Are you more attracted to someone wearing a red shirt or a yellow one? Do you feel different in an orange room versus a blue room? Colors can influence our mood, feelings, and emotions. Although there is not a lot of research in this area and your own cultures and experiences may influence how certain colors personally affect you, there are some standard affects that colors are believed to have on most people. Marketing actually uses the psychology of colors in this way to attract customers. And we can use it in a way to increase a sense of calmness, for example, and decrease stress. Below are examples of colors and how they may be positively or negatively affecting you:
 

Red

Positive:

Exciting, Stimulating, Passion, Arousing, Love, Warmth, Comfort, Confidence, Bold, Energetic, Increase Circulation, Increase Appetite

 

Negative:

Dangerous, Defiance, Aggression, Intense, Domineering

 
 
 

Pink

Positive:

Soft, Tranquil, Balance, Peace, Lower Blood Pressure, Lower Pulse Rate, Decrease Anxiety, Calming, Love, Romance

 

Negative:

Inhibition, Physical Weakness, Over-Emotional, Naive

 
 
 

Orange

Positive:

Stimulating, Increases Energy, Exciting, Warm, Enthusiasm, Increases Appetite

 

Negative:

Frustration, Immaturity, Restlessness

 
 

Yellow

Positive:

Sunny, Cheerful, Warm, Stimulating, Relieves Depression, Increase Metabolism

 

Negative:

Frustration, Anger, Fear, Annoying, Brash, Restnessless

 
 

Green

Positive:

Restful, Soothing, Tranquility, Diffuse Anxiety, Lessen Depression, Relieves Stress, Help Heal, Serenity, Growth, Balance, Good Luck

 

Negative:

Stagnation, Greedy, Jealous, Inexperienced

 
 

Purple

Positive:

Peaceful, Wisdom, Royalty, Spirituality, Exotic, Balance, Imagination, Creative

 

Negative:

Suppression, Instability, Uneasiness, Artificial

 

More Blue-Purple

Soothing

 

More Red-Purple

Stimulating

 
 
 

White

Positive:

Clarity, Freshness, Purifying, Clean, Cleanse the Mind, Purify the Body, Innocence, Space

 

Negative:

Empty, Sterile, Bland

 
 

Black

Positive:

Power, Elegance, Sophistication, Glamour, Security

 

Negative:

Secretive, Unknown, Coldness, Heaviness, Grief

 
 

Blue

Positive:

Lowers Heart Rate, Lowers Body Temperature, More Productive, Soothing, Calming, Helps with Sleep, Elevates Mood, Trust, Peace, Serenity

 

Negative:

Sadness, Coldness, Aloofness, Gloomy

 
 

Brown

Positive:

Calming, Earthy, Security, Protection, Strength, Reliability

 

Negative:

Sadness, Isolation, Dirty, Cheap

 
 

Colors that are known for their calming, stress relieving abilities include:

Green, Purple, and Blue.

 

Colors that are more stimulating and therefore typically do not relieve stress include:

Orange and Red.

 
Colors surround us and it is important to be mindful and take note of them, not only for their beauty, but also for their underlying effects on us emotionally and physically. What colors are your rooms painted? What colors do you often like to wear? What color is the comforter on your bed?
 

“Colors, like features, follow the changes of emotion.”
~ Pablo Picasso