Let Colours Cheer You Up

Hi People,

Hope this lockdown is not stressing you out. I know some of us feel anxious with uncertainty surrounding us but when uncertainty is trying to overpower your peace of mind, one needs to give it a good fight to restore self sanity. 

I have a simple and creative way of fighting this anxiousness and also creating some ME time- COLOURING!!!!

But first, lets understand how colours impact us and our world around and how it is used by experts to heal us. 

There is no one who does not loves colours but have you ever wondered how colours affect you? Ever felt calmed and relaxed in a particular coloured room? Ever realised your anxiety go up with a certain colour? 

Yes?

Well, if you notice closely colour is a powerful communication tool and can be used to signal action, influence mood and perceptions, and even physiological reactions. Colours can make us feel happy or sad , hungry or relaxed and many more emotions. Your feelings about colours are often deeply personal and rooted in your own experience or culture. For example- White is seen has purity and auspicious in many cultures while others see it as a symbol of mourning.

This is a compact colour wheel showing us how these colours impact us. Your colour preferences might say something about the type of  person you are. This could be kept in mind while doing up your house and choosing your colour scheme for the different areas or while choosing your wardrobe. Colour preferences, from the clothes you wear to the car you drive, can sometimes make a statement about how we want others to perceive us.Choosing the right colour could help brighten a dull and depressing day. 

The impact of colours has been scientifically acknowledged in alternative therapies called Chromotherapy or simply colour therapy.  This alternative therapy rests on the idea that colours create an electrical impulse in our brain, which stimulates hormonal and biochemical process in our body. This is used alongside other treatments and is popularly used for people suffering from depression, stress and seasonal affective disorder. 

Many believe that colours impact our body and help balance our chakras. Chakras known as our energy centres is thought of as a set of cogs like the workings of a clock. A colour therapist or a Chakra therapist can help you determine what colours can help us balance or unblock certain chakras in case we are going through a hardship or suffering an ailment. 

Considering, all the above statements in a holistic form, have you realised how just colouring an image or painting a wall/canvass or just working with some coloured paper relaxes you? Art is considered equivalent to meditation and just involving yourself in any form of artistic recreation is therapeutic.Which is why, some psychologists, do suggest colouring for a anxious or impatience kid to calm them down. 

So during this lockdown period utilise your time to bring out the child in you....help colours help you fight your anxiety, relax your mind and make you happy. Take out that notebook or get a colouring book out and just start colouring. One does not need to be a painter or an artiste for this, all you need is to be involved. 

Happy Colouring

Saumya

Ps- The therapy and the uses of colour in various scientific field were a part of my research for my TV show Mano Ya Na Mano that aired on Star One (2006). I have used that research material to enhance my skills and understanding of colours for my personalised gifting business.