The Benefits of Color on mental health

Even though you might not consciously realize this, colors play a pivotal role in how we perceive the world.

It is important to mention that colors can affect your mental health, without you knowing. Hence, you might wonder why you make some decisions, or why some things appeal to you, and others don’t.

When it comes to the treatment of mental health with colors, it is known as color therapy. Color therapy or chromotherapy is the use of therapy that uses light and color to handle mental health and physical health conditions.

Free Close-up Photo of Parakeet  Stock Photo

If someone is feeling demotivated and needs a boost of encouragement, the color Red can be used to signify hope and motivation. Also, the color Red can be instrumental in helping people ease their tension especially when they are faced with a challenge or problem.

The color Blue is another color that is crucial when treating mental health issues. Worthy of mention are those who struggle with sleep disorders. If you are experiencing insomnia or hypersomnia, blue light is effective in treating such disorders.

Chromatherapists use darker shades of blue to help people with sleep problems, because of its probable sedative properties. Additionally, blue is used to reduce depression symptoms and to help with pain relief.

According to Chromatherapists, Green is effective in helping people relieve stress. This is instrumental, especially for people who are experiencing chronic stress. With the use of this color, you can relax better and be more productive at work.

When it comes to mood improvement, the color yellow has been proven to be efficacious. If you are struggling with mood swings, Yellow is the go-to color that Chromatherapists use for their patients. You will feel happier, and more optimistic about life.

The color orange also has similar effects to yellow. It can be used to provoke happy emotions that are buried within people. It is also said to help people regain their appetite and spike their mental activity.

What Colors are Responsible for Mood Improvement

The whole concept of color psychology entails how different colors trigger various forms of emotions in humans and how colors impact moods, feelings, and behaviors.

Colors are powerful communication tools and can signal action, influence moods, and even influence psychological reactions. Some people feel anxious in a yellow room and much calmer if it is a room with blue representations. 

The idea of color therapy- using color to trigger an alternative positive feeling to dispel a current horrid feeling, was developed from color psychology. The whole perception is this: if colors can invoke such emotions as anxiety, it can stimulate other positive emotions that put an individual in a more relaxed mood. 

The following colors identifiably can be deployed to improve an individual’s mood, dispel negative emotions, and stabilize a person’s mood:

  • White: A common observation by several human psychology experts shows that white often triggers a fresh and clean sense of being. It can invoke a sense of youth and modernity.
  • Silver: The color shows a sense of modernity and innovation. Thus, it invokes the feeling of being new, modern, and cutting-edge.
  • Blue: People often describe blue as producing a sense of stability. Also, safety, calmness, and a relaxed state of mind. It often makes people come off as dependable and trustworthy.
  • Yellow: As brightly as the color yellow seems and appears, it may deploy to present a person as happy and an ideal merry-go-round individual.
  • Red: Colorology is still used today as a holistic form of treatment. In colorology, red can be used to stimulate the body and mind and to increase circulation.

A wide range of purposes and goals are achieved with colors in several occupations and trades. It again points out the relative subjectivity of colors and their meanings.

Common colors around us and what they stand for

Colors and their variants are diverse and mean different things to different people and in varying contexts. The concept of color psychology or color symbolism explains how colors play on human subconsciousness to trigger some associations, feelings, and meanings.

It is principal to not only able to identify colors but also to understand the psychology behind them and how they represent meaning.

When designing marketing visuals such as emails, ads, packaging, collateral, social media images, website colors, and even conventional and routine usages, understanding colors and their meanings plays an essential role.

Below are the various common colors in everyday life and the conventional meaning ascribed to them over the years:

§ Red: In different contexts, it may symbolize love, passion, sexuality, danger, warning, importance, power, speed.

§ Blue: When applied to the topic discussed, this color can mean seriousness, reliability, stability, knowledge, trust.

§ Yellow: This color has long connoted to joy, sun, childhood, leisure, optimism.

