Mental Health Awareness Colors: The Complete Ribbon Color Guide

If you've ever tried to find "the" mental health awareness color, you've probably discovered the complication: there isn't just one. Depending on the specific condition, cause, or campaign, mental-health-adjacent ribbons come in several colors. Pick the wrong one at an event and your intentions are fine but your visual identification isn't.

Here's the complete guide. General mental health first, then specific conditions, then adjacent causes. Plus a quick "which should I wear" decision guide at the end.

The short version

Most important correction from what people sometimes assume: there's no single "mental health ribbon" that covers every condition. For general mental health, green is the answer. For specific conditions — anxiety, eating disorders, suicide prevention, etc. — the answer is different.

General mental health: green

The green ribbon is the international, default, non-condition-specific symbol of mental health awareness. Emerged in the mid-1990s, popularized through May's Mental Health Awareness Month campaigns (Mental Health America, NAMI) and similar observances internationally.

If you're wearing a ribbon during May or for a general mental health context without a specific condition in mind, green is the right choice.

Full explainer: The Green Ribbon for Mental Health: What It Means.

Children's and youth mental health: lime green

Lime green (brighter, more yellow-leaning) specifically represents children's and adolescent mental health. Used during National Children's Mental Health Awareness Week (first week of May) and by organizations focused on pediatric mental health like the Child Mind Institute.

If you're wearing a ribbon at a school event, a children's hospital, or during Children's Mental Health Awareness Week specifically, lime green is appropriate. For general family/parent participation in May, standard green is still fine.

Suicide prevention: yellow (and teal & purple for loss survivors)

Yellow ribbons represent suicide prevention awareness. Often seen during:

• September: Suicide Prevention Awareness Month (US)
• September 10: World Suicide Prevention Day
• Year-round by crisis-line organizations, suicide prevention nonprofits, and survivors of suicide loss

Teal and purple combined (sometimes a ribbon that's half teal, half purple) specifically honor survivors of suicide loss — people who have lost someone to suicide.

Important distinction: yellow is "prevent suicide" (affirming life, supporting people in crisis). Teal-and-purple is "we lost someone" (honoring the person who died, supporting grieving family).

Anxiety disorders: teal (informal) or green

There's no universally adopted color for anxiety disorders specifically. Some informal conventions:

• Teal is sometimes used for anxiety awareness, especially by ADAA (Anxiety and Depression Association of America) in some campaigns
• Green (general mental health) is often the default

If you're specifically focused on anxiety disorders, either works. Teal is more specific; green is more recognized.

PTSD and trauma: teal or light teal

Teal is also sometimes associated with PTSD awareness, especially in combat veteran contexts. Used during:

• June: PTSD Awareness Month (US)
• June 27: PTSD Awareness Day

Not a universal convention — some PTSD organizations use different colors. Context matters.

Eating disorders: purple, or periwinkle

Purple ribbons are used for eating disorder awareness broadly. Periwinkle (light purple, sometimes blue-purple) is the specific color for eating disorder awareness promoted by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).

Used during:

• February: Eating Disorders Awareness Week (last week of February)

Self-harm awareness: orange

Orange ribbons represent self-harm awareness and support. Used primarily:

• March 1: Self-Injury Awareness Day
• By organizations supporting people who self-harm

Orange also represents ADHD awareness (during October, ADHD Awareness Month), leukemia, and multiple sclerosis in some contexts — so context matters.

ADHD awareness: orange

Orange ribbons for ADHD awareness specifically. October is ADHD Awareness Month.

CHADD (Children and Adults with ADHD) and ADDitude magazine use orange during ADHD campaigns.

Bipolar disorder: sometimes green, sometimes no specific color

No widely adopted unique color for bipolar disorder. Most bipolar advocacy uses general mental health green. Some campaigns have experimented with black-and-white or striped ribbons to represent the two poles, but these haven't become standard.

March 30 is World Bipolar Day (chosen because it's Vincent van Gogh's birthday; he's believed by some historians to have had bipolar disorder).

