Colour psychology: The positive power of colour

We’ve all read about the power of positive thinking and how it can make you happier and more successful. However, when times are tough we may need a little extra help, so why not harness the psychological effects of colour.

Even as times are tough pretty much everywhere you look, you’re constantly being told to ‘stay positive’. That’s often easier said than done. Collective stress levels are on the rise, and sometimes it’s hard not to feel threatened by the clouds of gloom. A holiday might sort you out, but then you’d need to work even harder to be able to afford one.

What might be really useful is having a little help at home. No, not a staff of domestics à la Downton Abbey (although, of course, that would be lovely), but rather a subtler, more subliminal and decidedly more attainable sort of assistance. It’s just possible that using colour psychology in your home environment could affect your mood and help you think more positively.

Colour psychology in action

Chromotherapy is a form of colour psychology ('chromo' meaning colour), where practitioners believe that colour affects and influences mood.

Although the formal practice of chromotherapy usually occurs in a practitioner's office and involves the use of special coloured lights, you can easily take the same principles and paint them into your daily life. Obviously one of the biggest canvasses on which to do this is your own home décor.

First, think about which rooms you spend the most time in. These are likely to be your bedroom, kitchen, and living room, but you may have a dedicated music room or study, for example, that is your favourite place to relax.

Next, select your colours and choose wisely. Step away for a minute from the palette to which you instinctively gravitate on a purely aesthetic level and think instead in terms of colour psychology.

Banish stress by using green to bring the outside in

 

The colour range that is most associated with positive thinking is the yellow-green-blue part of the spectrum. While yellow elicits feelings of joy and excitement, blue is more calming. They naturally come together in green, which is associated with feelings of balance and wellbeing.

In fact, a recent Canadian study has shown that taking a walk in nature does more to combat depression than a walk in an urban environment.  We seem to be happier when we feel more connected to the natural world, and one way to maintain that connection is to bring nature's favourite colour, green, into your home. Try to blur the lines between outdoors and indoors as much as possible.

Go with indigo to set a tranquil, positive mood

Tapping the positive power of indigo, which was named 2013's Colour of the Year, is another way to elicit a sense of wellbeing and renewal in your home. According to the experts, indigo, with its characteristic restful qualities of stability and tranquillity, can serve as a 'visual band-aid to our hectic lives'. Deep, rich shades of indigo also serve to complement and enhance the calming, rejuvenating qualities of blues and greens.

Now that you know how easy it is to use the power of chromotherapy in your surroundings, imagine how much more positively you can start and end each day once your home environment is constantly sending you subliminal calm and restful 'happy thoughts'. It's certainly worth a try, isn't it?