We talk about mental health a lot - and we should. But sometimes it's hard to know what actually helps. For me, one of the answers has been coloring. Not in a "fix everything" kind of way, but in a small, quiet, reliable kind of way. When the world feels heavy, opening Lake and losing myself in a drawing is one of the most consistently grounding things I know how to do.
So I thought I'd share the five coloring books I reach for most when I need to take care of myself. These are the ones that calm me down, lift me up, or just give me something gentle to do with my hands when I don't know what else I need.
As you go through the list, you'll probably notice I have a type. 🙈 Most of these books share a similar vibe - cozy, everyday moments, the kind of quiet things a girl does when she needs some time to herself. If that sounds like your kind of coloring, you're in the right place. This list was made for you.
TL;DR: Here are my five favorite coloring books in Lake for mental health and self-care:
- Affirmations by Joanna Muñoz,
- Warm Mornings & Quiet Nights by Juliana Vido,
- My Self-Care Life by Maria Triquell,
- Ordinary Joys by Julia Kestner,
- and Daydreaming by Laura Blythman.
All available in Lake, the best coloring app for iPhone and iPad (ps. it also has a coloring journal!).
Affirmations by Joanna Muñoz
There are days when you don't need more advice. You just need someone to remind you that you're okay. That's exactly what Affirmations by Joanna Muñoz does, in the most beautiful way possible. It's a lettering-style coloring book filled with encouraging words and phrases - the kind you'd want to write on a sticky note and put on your mirror, except here you get to color them in first.
What I love about this format is that you spend time with the words. You're not just reading them and moving on - you're tracing them with color, filling in every letter, sitting with the message. By the time you're done, something about those words has actually landed. It's a small thing, but it matters. My favorite page? The one that says "I trust the universe." I colored it on a particularly hard afternoon and it genuinely helped.
Warm Mornings & Quiet Nights by Juliana Vido
This one feels like a warm hug from someone who completely gets it. Warm Mornings & Quiet Nights by Juliana Vido is full of illustrations of women in calm, domestic moments - curled up in a living room, listening to music, gazing out of a window, searching for their next read on a bookshelf. The kind of peaceful, unhurried scenes that you wish your whole life could look like.
I colored the drawing of a girl scrapbooking, and it made me want to try scrapbooking so badly. There's something wonderful about a coloring book that doesn't just calm you down but also gives you ideas for other slow, creative things you could do. Juliana's style is detailed in all the right places, and the whole vibe of the book feels intentionally designed to slow you down and make you exhale.
P.S. If you're looking for more ways to take care of your mental health beyond coloring, I also wrote about 5-minute habits that actually help with anxiety. Small things, big difference - go check it out.
My Self-Care Life by Maria Triquell
Self-care means something different to everyone, and My Self-Care Life by Maria Triquell gets that. The book covers the whole spectrum: sleeping in, doing yoga, taking a bath, reading, baking, walking your dog, going plant shopping, diving, eating ramen... it's basically every small act of kindness you can give yourself, illustrated beautifully on a page.
I went straight for the ramen drawing, because ramen is one of my favorite comfort foods and I'd been dreaming of a cozy evening bowl all week. Coloring it felt like making a little promise to myself - yes, we're doing this soon. And I did. It was delicious.
Ordinary Joys by Julia Kestner
If My Self-Care Life is the full list of self-care options, Ordinary Joys by Julia Kestner is the highlight reel of the ones that feel most like living. Coffee with a friend. A trip to the library. Buying yourself flowers just because. A picnic in the park. Listening to vinyls on a Sunday. Painting something for the fun of it.
The theme might sound similar to some of the other books on this list - and yes, there's overlap - but that's kind of the point. Art is about perspective and style, and even if two artists are illustrating the same "girl reading a book," you'll feel something different with each of them. Julia's style is warm and full of life, and her version of ordinary joys genuinely makes them feel joyful.
Daydreaming by Laura Blythman
This one is a little different from the others, and that's exactly why I included it. Daydreaming by Laura Blythman isn't about a theme or a feeling - it's about the act of coloring itself as a meditative experience. The book is pattern and detail-oriented, which means you're not really thinking about a story or a scene. You're just coloring. One section at a time. One stroke at a time.
I colored one of the drawings entirely with pencil - which, if you've tried it in Lake, you know takes a lot of time and patience. I was having a very stressful plane ride, and that was exactly what I needed. Something slow. Something that asked me to focus only on the small thing in front of me. I didn't color it as "perfectly" as I normally would, and that's okay. It wasn't about the result. It was about the feeling I got while doing it, which was: I am here, I am okay, I just need to get through this one tiny detail and then the next.
Find Your Next Coloring Book in Lake
Mental health is personal, and so is what helps. But if you've never tried using coloring as a way to decompress, reset, or just give your mind a gentle break, these five books are a really good place to start. They're all available in Lake, and you can explore hundreds more by searching for keywords like calm, cozy, nature, or self-care inside the app.
Take care of yourself - one coloring page at a time. 🎨
