Can colours have both a positive and negative affect on your mental health?
The answer is yes, different colours can contribute positively and negatively on your mental health.
Mental health has always been one the most important but can get neglected because physically you can’t see a problem and therefore don’t always realise there is one. That said, adding different colours to your environment whether its work or home can be beneficial to your mental wellbeing.
Various colours are used in something called ‘colour therapy’ – this is a healing process based on colours and the impact that they can have on someone’s physical and mental wellbeing. Colour therapy is based on the idea that the colours you are exposed to can affect your emotions and overall health. It has been proven that colours can affect the brain due to them influencing our physiology, as well as anxiety, pulse, blood flow and stimulation. By filling your home with more colours that have a positive impact and limiting the colours that can have a negative impact, this can help to make your house feel like a home.
Black
Black is typically classed as negative colour, due to this being the darkest colour that exists. Black is usually associated with sadness and emptiness; some cultures believe that it represents death and mourning. However, black can also represent immortality and power, perhaps because these are two very dark aspects like the colour black itself. Despite all the negative aspects of black it also has some positive affects when used correctly, by adding little touches of black to your surroundings it can help to focus you on your goals and can remind you of your power and authority. Whereas when surround by a lot of black it can lower your mood and inflict sadness upon your life.
Blue
Blue is mainly known as a positive colour, but darker shades of blue could have negative effects on a person’s mental health. Blue is a colour commonly found in nature, the sky, the ocean, lakes therefore it can be described as a peaceful and calming colour; it is recognised as a symbol of reliability and stability. Blue can also be associated with depression and could inflict sadness into someone’s life. The more positive effects of the lighter shades of blue are that it can reduce stress, help to focus, and can also improve memory and awareness. Adding lighter shades of blue are ideal in a high stress level environment such as offices – this will help people to perform better mentally in stressful environments.
Yellow
Yellow is a very bright colour and has lots of positive effects. Yellow is typically known as a happy colour and can give inner strength and increase positivity. Yellow can have positive effect on your nervous and digestive system. Despite all this, yellow can have negative effects on your health as it has high levels of light. By using, for example, yellow paper or even a yellow computer screen in extreme cases this can have detrimental effects on your vision and has the ability to induce anger or frustration.
White
White commonly represents innocence and purity. White is the brightest colour to the human eye therefore helps to creates the illusion and a sense of space to a room. White can make any size or shape of space feel cleaner, fresher and gives a sense of simplicity and can also symbolise a fresh start or a clean slate. However, white can have some negative effects as well- it can be a very cold colour, but when is paired with other colours correctly can help to make room feel lighter and brighter such a lilac or various shades of green.
Pink
The colour pink can have a lot of positive effects on a person’s mental health. Lighter shades of pink can have some relaxing affects and can also be beneficial to a person’s memory. It has been shown to help people sleep better and more peacefully. By using darker shades of pink such as magenta – this can help generate relief from headaches and nausea. Filling a room with various shades of pink is believed to have a positive effect on your mental health and will help to make your home a more relaxing and calmer environment.
Green
Green is seen as very cool colour which has a lot of calming effects on the mind. Green is often used in paintings to create a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. Cool colours can help improve your mental health because of the likelihood in reduction of stress levels creating a sense of tranquillity. Various shades of green have positive effects on your hearts health, and this is good for reducing anxiety levels. Green is the colour that we most associate with nature, representing balance and unity, thus by spending time in nature this will help to balance both your mind and your mood. By adding touches of green décor into your home especially through plants, it is a representation of including nature into your home.
Red
The colour red can have a number of effects on our minds. Rooms that contain a lot of red can give a person excitement and energy, making you feel more alert and awake. Red has the ability to make you feel confident and assertive, no matter what you’re doing. The colour red is a very loving colour and can help to give strength and energy. It can also be associated with passion and love, which can evoke a range of emotions such as warmth, love, and happiness. Red has two contrasting aspects, it can either create a feeling of excitement or stimulate aggression. Everyone’s interpretations of red are different some find red to be fun and playful while others find red to be a very bold and erotic colour.