The psychology behind colour therapy
Colour therapy, or chromotherapy, isn’t a fad – it has been used by a variety of societies over thousands of years, including the ancient Egyptians and the Chinese.
Colour is all around us, in the form of light, and it can affect us in numerous ways. Seasonal affective disorder (known by its apt acronym, SAD), for example, is a mild form of depression suffered by some during the winter, when dark mornings, dark evenings and a resulting lack of natural daylight, start to have an effect on the psyche. Fortunately, there’s a way to treat issues such as SAD, and it all boils down to adding a little more colour to your life!
How does colour therapy work?
Colour therapy dictates that the visible spectrum of light and colour has a profound impact on a person’s health and wellbeing. Different colours relate to different frequencies and vibrations on the visible spectrum, with each affecting specific parts of the body. Green, for example, is known as the ‘heart chakra’, while violet is the ‘crown chakra’. Colour therapists work on the basis that, to achieve wellbeing, a person must have a balanced set of ‘chakras’. It’s not just about the colours we can see, it’s to do with the light around us; all the cells in our body require light to survive, and colour therapy works on the basis that, when certain colours enter the body, they activate hormones which cause chemical reactions within the body. This then influences our emotions, and enables our bodies to heal.
Colour therapy in practice
In the past, colours have been used to treat people in a range of circumstances. People in comas, for example, have experienced a reduction in blood pressure, due to being placed in a room that is painted blue, whereas a red room has the opposite effect. The colour of a room’s walls is just one example of putting colour therapy into practice – others include placing a person in natural surroundings where a certain colour is abundant, or even dressing them in specific clothing.