The chromotherapy, Also called color therapy, it is an alternative medicine method that supposedly uses the beneficial properties of light to treat all kinds of ailments and diseases. Although it is generally considered a pseudoscience, it has more and more followers around the world.
Chromotherapists say they can use the properties of different colors to achieve an energy balance in the body of their patients. Supposedly, each of them has different effects on the body and the mind, and knowing how they affect us, we can benefit from some of their characteristics.
Although the effects of color on humans have been studied for centuries, it was not until the early twentieth century that chromotherapy began to be considered as a discipline proper. The first recognized author was Dinshah P. Ghadiali, an American of Indian origin who believed that colors were actually potential chemicals.
According to this author, for each organ and system in the body, there is a color capable of stimulating it and another that inhibits it. Due to this, he dedicated a large part of his life to studying what were the effects of the different tones in each part of our organism. From there, little by little this discipline was developed until reaching our days..
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For the followers of chromotherapy, practically any object that has an intense color can influence our emotions. From wearing a T-shirt in a specific shade to simply looking at the blue sky, our feelings are affected by all of these factors..
However, chromotherapy itself involves using light and color in a particular way. Generally, it can be done in two ways. The simplest of these is to expose the patient to a light source of a certain shade, usually through the use of LED lamps..
The other way, which is used less but is supposedly more powerful, is to mix the beneficial effects of color with those of a sauna..
The patient is introduced into one of these rooms, and while the heat increases, the lighting is changed to a specific tone to achieve different effects..
Still, more and more people are trying to apply the principles of this discipline to their daily activities. By choosing clothes, objects or environments of a certain color, these individuals seek to affect their own feelings in a way that makes it easier for them to achieve their goals or achieve a specific emotional state..
Thus, for example, some advise wearing red when going to exercise, avoiding white walls when working, or meditating in environments of blue and green tones to increase the feeling of relaxation..
Knowing the basic effects of colors on the body and mind, it is possible to make your own combinations with them and apply them to all kinds of different situations.
The study of this discipline continues its course, and each author and practitioner has their own formulas to harness the power of light over the body..
The basis of this discipline is the study of the effects that different colors cause in our body and in our psychology. Next we will see a brief description of what each of the basic tones does.
In chromotherapy, red and pink are considered colors that charge the person with energy. They are supposed to help relax the muscles and release them from all kinds of tensions. In addition, they promote cell growth and the health of the circulatory system.
Normally, the use of these tones is recommended for problems such as colds, lack of energy, circulation difficulties, anemia, or simply to increase vitality.
The supposed explanation is that red stimulates the release of adrenaline and increases the levels of hemoglobin in the body..
On the other hand, it is believed that rose can help remove impurities from the bloodstream, while activating circulation and strengthening capillaries, veins and arteries throughout the body..
Yellow helps to get mental inspiration, activating higher psychological functions and strengthening self-control.
Therefore, it has a very beneficial effect on an intellectual level, and serves to control the nerves and achieve a greater amount of discipline. In general, it is supposed to be very helpful in connecting with our inner selves..
Besides this, the yellow color is supposed to be very good for treating stomach, liver and intestinal conditions; and is able to help in the healing processes.
For this reason, it is one of the most used tones to combat diseases of the digestive system and post-operative processes..
Green is considered the most suitable color for healing. It is in the middle of the color spectrum; and because of that, it is thought to be both spiritual and physical in nature.
This means that it can be used both for purely bodily problems, as well as for those that affect the mind..
In a practical sense, it is believed that green affects all heart problems, reducing stress and helping to cure many diseases that affect this organ..
On a psychological level, chromotherapy affirms that it is capable of untangling and calming thoughts, and pacifying the most intense emotions.
Blue is near one end of the visible spectrum. It is usually used for everything that has to do with relaxation: for example, to treat sleep problems, fears and anxieties, muscle aches and an overactivation of the mind and thoughts.
Still, only some types of blue have these calming effects. It is known that the "blue light" emitted by some screens can cause just the opposite, activating us and causing us constant concern. Therefore, it is necessary to use a tone designed specifically to be relaxing..
Orange seems to have a liberating effect on our mind, being able according to chromotherapy to end some of our fears and psychological blocks.
