Currently, six of the top 20 selling books on Amazon are adult coloring books. The improbable pastime for all those of us who’ve successfully graduated from kindergarten has been gaining recognition lately, as a simple method to express oneself and de-stress along the way.

The activity not only provides a low-stress, low-stakes way to unlock your creative potential, it also unlocks memories of simpler, childhood times, when the largest cause of anxiety has been how to avoid your next nap. “ I recommend it as a relaxation technique,”, says psychologist Antoni Martínez. “We can use it to enter into a more creative, freer state. I recommend it in a quiet environment, even with chill music. Let the color and the lines flow.”

Clinical psychologist Ben Michaelis and Souris Hong, author of bestselling adult coloring book Outside the Lines, speaks about a number of the meditative advantages of coloring for the adult set.

“There is a long history of people coloring for mental health reasons,” Michaelis says. “Carl Jung used to try to get his patients to color in mandalas at the turn of the last century, as a way of getting people to focus and to allow the subconscious to let go. Now we know it has a lot of other stress-busting qualities as well.”

Today the assortment of adult coloring books is expansive, which range from meditative outlets like Coloring Flower Mandalas to art-savvy options like _ Outside the Lines,_ there are funny ones , feminist ones as well as a coloring book for stoners.

Basically, if you’re searching for a way to locate your inner zen whilst at the same time exploring your artistic side, look no further. Coloring books are here to assist. Your 5-year-old self would be so proud.