Okay, so you have heard of colors being used to describe emotions and actions all of the time. You might describe a coward as “yellow,” or as “yellow-bellied,” you might “see red,” when enraged, or you might “be green with envy” or be dancing with the “green eyed monster” if you are jealous. If you’re embarrassed your face may turn as “red as a beet,” and when your depressed “you’re feeling blue.” A new study says, not really. Actually, you are feeling kind of gray.
According to Professor Peter Whorwell, from the University Hospital South Manchester who questioned 400 individuals, 100 of which had depression, when a person is asked to choose a color to describe their mood when feeling depressed people often chose the color gray. Meanwhile, those individuals not suffering depression chose the color “yellow” of all things, because, hey, “they’re having a sunshiny day.” Anxiety sufferers also choose the color grey to describe their mood.
The team of researchers from the University Hospital South Manchester has created The Manchester Color Wheel which can be utilized to examine how individuals define their state of mind. People that are feeling depressed will often choose colors that are in the negative grouping on the wheel; this is in direct contrast with those individuals that are healthy who choose colors that are in the positive color groupings.
So if people are feeling “gray” and not “blue,” where the heck does the “I’m feeling blue” phrase come from? Interestingly enough, the color blue has been related to the rain and to stormy weather, and many people experience a mood shift during such weather. Some scholars suggest that the phrase relates to Greek mythology since the god Zeus would create storms when angered and rain when he was saddened. It is also suggested that the phrase comes from an old deepwater sailing ship custom; if the ship somehow lost its captain or any of the shipmates during a voyage at sea, the shipmates would purposefully fly blue flags and they would paint a blue band along the ship’s hull when the ship returned to port.
Interestingly enough, the color blue is associated with the West cardinal point in magickal practices, and the West is the corner associated with water, the color blue, the subconscious, and emotions. I think that the idea of “feeling blue,” is so deeply ingrained into humans and that blue has become such a well recognized and easily understood symbol of intense or heavy emotions that we won’t be hearing anyone saying “I’m feeling gray,” anytime soon.
Find out more about color and depression.
