We want to realize that color is a powerful tool and stimulates the whole of the visual sensory system in the brain and we have to be careful how we use it. It can be very good, if used adequately, but it can send a client into neuro-distress (thus no STROBBING lights). We want to be very careful not to do that. Bright, vibrant colors wake the nervous system up while dark, cool colors calm it down.
The energy (sensory stimuli) from our environments fuel our sensory systems - this is the first step in activating the brain. All the sensory systems are involved: sight - visual, sound - hearing/auditory, smell - olfactory (this is the first system that activates the limbic system's fight or flight mechanisms), touch - tactile; and taste. The client with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) is being affected by environmental stimuli via their sensory systems. We cannot separate the systems within our physiology or the environment surrounding us. It is important that we keep in mind the interconnections and the impact of each of these upon our client's functioning.
Color is a form of radiation as are x-rays, ultraviolet rays and microwaves. The difference is that the radiation of colored light is visible to us. Various frequencies of the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, from 700 to 400 nanometers, are known to us as the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
- Light, which contains the full spectrum of color, is a basic human nutrient and is absorbed by the human body in order to live and grow. Indeed, light is our very life-force. As colors are the components of light, you can understand the importance and implications of color in therapy.
- The energy from our environment fuels our sensory system (all five senses, not only sight). We will be studying the visual system here, but we need to consider that the other senses are also influenced by environmental stimuli.