Child abuse and bullying prevention: blue

Blue for:

• Child abuse prevention (April is Child Abuse Prevention Month — pinwheels and blue ribbons)
• Anti-bullying (October is Bullying Prevention Month — sometimes uses blue, sometimes orange)

Related to mental health indirectly — childhood abuse and bullying are significant contributors to adult mental health conditions — but the ribbons are for specific prevention causes, not mental health broadly.

ME/CFS, chronic illness overlap: blue

Blue ribbons are also used for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome awareness. Given the significant mental-health comorbidity with chronic illness, these communities often overlap but use distinct colors.

What about the red ribbon?

The red ribbon represents HIV/AIDS awareness, which has nothing to do with mental health but is often where people first encountered the awareness-ribbon format. It's the original — and its success in the early 1990s is why mental health advocates adopted green (and other causes adopted other colors) in the years following.

If you see a red ribbon, the cause is HIV/AIDS, not mental health.

Pink, purple, teal... what's the pattern?

Quick orientation for the most common confusions:

• Pink = breast cancer (October)
• Red = HIV/AIDS
• Yellow = suicide prevention (September), support for military/veterans
• Orange = self-harm (March), ADHD (October), leukemia (September), MS
• Purple = eating disorders, Alzheimer's (June — "The Longest Day"), Crohn's, pancreatic cancer (November)
• Blue = child abuse prevention (April), anti-bullying, ME/CFS
• Green = mental health (May), kidney cancer, cerebral palsy, Lyme disease
• Teal = ovarian cancer (September), sometimes PTSD, sometimes anxiety

Context — the month, the event, the organization hosting — is usually what disambiguates. If you're at a May event and see someone wearing green, it's mental health. If you're at a February event, a purple ribbon is probably eating disorders. The color alone isn't enough without context.

Which one should I wear?

Decision tree for the most common cases:

• I want to express general support for mental health: Green.
• I'm participating in May's Mental Health Awareness Month: Green.
• I'm at a children's mental health event: Lime green.
• I'm participating in suicide prevention month (September) or honoring someone's life: Yellow.
• I'm honoring someone lost to suicide: Teal & purple.
• I'm advocating for anxiety-specific awareness: Teal or green.
• I'm at an eating disorders event: Purple or periwinkle.
• I'm supporting self-harm awareness (March 1): Orange.
• I'm at a work event during May and just want to show up: Green is always a safe choice.

If you're uncertain and the context is ambiguous, green is the safest default for anything mental-health-adjacent.

Where to get ribbons

Reputable sources that support the cause:

• Mental Health America store — green ribbons + mental health awareness pins
• NAMI — similar
• NEDA store — purple/periwinkle for eating disorders
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) — yellow, teal, teal-and-purple
• Local mental health nonprofits — often sell them with proceeds staying regional

For bulk (office/school events): Amazon, Oriental Trading, and craft retailers carry ribbons in all colors. Less of your money supports the cause, but the volume can be useful.

Don't just wear it

One note we keep repeating and will keep repeating: wearing a ribbon is a start, not a finish. The ribbon opens a conversation. What you do inside the conversation — and the structural work that goes alongside — is what actually matters.

If you're going to wear green during May 2026, pair it with something real:

• A mental health screening
• A specific conversation with someone in your life
• A structured practice like ILTY's free 31-Day Challenge
• Financial or volunteer support of an organization that does year-round work

The symbol is the bridge, not the destination.

Related reading

• The Green Ribbon for Mental Health: What It Means — deep dive on the primary symbol
• Mental Health Awareness Month 2026
• Mental Health Awareness Month Ideas for Adults
• How to Actually Participate in Mental Health Awareness Month
• The 31-Day Mental Health Challenge

Sources

• Mental Health America, Green Ribbon
• NAMI, Mental Health Awareness Month
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Awareness Days
• National Eating Disorders Association, Eating Disorders Awareness Week
• Mental Health Foundation UK, Green Ribbon