The Color of Heartbreak is Yellow: On Grief and the Loss of a Friend.
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).
Black – Western World
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.
Although red was the most commonly used colour to describe intense pain, other colours were used by some participants, and these colours included white, blue, grey and black (Table 4). Participants described the absence of pain with a range of colours – namely, white, yellow, orange, blue and green.
Gray Colors
It also evokes feelings of loneliness and isolation. Since gray is neither black nor white, it's usually thought of as the transition between two non-colors.
Wisdom and Spirituality
For instance, light purples are associated with light-hearted, romantic energies, while darker shades can represent sadness and frustration. In some parts of Europe, purple is associated with death and mourning.
Yellow has diverse meanings across cultures and continents: Europe: In France, yellow signifies yellow signifies jealously, betrayal, weakness, and contradiction. In the 10th century, the French painted the doors of traitors and criminals yellow.
Color and depression: What's the link? When it comes to depression colors, gray and blue tend to be high on the list of those associated with low mood. In a 2010 study using the Manchester Color Wheel, experts found gray was the color people pointed to when asked to reflect feelings of depression.
People with anxiety and depression are most likely to use a shade of gray to represent their mental state. Researchers describe the development of a color chart, the Manchester Color Wheel, which can be used to study people's preferred pigment in relation to their state of mind.
Red. Red attracts the most attention and is associated with strong emotions, such as love, passion, and anger. It's the universal color to signify strength, power, courage, and danger.
Some positive emotions associated with yellow include happiness, excitement, originality, enthusiasm, confidence, hope, and creativity. Negative feelings connected to yellow are cowardice, illness, caution, betrayal, egotism, and anxiety ("Yellow | Color Psychology").
Yellow was most often associated with a normal mood and grey with an anxious or depressed mood.
Grey Color Meaning
In color psychology, grey represents neutrality and balance. Its color meaning likely comes from being the shade between white and black. However, grey does carry some negative connotations, particularly when it comes to depression and loss.
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 all nations, the colors of anger were black and red, fear was black, and jealousy was red.
People tend to associate red with negative, danger-bearing emotions. This could be because it is the color of fire, blood, and sometimes of poisonous or dangerous animals.
Black: Power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, unhappiness, depth, style, evil, sadness, remorse, anger, anonymity, underground, good technical color, mourning, death (Western cultures).
According to theory behind color, red is associated with violence and yellow is associated with insecurity.
Orange makes you feel energized and enthusiastic. Orange enhances a feeling of vitality and happiness. Like red, it draws attention and shows movement but is not as overpowering. It is aggressive but balanced — it portrays energy yet can be inviting and friendly.
Green evokes a feeling of abundance and is associated with refreshment and peace, rest and security. Green helps people feel rested and secure. People are invited to wait in the “green room” before going on camera to relax. Many doctors even use green in their offices to put patients at ease.
Pink is a nurturing, playful, and nostalgic color that takes people back to their childhoods. That said, pink is a color of opposites since it can make us think of both innocence and burning passion. Bright and hot pinks are associated with love, romance, and even lust. Intense pinks create a sense of urgency.
To this day, we think of purple as the color of royalty and luxury. Consequently, it brings up a feeling of trust and reliability. Purple's rarity also gives it an air of mystery. It's associated with creativity and the realm of fantasy — think about how many times magic gets portrayed as purple in popular culture.
Yellow is for happiness, hope and spontaneity
It's the color of the sun, smiley faces and sunflowers. Yellow is a color that's happy and youthful color, and it grabs your attention with its hope and positivity. For that reason, it can also be used to signify caution, like red and orange.
For many people, the color green has strong associations with nature and brings to mind lush grass, trees, and forests. Green is often described as a refreshing and tranquil color. Other common associations with the color green are money, luck, health, and envy.
Red As The Color Of Stress. Red is an intense color that reminds people of blood and passion. It is strong, aggressive, invigorating, and stimulating, that it why it is used in warning signs and traffic signals.