Mindful colouring is a great way to help with grief. Colouring in shapes and pictures can be really calming and help to clear your mind. This can be really helpful if you are struggling with your grief and emotions. 

Being mindful is a way of trying to be present in the moment, which can calm your busy brain and give you the chance to focus on what you’re doing in front of you. Sometimes it’s really helpful to not think about anything else for a few minutes and get absorbed in the activity or thing you’re doing. In this case, the activity of mindfulness is colouring.

This activity is something you could do with others, or it might be an opportunity to have some time on your own and really focus on being present in the moment.

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You will need:

• A picture to colour in. We’ve put together some printable PDFs of single colouring pages (see below). You could also use a mindful colouring book
• Colouring pencils or pens
• An electronic device if you would rather colour in digitally, for example, a phone, tablet or computer. You or a grown-up will need to save the image to a device and download an app called Colorscape to colour it in 
• A quiet place to sit

Instructions:

1. Print or download your chosen picture, don't forget to download the app Colourscape if you are colouring in digitally, or open your colouring book.

2. Take some time out of your day, even if it’s five minutes a day for five days, to just sit and concentrate on colouring in your picture. 

3. If you choose one of the harder designs that are more repetitive and smaller shapes, you could try following a colouring pattern to focus on what you’re doing.

4. Watching yourself colour in the different shapes to your own chosen design can be really satisfying, and you might even want to challenge yourself to stay within the lines! 

Being mindful is a type of self-care and can be a great way to ground yourself – see if it helps you take your mind away from your busy thoughts and grief. 

Download our mindful colouring activity

Below you can see the different images we have created. Some are simpler designs than others! Choose the one you like and click on the button to download it and colour it in.