Imagine being in overwhelm and someone asks you, “How are you feeling today?” You may pause… then reach for the same handful of words.
“I’m fine.”
“I’m stressed.”
“I’m tired.”
Now imagine they ask, “If your mood had a colour today, what would it be?”
As a therapist, I often help clients become more aware of their emotional and physical experiences. For many people, this isn’t easy. They know something doesn’t feel right, but they struggle to put it into words.
One of the simplest and most effective ways to begin is through colour.
Instead of asking, “How do you feel?”, I might ask:
“If your feelings had a colour today, what colour would they be?”
Almost immediately, people begin to describe something they couldn’t quite explain before.
- “A heavy dark grey.”
- “A bright, buzzing yellow.”
- “A deep blue with little flashes of green.”
Suddenly, we’re talking about emotions without the pressure of finding the “right” words.
Colour Gives Us Another Language
Colour has a remarkable way of communicating experiences that words sometimes can’t.
Whether we’re describing a feeling, creating a piece of artwork or simply choosing what to wear, colours often reflect something about our internal world.
Whilst every person’s experience is unique, research has found that people across many different cultures often associate certain colours with similar emotional states. For example:
- Blue is commonly linked with calmness, peace and relaxation, although darker blues can also evoke sadness, distance or loneliness.
- Red is associated with passion, excitement and love, but also anger, urgency and heightened emotion.
- Yellow often represents optimism, warmth and energy, yet for some people it can also feel overwhelming or anxious.
- Green is frequently connected with balance, growth, healing and nature.
- Purple is often associated with creativity, imagination and reflection.
- Orange can evoke enthusiasm, confidence and playfulness.
- Pink is commonly linked with compassion, gentleness and nurturing.
- Grey may represent uncertainty, emotional numbness or feeling stuck.
- Black can symbolise strength and protection for some people, whilst for others it reflects grief, fear or overwhelm.
- White is often connected with simplicity, clarity, space or new beginnings.
These are not rules. Colours don’t have universal meanings for every individual. Our own experiences, memories and culture all shape how we respond to them.
What’s most important is what the colour means to you.
Why This Can Be So Helpful
When we describe our emotions through colour, something shifts.
It feels less exposing.
Instead of saying:
“I’m overwhelmed.”
Someone may simply say:
“Everything feels dark red today.”
That simple description often opens the door to a much deeper conversation.
Using colour can help us:
- Become more aware of our emotional state.
- Notice how emotions change over time.
- Express feelings that are difficult to put into words.
- Connect our physical sensations with our emotions.
- Build greater self-understanding without judgement.
For me as a therapist, it also creates a shared understanding with clients. When someone describes their anxiety as a tight, fiery red or their sadness as a cold blue-grey, we begin to build a picture together of their inner experience.
Bringing Colour into Creativity
This is one of the reasons I love using creative approaches alongside mindfulness.
If you’ve ever found it difficult to put your feelings into words, perhaps it’s because words aren’t the only language we have. Sometimes colour, texture and creativity reveal what we’ve been carrying all along.
If you’d like to experience this for yourself, I’d love you to join me at our Artful Minds creative collage workshop, where we’ll use mindfulness and creativity to explore our inner world in a gentle and supportive way.
There is no artistic ability required.
There is no right or wrong.
Simply an opportunity to pause, notice and create.
Sometimes a colour says far more than words ever could.
A Gentle Invitation
Try this today:
- Close your eyes for a moment.
- Notice how your body feels.
- Ask yourself, “If this feeling had a colour, what would it be?”
- Without overthinking it, write the colour down or find an image that reflects it.
- Ask yourself, “What is this colour trying to tell me?”