§ Green: In several climes and tribes worldwide, this color connotes nature, health, relaxation.

§ Orange: The conventional meaning ascribed to this color varies per place. It includes energy, balance, enthusiasm, vitality, fun.

§ Purple: Since time immemorial, this color has denoted royalty, creativity, spirituality, nobility, sophistication.

§ Pink: This is not a recently discovered color; it predominantly means romance, tenderness, sweetness.

§ Brown: The color of the soil, nature, wholesomeness, dependability, and utility has alluded to this color.

§ Black: While in some cultures, the color depicts mourning, in some other climes, it means class, luxury, minimalism, boldness.

§ White: White enjoys a sufficient degree of universality in meaning. It may mean purity, innocence, neutrality, peace.

§ Grey: The color may subjectively mean security, modesty, and practicality.

Colors do not come with inherent meaning. They bear only those meanings ascribed to them by the residents of a locality. It suffices to say that the meaning of colors varies across cultures.

COLORS THAT ENHANCE MENTAL HEALTH

Do you know that colors are effective in the treatment of mental health? This piece reveals this aspect of colors that people are not aware of. In rehab treatment, colors are used to take care of mental health problems like depression, anxiety and a host of others.

Color psychology is an aspect of psychology that is currently emerging, and the reason for this is, we have not been mindful to the profound effect that colors have on us.

We are oblivious of the fact that colors have an effect on our mentalities and mood, and this is probably why we do not know the reason for some of our strange behaviors.

For treatment of anger issues, the colors that are effective for this are yellow, green and lavender. Yellow color enhances positivity which brings the individual into a cool state of mind. Green color restores the mood of an individual while Lavender gives off calming and soothing effects to the mind.

The most effective color combinations for anxiety is lavender, yellow and green. Just like anger, anxiety is experienced when much adrenaline is pumped in an individual.

So, Lavender is used to calm the mind of an individual, reducing any fear they might have. Then, Yellow helps to switch the course of their thoughts from negative to positive. Green color aids the individual to center themselves and display logic.  

The most effective color combinations for depression is blue, yellow and green. It is surprising to note that Blue color is associated with depression and productivity, it is like two sides of a coin.

So, the color blue is super important to someone who is depressed. Yellow enhances positivity and energy and this is what a depressed person does not have. While green ensures balance to the individual.

For ADHD, the most proficient color combinations are Lavender, blue and green. Lavender gives off the calming effect, blue helps the individual to organize and plan while green helps with meditation.

UNDERSTANDING THE PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND COLORS

The psychology behind color simply gives an insight into what various colors stand for and how they affect us.

It would interest you to know that color has an influence on perception and people do not notice this. For example, people are attracted to colorful foods than the others that are less-colorful.

So, the first thing they will notice is the color before considering the possible taste of the food.

When it comes to placebo effect of drugs or stimulants, you will discover that a good number of them are either red or orange. When people see these substances, the color gives them the impression that they are fit to give the precise expected effects.

Color is a powerful tool that aids in communication and it has an influence on the mood and emotions of a person in quite some ways. Basically, it gives visual clarification to an ambiguous quality.

There are various reactions you can get when you take a look at colors and this includes enthusiasm, happiness, delight, fear, courage and enthusiasm.

So, it is correct to say that colors can be used to show emotions accurately and showing a certain color can have an effect on the mood without you realizing.

The summary below shows some colors and the feelings attached to them:

Blue: This color is linked with the power of concentration. Seeing this color helps you feel relaxed and gives you a sense of security and safety. One of the reasons why blue color is commonly used in classrooms is because, it helps students to be focused.

Red: The color Red, comes with passion and excitement. It induces energy, vigor, enthusiasm and drive. Red color also gives off negative feelings like danger and depression.

Green: The color Green helps your mind relax, and it is used to show nature and its effects. Green is also associated with Good luck and a feeling of renewal.

Yellow: Yellow is used to stimulate positive behaviors, reviving the mind of the individual and capturing their attention.

