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Chromotherapy, also known as color therapy, is a type of therapy that uses color and light to treat some physical and mental health conditions (Ohwovoriole 2022). The history of color therapy can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where patients would stay in a sunroom with colored glasses to treat their illnesses. Nowadays, color therapy has gained some popularity but it’s not widely used in the medical field due to the possible quackery. While color therapy is about the unproven assumption of color effect and how it’ll impact one’s energy or aura, color psychology, on the other hand, is a scientific-based study that’s wisely used and considered in therapy and another field.
Colors can easily affect one’s behavior and perception, for example, yellow is often considered a good “mood booster” because of its brightness and how it stands out in the color spectrum. Humans’ brain would also connect yellow with positive things, such as sunlight or happiness, which stimulates our nervous system, making it a great mood lifter (Navratil 2022).
Other Colors' Impacts:
Red:
Red is a nice color to energize or motivate people who are feeling down or tired, it’s also an attractive color to use on logos or accessories, however, it could also irritate people who are feeling anxious or tense.
Blue:
Blue has sedative properties and is often used to treat people with depression or insomnia. Darker shades of blue are a great tool to calm people down, making it a relaxing color.
Green:
Green is often associated with nature, because of its association with freshness, green is a great color for relaxation and anti-stress.
Pink:
Like yellow, bright warm tones of colors can elicit happiness and lift the mood. Not just because of the association of love and kindness, the research found out that a large amount of pink has a calming effect which could create physical weakness in people and it’s a great color for bedrooms (Empowered By Color).
The psychology of colors is based on research on the effect on one’s mental and emotional health. However, some colors might have slightly different interpretations and effects on different people due to their culture and subjective perception.
Techniques of Color Therapy (Ohwovoriole 2022):
The two major ways to color therapy are either through sight or through reflecting certain colors on body parts. Color therapists believe that colors have certain wavelengths that can have an impact on the eyes or the skin, although color therapy can be used for different purposes, it can roughly be separated into two usages, warm colors for motivating and stimulating emotions while cool tones are used for calming effects. Chromotherapy is considered an alternative medical treatment, people believe it could ease the condition of anxiety, depression, stress, and anger. People who have experienced color therapy have stated the benefit of chromotherapy include relieving stress and boosting appetite, energy, and mood such as Seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Where to Start (Ohwovoriole 2022):
1. Getting rid of blue light when sleeping:
Research shows that blue light, especially from smart devices like laptops or smartphones can have an effect on the circadian rhythm which could have a negative impact on one’s sleeping quality. It’s better to keep the devices out of the room and turn the devices into night mode with yellow light.
2. A walk in nature:
Green, is a peaceful color that helps with relaxation, basking yourself in nature with the greens of plants can help with stress relief.
3. Aware of your color choices:
When painting your walls or choosing your outfit, try to choose the colors that stimulate positive emotions for you.
Although colors do have different psychological effects on humans, it’s important to acknowledge that color therapy is not fully verified by any medical field in 2023. It’s also important to understand that although the premise of color therapy says that specific colors elicit a specific impact, the effect of certain colors could still vary for different people. The color most people find calming could still have the possibility to irate you (Ohwovoriole 2022).
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