Color Therapy to Heal Disorders
Color Therapy for Mental and Emotional Disorders
By Lien Potgieter
Color therapy has been used for thousands of years to treat various illness and diseases. It is also effective in alleviating the symptoms of mental and emotional disorders. Even though color therapy is not used primarily as a diagnostic tool, it can assist in finding the root issues that will manifest as either an emotional or mental disorder.
Color therapy is a complementary therapy that works well with many other methods of healing. Mental and emotional disorders are not seen as separate entities in color therapy. The body works as a unit. An emotional disorder will have an effect on the person’s mental and physical state, just as a mental disorder will have an effect on the person’s physical and emotional state. In color therapy, we work with the person holistically to alleviate issues on the physical, emotional, and mental levels simultaneously to bring about balance.
How Color Therapy Works
All colors hold gifts and challenges. Disorders or imbalances occur when a person is accessing the challenge associated with a particular color. In color therapy, often, healers use the color and its complementary colors to help the person to access the gifts and overcome the challenges.
Mental disorders are most often associated with blues and violets; whereas, emotional issues are most often associated with yellows and greens. Depending on the type of disorder, a color therapist will use specific combinations or single colors to balance them out. Symptoms relating to Alzheimer’s, depression, bipolar, and autism disorders have been successfully relieved, allowing people to manage their conditions more effectively. Color therapy does not cure the disorder, but it can help, in conjunction with medical treatment, to make living with the disorder a lot more manageable and constructive in the long term.
The following is a list of the most diagnosed disorders with their color combinations, which can be related to color preference or rejection, and how they assist in balancing symptoms of those disorders.
Autism spectrum disorders work well with combinations of green, turquoise and blue to assist with communication, releasing fear and bringing balance and structure to behavioral issues that are prevalent with autism. The avoidance of red will show sensory issues and green will balance this out. An inability to express through speech can be corrected with blue, and the over-stimulated or over-analytical mind can be calmed with turquoise.
Schizophrenia works with symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, being disorganized or catatonic, and emotional flatness. All of these issues can be assisted by using combinations of violet and yellow. Violet helps to organize and bring mental acuity and yellow calms paranoia and boosts emotional vitality.
Bipolar disorder works with the need to stabilize emotions. Olive green can assist with bringing balance by calming manic episodes and fighting emotional disconnect through the depressive episodes.
Color Therapy for Panic, Phobias, and More
Panic disorders often work with feelings surrounding lack of control and self-empowerment. Yellows and golds can be used to calm anxiety and bring in feelings of self-confidence in times where fear and adrenaline overwhelm the physical, emotional and mental faculties.
Anxiety disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, general anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder are often rooted in physical or emotional shock or trauma. They can also relate to feelings of disempowerment and a perceived need for the person to control themselves, their surroundings or other people. Orange helps to release shock and trauma while making the person feel supported. It boosts their courage and relaxes the muscular and nervous systems, bringing in a feeling of empowerment and as well as moderating control issues.
Phobias can cause feelings of being overly self-conscious and anxious. In severe cases, people may become agoraphobic, which is very destructive in dealing with daily activities. Physical symptoms can include sweating, dizziness and nausea, all of which can be assisted with by using pink, indigo and yellow. These colors help to calm the nervous system and bring in rational reasoning to help the person overcome their fears.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can be calmed with greens and violets. Green helps to calm the physical and brings structure to overwhelming emotions, while violet helps to calm the mind so the body can relax. Violet also helps to sharpen focus, attentiveness, concentration, and absent mindedness.
Eating disorders are rooted in a fear of rejection, loss of control, or a combination of the two. In eating disorders, the body loses vitality and the ability for discernment and perception are lost through mental exhaustion. Coral and lavender can help to boost physical energy, provide support and nurturing and change belief systems or destructive mental patterning.
Color Therapy Heals Imbalances
Anti-social personality disorders are shown when people challenge authority, do not follow societal rules and have no remorse or disregard for other people’s emotions, need to be balanced with indigo and red. People suffering from these disorders are often out of touch with their true emotional self and need to be connected mentally and emotionally to their physical environments.
Avoidant personality disorders may be associated with extremely anxiety and in situations where a person has been overly-controlled, and often results in fear of criticism and reluctance to become involved in group activities or with other people at all. This can be assisted with the color magenta and silver, bringing in a sense of faith and trust in themselves, the people around them and with life in general.
Borderline personality disorder causes people to become unstable and impulsive resulting in suicide threats or attempts. This issue is rooted in a fear of abandonment, which makes it difficult for them to maintain stable relationships. A combination of orange, green and blue can help to establish and maintain appropriate boundaries with others, while facilitating the process of open communication with others and calming the emotions.
Mood disorders, such as depression can be helped with green and red. People suffering from depression have feelings of worthlessness, sadness and is a debilitating illness that can reoccur throughout the person’s life. We use red to boost energy and green to connect them to mental and emotional belief systems that reinforce self-worth, self-confidence and give the person a sense of purpose and hope.
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About the Author
Lien Potgieter is a writer and color coach and teacher based in Johannesburg, South Africa. She offers online color readings, as well as an online Speak Color in 7 Days course. Visit www.thecolouroption.com for more colorful information.
Twitter: @chicrainbowchik
Facebook: www.facebook.com/justcolour.co.za
