Color therapy and healing is an alternate therapy that makes use of the visible spectrum of light and color to modify a person’s mood and physical or mental health. Every color has a distinct frequency and vibration, which is believed to contribute certain properties to the energy and frequencies within our bodies. This can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians who used sun-filled rooms with colored glasses for therapeutic purposes. Attributing to the unique frequencies and vibrations of various colors, a few believe that specific colors entering the body can activate hormones resulting in chemical reactions within the body, thereby impacting emotion and allowing the body to heal.
Colors are all around us. They aren’t just meaningless aspects of our surroundings. They can influence the way we feel and react to various circumstances. Color therapy uses these abilities of color to heal, energize, and soothe us. It is also known as chromopathy, chromotherapy, or color healing. This practice can also be traced to Indian origin whereby the seven main colors on the color wheel enrich our body’s chakras.
In a small 2019 study conducted on the effectiveness of color therapy as an alternative treatment for anxiety in students, researchers noticed that it was able to relax and diminish anxiety amongst the participants in the study. More research needs to be done to understand how it works and its effectiveness. It’s crucial to realize that it’s not a treatment for many disorders and conditions.
Although the basis of color therapy is that certain colors elicit certain emotions from most people, it doesn’t always work. Every individual is unique and therefore the effects may vary from person to person. The colors most people might find calming or soothing might be anxiety-inducing or depressing to others.
Psychological Effects Of Different Colors:
Each color has a different effect, so different colors are used for different mental states. The following list describes how each of the main colors used in color therapy affect us:
Green – It is the most balancing of all the colors. Color therapists typically regard green as the safest color and usually begin color therapy with it. When you’re feeling sad, hopeless, or depressed, green can elevate your mood.
Blue – It is a color that must be used carefully since it can drain your energy if you’re feeling low. Blue helps you express your feelings and is linked to your inner truth. It is a cold color that can be used to help you become more peaceful and relaxed. Primary blue is often used in therapy settings used for meditation and relaxation. Blue can also be associated with wisdom, creativity, loyalty, and spirituality. Too much blue or blue that is too dark can lead to sadness, depression, and a feeling of emptiness. Light blue promotes serenity. It can also be used to help with insomnia.
Yellow – It can be used to bring energy and encourage action. It can make you feel happier and bring out your intelligence and wisdom. Too much or too-bright yellows are associated with betrayal, cruelty, and deceit. It can be a reminder for us of our mortality. It is the most intense color in the spectrum.
Orange – It represents abundance, pleasure, well-being, and sexuality. It may be used to stimulate different organs in the human body for physical healing. It revitalizes you and gives you increased mental energy. It can intensify your feeling of connectedness between your mind and body. However, color therapists usually avoid this color if you’re prone to anxiety.
Red – The color red is even more stimulating than orange. It has an impact on emotional issues like financial independence and physical survival. Red orange may also have similar effects. It’s mostly used for physical healing since its emotional effects can be intense.
Purple – Purple is strongly related with beauty, spirituality, and bliss. It is frequently used on the forehead and neck to initiate feelings of calm and relaxation within the human body. However, it can be used on any part of the body.
It can either be done by glancing at a certain color hoping that your body elicits the desired reaction or by directly reflecting particular colors on parts of the body hoping it can help treat a particular ailment. Warm colors are generally used for stimulating effects, whereas cool colors are used for calming effects.
Some benefits that one might receive from color therapy include:
1. Stress relief: Particular colors like blue and green can have soothing effects on people who are stressed or anxious.
2. Boost your appetite: Warm and stimulating colors could boost appetite when you struggle with having a desire for food.
3. Alleviate seasonal affective disorder: People generally experience seasonal affective disorder during colder weather due to the lack of sunlight and having to spend longer periods indoors. Warm colors like yellow and orange could help alleviate symptoms of this condition.
4. To boost your energy: Colors such as red and yellow can boost your energy and make you feel motivated.
Ways to Use Color Therapy to Improve Your Life –
You can use color to form your habits, the impression you give off, and how your spaces feel.
- Pick a red outfit if you want to improve your performance. It also creates energy so it helps to incorporate it when you’re having a bad day. You can combine it with black to feel more confident.
- Try to get yellow into the mix if you need to remember something. Some research has suggested it may improve memorization.
- Studies show that employees working in white-walled offices experience more side effects like headaches and nausea than those in red or blue workspaces. Blue also stimulates creativity and increases focus.
- Surround yourself with green when you want to relax and feel calm. Because of its connection to nature and the environment, it’s typically associated with relaxation and comfort. It can also help us when we’re feeling a bit off-centred and helps in connecting with ourselves spiritually.
- Choose blue when you want to be creative. A 2009 study found that people exposed to blue were better able to explore their creative sides.
- Combine orange and yellow if you want to feel energetic and happy.
- Be exposed to orange to help you express yourself. This color helps lift repressions and encourages freeing expression.
- Pink is the color of romance, and also tends to be calming and soothing. Make use of it when you want to be romantic.
- Have some orange while hosting a party. It is a lively color that helps stimulate energy between people and promotes interaction.
- It’s time to incorporate purple into your life when you need to connect with your intuition.
– Urveez Kakalia and Dhara Mehta.