New research shows that when you are feeling sad you may have trouble seeing the colour blue. Seems a little contradictory since the language 'feeling blue' is a well known expression for sadness or depression. Seems like the happy drug dopamine is once again implicated since its absence interferes with being able to perceive the colour blue. When dopamine levels are low we not only feel sad but our visual perception of the world is altered. Blue skies are associated with pleasant experiences and sad or depressed people may not be able to see them properly and miss out on the potential uplifting effect. [Russell]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/09/03/feeling-sad-could-literally-make-the-world-seem-grayer-study-finds/
Link - article in Toronto star, Sunday Sept 13. Feeling sad can literally colour your view of the world, researchers say. Sarah Kaplan (Washington Post)