Chromophobia (Fear of Color): Meaning, Symptoms, & Causes

What Is Chromophobia (Fear of Color)?

Chromophobia is when someone experiences a very strong aversion or even a fear of certain colors. The specific color, as well as the amount of colors feared, varies from person to person with this condition. When they are exposed to the color that they fear, they may experience anxiety, panic, or other forms of discomfort.

This intense fear is often the result of a specific phobia, which means that the person suffering from chromophobia has an extreme reaction to only this specific thing, rather than a range of similar things.¹

What Is A Phobia?

A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder where someone has an intense, pervasive fear of a thing or situation. Some common examples of phobias are spiders, snakes, heights, or germs. In most cases, phobias are fears of things that are not necessarily immediately harmful, thus the person likely has an unrealistic fear that can often cause a reaction that is out of proportion for the situation.²

Chromophobia Vs Other Phobias

Unlike other more common phobias such as insects or heights, chromophobia undoubtedly presents a unique challenge. While one can take steps to avoid insects or heights, avoiding certain colors can make it difficult to conduct everyday life such as work or school.

How Common Is Chromophobia?

While it is difficult to know exactly how common chromophobia is, largely due to shame and lack of awareness of the condition, specific phobias are actually quite common in the United States. Research points to the fact that over 12% of adults will experience a specific phobia during their lifetime.³

Due to stigmas and embarrassment, many with specific phobias keep them to themselves. Chromophobia, with the additional challenges it presents, likely causes most sufferers to keep quiet about their experiences.

What Colors Are People Afraid Of?

Some people can be afraid of all colors, but most people are afraid of one or two main colors, or a combination of color shades. For example, if someone is afraid of blue, they could have an aversion to many different shades of blue, or they may only have a fear of bright blue.

Some specific color phobias include:

• Xanthophobia: Fear of the color yellow
• Chrysophobia: This is a fear of the color gold or shades of orange.
• Rhodophobia: This is a fear of the color pink
• Cyanophobia: Fear of the color blue
• Prasinophobia: Fear of the color green
• Melanophobia: This is a fear of the color black
• Kastanophobia: Fear of the color brown
• Leukophobia: Fear of the color white

Symptoms Of Chromophobia

Many of the symptoms of chromophobia are similar to the symptoms experienced by anyone who is exposed to the object or situation that they fear. For example, someone who is afraid of heights may experience sweating, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath when forced to drive across a tall bridge.

Someone with chromophobia who is accidentally exposed to the color(s) they fear may experience these same symptoms, among others.

Some symptoms of chromophobia include:⁴

• Heart palpitations
• Shortness of breath
• Panic attacks
• Avoidance of the colors
• Itchy skin
• Avoidance of leaving the house
• Sweating
• Upset stomach or nausea
• Tingling sensation

Chromophobia & Agoraphobia

Depending on the severity of the symptoms experienced, chromophobia can lead to agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is an avoidance of specific places or environments, and in extreme cases can even prevent a person from leaving their home.

Due to the extreme fear of certain colors, and the avoidance behaviors that go into trying to make sure that they are not exposed to those colors, some with chromophobia end up spending more time in the comfort of their own home where they can more closely control and monitor their environment. This helps them avoid unnecessary and unexpected triggers. However, this behavior can impact family, friends, and other relationships.

Causes Of Chromophobia

It is difficult to know the direct causes of chromophobia, but there seems to be a link with anxiety disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or panic disorders. Other causes seem to be linked to autism, sensory processing disorder, or substance use. Some other possible causes of chromophobia include traumatic events related to specific colors, cultural beliefs around certain colors, or even genetic predispositions.⁵

Mental health clinicians have long understood that many phobias develop after a traumatic experience. For example, a fear of spiders after being surprised or bit by one. While this is not always the case, it points to a possible- and plausible- explanation for many with specific phobias.⁵ Some other common reasons for developing a phobia include social learning experiences, where someone develops a fear after watching others react to the same fear. For example, watching older siblings or parents who are afraid of dogs may make someone develop a fear of dogs themselves.⁵

Impact of Chromophobia on Daily Life

There are many limitations and challenges someone with chromophobia faces throughout their daily lives. Everything from choosing clothing and furniture has to be carefully considered in order to avoid the feared color(s). While many with chromophobia avoid having the feared colors in their living spaces, sometimes it may be unavoidable such as receiving mail or packages with the color, or food delivery bags with the color. Another common concern is television, and the amount of colors one is exposed to while watching television.

