, along with the bird holding a light sabre.

Granted he was busy with work, the good professor duly Whatsapped me the recommendation to “just doodle”.

“Pen and paper only. Can doodle anywhere,” he replied.

He added that he had been drawing since he was a child and the owl “persona” came up during his birthday last year when a cousin merged the word “owl” to his name.

Asked if he drew owls for stress-related times, he said that sometimes they were as it served as a coping mechanism.

To which, he Whatsapped me an example: an owl image with the words Owl am bengang (Owl am angry).

Admittedly, stress is a commonly used word in modern society and managing it has gotten us to try various methods.

An AIA survey last year also found that Malaysians’ “not very healthy habits” are aggravated by a preference to turning to sedentary means to release stress such as watching TV/movies (67 per csent), playing computer or mobile games (50 per cent) and spending time online (48 per cent).

These habits are higher than exercising or playing a sport (only 47 per cent although this is higher than the regional average of 39 per cent)

It also found spending time with family and children (53 per cent) or friends (47 per cent) was also a popular way to de-stress for Malaysians.

The Health Ministry recommends several steps to manage stress — being realistic and organising work, sharpen problem-solving skills, adopting a proper attitude towards changes, having effective communication and fostering social support at the workplace and practising a healthy lifestyle.

In daily life, this is easier said than done with the mind-boggling schedules some Malaysians have in their bid to surge ahead in the rat race.

And if colouring or doodling, when added to the equation, can lessen stress, then so be it.

Heck, I am leaning towards trying this colouring thing out.

In the meantime, thank goodness for family and friends who do the necessary listening and entertaining to get me through the day.

* Audrey is news editor at Malay Mail. She can be reached at audrey@mmail.com.my.

** This is the personal opinion of the writer or organisation and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.