COLOUR PSYCHOLOGY AND HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

Colour psychology can basically be defined as the inquiry into colours and how they have a say on human behaviour. Colour exerts influence on perception which is not noticeable such as the taste of a meal. Colour also has the capacity to improve the efficacy of the placebo effect. For instance, most stimulants usually come in either red or orange colours, this gives the user a thought pattern that the stimulant is bound to perform its exact duties.

Colour can also have influence on an individual. However, it should be noted that such effects would vary between people. Some factors such as the age of an individual, the gender and culture, can impact how a person sees colour. For instance, it would be a common notion for a heterosexual to think that a red clothe improves the attractiveness of a female, while a heterosexual female would deny any clothe outfit which enhances that of men.

In branding and marketing, colour psychology is an important tool. A good number of marketers employ colour in marketing, because it can be utilized in influencing the emotions and perceptions of their potential customers, when it comes to the sale of goods and services. In the creation of logos, companies also put colour psychology to use. These logos can impact customers because the colours which are used, goes in line with the goods or services.

Below are common colours and the emotions and ideas which they are associated with:

  • Red: Warning, courage, love, aggression, rage
  • Blue: Trust, efficiency, sadness, security, coolness
  • Yellow: Energy, fear, frailness, honour, hope
  • Green: Health, favour, ambition, passivity, compassion
  • Orange: Wisdom, pride, pleasure, desire, loneliness
  • Purple: Wealth, impatience, wisdom, dignity, arrogance
  • Pink: Joyfulness, lack of willpower, passiveness, calmness, sweetness
  • Black: Emptiness, security, coldness, gloom, aggression
  • White: Perfection, sterility, cleanliness, coldness, goodness

Colour psychology has a conventional model which is based on six fundamental principles:

  • Colour could carry a specific meaning
  • The meaning of colour is either based on innate learning or learned meaning
  • The discernment of colour induces automated evaluation by the person observing
  • The evaluation process induces a behaviour which is colour-motivated
  • Colour imposes influence spontaneously
  • The meaning and effect of colour has a link with its context

MOOD CONNECTED WITH COLORS

Color is known to be a very powerful tool used to communicate and it influences the emotions and mood of a person in a number of ways. It helps give visual explanation to an obscure quality.

There are reactions one can get by just simply looking at colors which includes feelings of fear, delight, happiness or enthusiasm. We can simply say colors are used to express emotions accurately and visualizing a particular color can affect the mood even without realizing.

There are different colors that are connected to the mood and can cause arousal of various kinds of emotions and feelings.

  • Blue

Blue color is associated with the ability to concentrate. It brings a form of calm and peace to the mind and causes a reaction of safety and security. For instance, schools make use of blue color for painting and wall finish because there is a high tendency for the mind to be focused when it is relaxed and that is what blue is known for. Also, feelings of trust, order and serenity is associated with the color blue.

  • Red

Red is connected with excitement and passion. It brings enthusiasm, drive and energy to the mind when it is visualized. There are also negative feelings red is connected with, which includes depression and danger. Also red can be combined with other colors to evoke other psychological responses.

  • Green

The effect of Green in the mind is always cool and relaxing. Green is used to portray nature and its features. Also it is connected with good luck, health and a feeling of regeneration. The color also depicts different things in various cultural backgrounds.

  • Yellow

The color Yellow is used to arouse positive behaviors. It stimulates the mind of the viewer and draws his or her attention. It is a captivating color which is used in different functions.

  • Orange

This color is known for the feelings of warmth, comfort and excitement it brings. It arouses the mind to become creative and innovative. It also has the ability to energize and drive one to do things beyond their capabilities.

            Although color has an effect on the mood, psychological reactions to them is personal and are based on an individual experience. It is common for a person to have a strong reaction to a particular kind of color and when this happens it is necessary to actually know the reason why. In doing this, it helps develop the mental health. �Κc� �UpaS�eל/