Susie, a woman in her forties had learning disabilities and interacting with others was difficult for her. Her mother, with whom she had lived all her life, had passed away two years before we met. After her mother’s death, Susie was taken to a residential home to live with four women previously unknown to her. She was referred to me because the care staff in the home were unable to cope with her angry outbursts after a lengthy period of withdrawal. Susie had been prescribed medication for depression. I spent several sessions with her in an attempt to build trust by finding something to share that would trigger a positive reaction. To my delight, I found that Susie loved the swathes of rainbow coloured silk that I took with me on each visit . She always chose to wrap herself in sunshine yellow silk and then stood infront of a full length mirror, admiring her reflection.
As well as seeing colour, we are able to feel the impact of its vibration in our body. Each colour vibrates at a specific frequency on the rainbow spectrum. Through sympathetic resonance, we are intuitively drawn to the colour we most need to redress any imbalance within. Our choice of colour is indicative of our emotional state at the time.
Sunshine yellow, Susie’s choice, corresponds to the energy of the solar plexus in health . The solar plexus is the junction box of the nervous system and Susie’s intuitive colour choice would help to calm her anxiety and bring clarity to her mind. As well as using colour, I wanted to gauge Susie’s musical preference and I played a wide variety of music and songs to her, both pop and classical from different cultures. It was my intention to find a piece of music or a song that would resonate with the feelings that she was unable to express in words. This would help her through the grief process. The music that visibly brought her the most solace was the music of Chopin
As Susie quietly listened, Chopin’s music seemed to ease her pain as she snuggled into the sofa wrapped in yellow silk, eyes closed with a hint of a smile on her lips. She was obviously aware of more than her care staff had originally thought. Staff members were encouraged to take time to sit with Susie and talk to her and share some of their own feelings, without expectation of a response, in an attempt to build a relationship built on mutual trust.
Susie hadn’t experienced this kind of interaction since the death of her mother with whom she had been close. On these precious occasions with staff members, Susie wore her mantle of yellow silk whilst Chopin’s music played softly in the background . Gradually, in a limited way, she began to respond to questions about her mother and one day stated that she was sad. There had been no opportunity to share feelings in this way before because of assumptions made about her inability to communicate and understand feelings. A freeing up of emotion unlocked Susie from her prison of isolation. New words emerged as the repressed energy around her heart gradually melted away .
Regular review sessions with staff guided them gently through this process. They developed compassion for this woman who was plunged into despair after the loss of her mother and removed from the only home she had known. At last, wrapped in sunshine and bathed in music, healing tears were shed. Over a period of months, Susie’s depression lifted and angry outbursts subsided. She began to accept her new home and to build relationships with those with whom she lived. Whenever her mood darkened, she withdrew to her room, her music and her yellow silk.
As Susie quietly listened, Chopin’s music seemed to ease her pain as she snuggled into the sofa wrapped in yellow silk, eyes closed with a hint of a smile on her lips. She was obviously aware of more than her care staff had originally thought. Staff members were encouraged to take time to sit with Susie and talk to her and share some of their own feelings, without expectation of a response, in an attempt to build a relationship built on mutual trust.