Being a mixture of red and yellow, it supposedly combines the energizing effect of red with an improvement in our intellectual capacity, activating body and mind at the same time..
Orange is also warm and stimulating, being able to awaken some of our most positive emotions and helping us to enter a more sociable state..
On a physical level, this color is supposed to help eliminate certain types of inflammation, menstrual cramps, and even more serious diseases such as epilepsy..
Violet is right at the extreme end of the visible light spectrum. It is a tonality that supposedly has a large number of beneficial effects, and it is believed that it helps alleviate the worst effects of some diseases such as neurosis, sciatica, rheumatism or even certain types of tumors.
On a psychological level, violet is considered to help increase inspiration and amplify the effects of practices such as meditation or yoga. It is very useful, supposedly, to enhance creativity and artistic talent, as it is believed to stimulate the activity of cells in the cerebral cortex.
Some followers of chromotherapy distinguish between the effects of normal shades of blue and indigo. This is a color similar to dark blue, which is believed to be especially effective in treating some diseases and conditions of both the body and the mind..
The main difference between indigo and normal blue is that it has much more powerful sedative effects. Therefore, it is often used to combat insomnia and difficulties in sleeping properly through the night..
In addition, it is supposed to have a very beneficial effect for all diseases related to the eyes, nose and ears..
From its beginnings as a discipline, chromotherapy has had more detractors than followers within the scientific world. Today, it is considered as a pseudoscience; and a large number of experts warn that relying on it as the sole treatment for a disease can have fatal consequences.
According to the American Cancer Association, "the scientific evidence that we have does not support the claims that alternative uses of light known as chromotherapy can be effective in the treatment of cancer or any other disease".
However, it is known that light can have very marked effects on some aspects of our body. For example, light therapy is used to treat psychological problems such as seasonal depression; and the blue light from the screens of our devices affects our brain in a negative way.
Because of this, the claims of color therapy about the effects caused by different shades are likely to be exaggerated or outright false. However, today we still do not know for sure whether exposing ourselves to different types of light can be beneficial for our body and mind or not..
When talking about the applications of chromotherapy, we have to distinguish between what its followers say and what science affirms. These are two different opinions on the effects of light on the body and the mind, which must be studied separately..
Those who firmly believe in the healing effects of colors claim that chromotherapy can be used to treat all kinds of diseases and problems.
For example, light is supposed to help fight symptoms of ailments such as cancer, epilepsy, depression, and anxiety; in addition to avoiding heart disease.
At the same time, it is supposed that using light can help us to be more creative, to better control our emotional states, and to enhance the effects of some traditional disciplines such as meditation or relaxation. All this is magnified, supposedly, if the colors are used in combination with heat.
However, as we have already seen, there are no studies that verify all these supposedly positive effects of the use of light in the treatment of diseases.
Therefore, the current scientific consensus is that chromotherapy does not really have beneficial consequences for the body or the mind..
In this sense, there are two currents of thought within the scientific field. On the one hand, some researchers think that this discipline can cause a large number of negative consequences.
This is because some people would decide to rely only on the use of colors to treat serious diseases, putting their lives at real risk..
On the contrary, some scientists maintain a more tolerant mindset; and they believe that, as long as color therapy is used in combination with other forms of medicine that have been scientifically studied, it does not have to be negative in any way.
Even for the most ardent followers of chromotherapy, this discipline can cause some adverse effects that must be taken into account.
Most of them come from using poorly indicated colors in specific situations, which is supposed to worsen the symptoms of some ailments.
For example, in cases where the patient suffers from anxiety, stress, irritability or palpitations, it is contraindicated to expose him to red, pink or orange tones. This is supposed to increase your problems, even raising them to dangerous levels..
The same is true on the contrary: in diseases such as depression, rheumatism, gout or colds, colors such as blue or purple should not be used. These cold colors are supposed to further paralyze the body and mind and end up making the situation worse..
On the other hand, possibly the worst side effect of chromotherapy is the one we have already mentioned above: it can cause people who use it not to go to a doctor when they really have a serious illness. This can put their health and lives at risk, preventing them from receiving the treatment they need..
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