Entertainment

Chrissy Teigen's Adult Scratch-Off Book Looks So Soothing, You'll Want One Immediately

by Jessica Wang
David Livingston/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Alexa, Google the nearest book store that carries adult scratch-off books. On social media, relatable human Chrissy Teigen shared an adult scratch-off book for anxiety with her followers, and it seriously looks so soothing. The Cravings cookbook author first introduced the concept to her Twitter followers on June 29 with a mesmerizing clip. In it, she fills in a scratch-off book of what appears to be a leprechaun. "Luna has this 'scratch and sketch' book. You use a wooden stylus to scratch off the black like a lotto ticket, then there is color underneath," Teigen captioned the video. "It’s incredibly soothing if you have anxiety, just enjoy scratch-offs, or both (me)." Well, the scratch-off book saga continued this weekend with Teigen working on a more advanced rendering of a detailed landscape of Paris.

"[F]ound a big-kid version of luna's scratch off art I'm obsessed with," she captioned the July 14 clip. In the video, Toy Story plays on the TV as the Lip Sync Battle host carefully fills in the scratch-off book. An adult scratch-off book, coupled with a Toy Story flick, certainly sounds like the ideal form of self-care during Mercury Retrograde. Here’s how it works: With a wooden stylus, each scratch against the surface reveals colorful hues underneath. As seen in Teigen’s clips, the result is a glimmering masterpiece. "Very slow at this but getting better! So good for anxious beings," she wrote in another update.

For the anxious, watching Teigen’s clips alone provides tranquil relief. So, where can one snag one of these babies? Luckily, you can purchase these adult scratch-off books at standard book and craft stores on the internet. Barnes & Noble carries a Parisian landscape one that's similar to Teigen's, as well as one with a nature landscape. Both books retail at under $10. Additionally, Amazon carries a plethora of scratch-off books that qualify for free shipping for Prime members. There’s a unicorn book, an under the sea book, a solar system book, and an animal book for all ages. Best of all? All of these options retail for under $12. Basically, this artistic activity sounds like the perfect enterprise for anxious minds.

The concept of art's connection to therapy is not a new one. According to anxiety.org, several case studies have linked the effectiveness of art therapy to anxiety. Of the concept, which dates back to the 1940s, the website writes, “With art therapy, patients can express their panic symptoms using other senses." Additionally, Teigen has long been vocal about her struggles with anxiety, so it makes sense that the cookbook author and TV personality has turned to such a creative medium.

Teigen first opened up about her struggles with anxiety in June 2017. “Every step I take feels a little shaky. It's such a weird feeling that you wouldn't know unless you have really bad anxiety,” she told Marie Claire. “You feel like everyone is looking at you." A few months prior to her Marie Claire cover, Teigen even penned an essay for Glamour that detailed her struggles with postpartum depression after she gave birth to daughter Luna in 2016. “Before this, I had never, ever — in my whole entire life — had one person say to me: ‘I have postpartum depression,'" she wrote. "Growing up in the nineties, I associated postpartum depression with... people who didn’t like their babies or felt like they had to harm their children.”

She continued,

“I didn’t have anything remotely close to those feelings. I looked at Luna every day, amazed by her. So I didn’t think I had it. I also just didn’t think it could happen to me. I have a great life. I have all the help I could need: John, my mother (who lives with us), a nanny. But postpartum does not discriminate. I couldn’t control it. And that’s part of the reason it took me so long to speak up: I felt selfish, icky, and weird saying aloud that I’m struggling. Sometimes I still do.”

Teigen's candor about her mental health is certainly a breath of fresh air. Here's to more forms of effective therapy for anxious minds, whether creative or conventional.