The Aberdeen Democrat. (Aberdeen, South Dakota) 1???-1909, 1902-12-12
co1oRs TO CURE INSANE
wards Island lr
h'sp. walls of Patie""
rooms for Acute Mania

crrs for insanity is being
a new w, nrs. Bond and Monette Oh
Wards island. The co!o5 hnt one
treatment new to ahenls's, D,ccess.
tna' fnr SO far, a great many o. Wv
lui' ioi +alen 10 the color ward n",.
Pa',en, nrsd Dr.. Dent, superintendent
~ tho woman's hospital or the ~" ar
directe ed that a ward be SET "sil.
va color treatment, and be fltieu WV.
IN tba1 the experiment required ~
ports the New York lines
date. ,,,. The mi.
colors are employed, but so ON
nletsly is a patient surrounded Ds a"
atmosphere of a particular ob;s
deemed best by the physicians
nor+;c,,ar mania. that the vIora'i""<
must act upon him. The rooms OF ul,s
,ord are small. and the furniture -
sists of an iron bed and a chali.
walls are painted in vivid color 'ne D.h
and chair colored to correspond WI"
the walls. and the light sits into the
room through a shade OF the SANE
| color. so that an atmosphere Oh 'N'S
color is created.
When one of the patients suffers
from acute mania the room that Is
painted black, a very dungeon Oh d
- ~ ln- Int u hlS rpllt1ltle
darkness and the silence OF the place
seldom fail to have some effect on
the patient. As a matter OF 1acI !.
tends to soothe, and soon ii is noticed
that the subject becomes qnleter.
Red. producing more vibrations to inc
second than any other color, is EN-
| ployed when melancholia is beng
treated. These rays OF red attract the
mind. their vibrations are necessarily
felt by the patient, and the thoughts
in the poor brain are set in motion.
There arc violet oom for mild forms
of insanity; blue and green rooms for
the boisterous, and a white room for
the person who is practically well.
\ recreation room or hall extends
through the middle of the long, low
building. On each side of this hall are
ranged the rooms, and as the visitor
steps from the outdoor light into the
subdued quiet of the hall the com
bination of the rays of light from the
different rooms is quite startling for
a moment.
That the different colors have effect
on the insane patient was well illus
trated the other day when a woman
suffering from %melancholia was led
down the hall. First come the black
rooms; these she passed without
evincing any difference in her state of
observation. The violet, green and
blue rooms had the same effect; before
each door she paused, but did not raise
her eyes. Then came the brilliant,
orange room. For a moment she
raised her eyes. then lowered them
again. Three of these rooms she
passed, and was then brought abrupt
" in front Of the room with the red
walls. She raised her head Instant
ly, looked into the room, and then
about her. The vibrations produced
BY this color had evidently been felt
by her, while the others had had no
effect. In this way the room is gen
orally selected for the patient. OF
course, when the East of m~elancholia
Is SO bad that nothing will attract at
tentlon, a red room cannot be SIN
posed to have immediate effect. bnt
after a week or two weeks in this
room some slight Improvement NAV he
noticed, the glance of an eve. the mo-
ton Of a hand or the head mean mnch
to the doctors-more than the ,avman
would ever imagine.
There are rooms of three shades 90
the same color, each lighter by several
degrees than the preceding one. From
red the patient is removed to = deem
pink room, from this to one Of = Aes1
tint. and then they generally come ont
we'll or SO nearly well that only a GER.
tam number of hours in the day need
De spent in the color room.