Although someone with chromophobia may take many steps to decrease their interaction with the color they wish to avoid, these actions may actually worsen their condition. This is because they are further reinforcing the fear by justifying their avoidance of it. Over time, this does not help them lessen their symptoms of their phobia.

Diagnosing Chromophobia

Chromophobia is diagnosed much the same way as other phobias: a combination of a thorough psychiatric or psychological evaluation along with the list of diagnostic criteria from the DSM, or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.⁴

As the DSM defines a phobia as an “intense and irrational fear,”³ this criteria must be met when examining criteria for chromophobia. Along with this, the clinician will usually look for avoidance behaviors, anticipatory anxiety, as well as significant impact on the person’s life.⁴

The important part of diagnosing a phobia is a differential diagnosis. This is where a clinician must decide whether the phobia is due to another disorder such as a mental health or neurological disorder that could better explain the behavior.

Treating & Managing Chromophobia

The positive news is that most specific phobias are usually manageable for people who suffer from them with therapy and medications. There are many available treatment options for those who suffer from chromophobia.

Some therapy and treatment options for chromophobia include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): Due to its focus on how thoughts affect behaviors and symptoms, CBT could be a great tool for chromophobia. Through CBT, people can learn how to recognize the negative thoughts they have about colors and the avoidance behaviors that result from these negative thoughts.
• Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): Because there is a link between phobias and PTSD, EMDR is a great option for people who suffer from specific phobias and could help people who are suffering from chromophobia.⁶
• Exposure therapy: By gradually exposing the sufferer to the color they fear, exposure therapy can help someone with chromophobia by desensitizing them to the exposure of this color. Over time, they may be able to be around this color without extreme symptoms.
• Hypnotherapy: For some, hypnotherapy can help chromophobia due to helping to decrease the stress associated with exposure to certain colors. Hypnotherapy has been shown to be a great tool for those who suffer from anxiety or phobias.⁷
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): Due to the amount of coping skills taught to help clients decrease extreme emotional reactions to distressing events or situations, DBT could be a great tool in helping people with chromophobia desensitize themselves to specific colors.
• Relaxation techniques: Maintaining an effective and thorough self-care regimen, which includes relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, or other things that promote relaxation, can help decrease the anxiety associated with specific phobias.
• Medications: For some, especially those whose chromophobia greatly impacts their life, medications for anxiety or panic attacks may be necessary. Talk to your treatment provider about what may be a good option for you.

What Should I Ask My Doctor About Chromophobia?

Getting more information about a possible phobia is the first step in getting treatment. Someone who thinks they may have chromophobia might want to ask a professional about this condition in order to get more information.

Some common questions to ask your doctor about chromophobia include:

• “How do I know if this is a phobia?”
• “What could be the cause of this?”
• “How do I know when this is normal behavior versus something else?”
• “Is there treatment for this specific type of disorder?”
• “What is the prognosis of someone dealing with this?”
• “How do I know if I’ll need short-term or long-term therapy?”

When to Seek Professional Help

If you are dealing with a phobia such as chromophobia that is preventing you from being able to live a fulfilling life, it may be time to seek professional support. Look at an online therapist directory or online therapy platform for a therapist who specializes in phobias and/or anxiety disorders. If you feel you may benefit from medications to help your phobia, online psychiatrist options are a good choice for finding phobia medication management.