Have You Ever Wondered Why The Colour Blue Is Associated With Sadness? - ScoopWhoop (2024)
As much as it sucks, it’s a feeling we all experience, once in a while. For whatever reason, we all have felt sad or in other words we’ve all been ‘blue’. While it is common knowledge that it means feeling sad, sorrowed, depressed and a whole bunch of other gut-wrenching emotions, we’ve never questioned the association.
Why would we use a colour to describe our feeling? So what is it with the colour blue? Why is it associated with feeling sad?
As I set out looking for the origin, I thought a quick Google search would do it. Well, that’s the thing about the internet. It is a bank of information. And that bank sometimes has several different accounts.
While some claim the explanation lies in Greek mythology, there are sources that say it has a nautical origin. Some attribute it to poets of the 14th century, while there are some who credit its origin as recent as 2003. So let’s have a look at all possibilities.
In Greek mythology, blue is associated with rain.
As far Zeus was concerned, whenever he was angry he would create a storm but whenever he was sad or crying, he would make it rain. Thus, the connection between the colour and the feeling.
The explanation here is simple. Blue is associated to tears and hence, sadness.
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A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue(1785) states Blue to mean –to look blue; to be confounded, terrified, or disappointed. More importantly, it states that Blue Devils means low spirits.Again establishing that blue is related to being low.
Similarly, according to theDictionary of Americanisms (1848), Blue means – Gloomy, severe; extreme, ultra. And Blue Devils here too has been stated to mean low spirits.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word could be a derivation from the word ‘blow’. A blow to your body would generally turn you blue. So will extreme cold or lack of oxygen. None of these situations seem pleasant. In fact, all of them have a very melancholic connotation. Hence, connecting blue to the feeling yet again.
The Navy too has a link to ‘feeling blue’. It refers to a custom that many old deepwater sailing ships follow. Which is –If the ship lost the captain or any of the officers during its voyage, she would fly blue flags and have a blue band painted along her entire hull when returning to home port.
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An extensive research paper by Gill Philip states how the hue itself is a major reason of associating the colour with the emotion – The proximity of dark blue to black on the colour scale, and its historical grouping with dark colours, may have contributed to blue’s links to depression and to fear.
Sciencedailyhas a different theory altogether, based on recent scientific research. The research says – The associations we make between emotion and colour go beyond mere metaphor. The results of two studies indicate that feeling sadness may actually change how we perceive colour.
It’s just unbelievable that a phrase can have so many possible origins. This is as intriguing as it gets. Blew you away, didn’t it?
As far Zeus was concerned, whenever he was angry he would create a storm but whenever he was sad or crying, he would make it rain. Thus, the connection between the colour and the feeling.
Sadness. “Gray” was the most frequent color indicated for sadness, followed by “indigo” and then “black” (Figure 1). The intensities for all three colors were moderate (Table 2).
Blue is often associated with sadness in the English language. Blue is also used extensively to represent calmness and responsibility. Light blues can be refreshing and friendly. Dark blues are more strong and reliable.
Feeling “blue” or being down in the dumps” are ways we describe feelings of sadness or melancholy. True depression has a host of other symptoms in addition to sadness.
Blue represents sadness because it can give off a feeling of coldness. Gray can be a symbol of sadness because it represents lack of life in a landscape, and black represents sadness because it represents the lack of light.
Time and again in research, blue is the world's favourite colour. However, it can be perceived as cold, unemotional and unfriendly. Positive: Optimism, confidence, self-esteem, extraversion, emotional strength, friendliness, creativity. Negative: Irrationality, fear, emotional fragility, depression, anxiety, suicide.
You might have seen rainstorm images, ravens, and skull or grim reaper symbols. Barren landscapes and faces of cliffs are popular, too. All of these are commonly associated with depression because they capture the essence of the darkness, despair, struggle, and thoughts of death that are hallmarks of major depression.
In Europe and America, grey is the color most associated with boredom, loneliness and emptiness. It is associated with rainy days and winter. Silver symbolizes rest. Historically: In antiquity and the Middle Ages, grey was the color of undyed wool, and so it was the color most worn by peasants and the poor.
This color stands true to its appearance. Peaceful, calm and gentle, blue has tremendous power to manage stress. It's a very soothing color that helps calm your mind, slow down your heart rate, lower your blood pressure and reduce anxiety. Blue is believed to have a cooling and astringent effect.
Those with Blue color personality strengths tend to be enthusiastic, sympathetic, communicative, compassionate, idealistic, sincere and imaginative. They care and want to contribute to everything they are a part of. Relationships are important to blues.
Blue is a calming colour, reflecting inner peace and healing. The colour itself increases wisdom, honesty and trust. It's why so many banks and communication companies use it in their marketing!
Blue light therapy may help some people with depression regulate certain symptoms. This therapy seems most effective in people with seasonal depressive disorder. However, other forms of depression may also benefit from it. Research has been generally positive.
Wearing dark colours for mourning has long been a tradition in many parts of the western world, in particular large parts of Europe and North America. The association of the colour black with death and loss is centuries old and is believed to have originated during Roman times.
The investigators found that the color red produced the most intense pain, followed by green and blue. Other colors were associated with less pain. The results are not necessarily intuitive.
According to color psychology, the color grey implies a dark state of mind, a colorless and monotonous life; grey is also associated with misery and depression, so it is easy to see why it is a color that is known to cause anxiety.
Warm colors – such as red, yellow and orange – can spark a variety of emotions ranging from comfort and warmth to hostility and anger. Cool colors – such as green, blue and purple – often spark feelings of calmness as well as sadness.
Introduction: My name is Fr. Dewey Fisher, I am a powerful, open, faithful, combative, spotless, faithful, fair person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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