I know there are color associations which affect mood, and even transient emotional state. Like green is supposed to be calming - and it is the easiest color on the eyes for some reason. Red is supposed to incite aggression (it is suggested not to wear a red shirt at interviews for instance). There are probably evolutionary reasons for these - I would guess.

Jo, i just took a quick glance at your links... cool stuff, will read those more thoroughly. they do seem to coincide with what i've heard, as far as i got so far, anyway Thanks for those.

Isis, I don't know, but if you like(d) blue - especially if you mean pastel, rather than dark blue... it sounds like you may have ended up in a depression quite coincidentally, but now, because of the past experience, you associate the two... got conditioned. interesting that you are averse not just to blue itself but to all the "cool/cold" colors."

I sometimes CRAVE pastel blue... when... when i am upset, agitated, or somehow not right. It helps soothe me. conversely pink or orange upset me more. complex prints are out of the question. However i think if i associated any color with a period of particularly bad depression, that color and hues of it might re-evoke some of those emotional states. luckily or unluckily for me, i have had bad depressions in the middle of all different surrounding colors... so i never made an association like that. (if i had, i would probably need everything to be colorless by now!)

As for what i started out saying.... the reverse:

I definitely feel like my moods affect my colors. In a sense i dress to my mood a lot. Or, i used to do this when i had a wardrobe that fit, and colors to choose from. Since gaining weight i have very few clothes. But indeed, for instance, when i am

very depressed: black. past few years i've hated not having a black jacket to wear, and being stuck with brown ... too wholesome... it "lies" about me right then. And forget about wearing red then, too! lol. Now, dark blue, that goes with it more, esp for mild/moderate depression or simply a glum or "low-profile" day. But bad depression i usually want black. ALL black from head to toe. generally all plain color (no stripes/prints). i might wear the odd t-shirt with a tame design on the front, dark color scheme though.

hypomania: you name it i'll wear it... sort of orange (preferable to red), yellows, greens, golds and the tendency to mix colors or wear prints.

mania (or a very pronounced hypomania as i have rarely become manic), bright red, or fuchsia, turquoise, emerald, white, and contrasting colors, stripes and prints also.

mixed moods: it depends on what's in the mix and how strong the mood is. it can be a lot like the hypomanic stuff but with tendency for contrast, and with "strong" moods, i've often found myself drawn to wearing black, red and purple, period. of course i may wear other colors but contrasting colors are usually there, and purple.

~ waves ~