Blue Monday…. The unfortunate title given to the third Monday of January, said to be the most depressing day of the year.
But why?..Who came up with the idea that the third Monday in January is really the most depressing day of the year and should be known henceforth as “Blue Monday”?
Blue Monday is in fact the creation of travel firm, Sky Travel who in 2004 asked psychologist Cliff Arnall to create a “formula” for the January blues to promote their winter holiday deals.
For all you maths enthusiasts, here it is:
| W = Winter | Q = Time since failing our new year’s resolutions |
| D = Debt | M = Low Motivational Levels |
| d = Monthly wage | Na = The feeling of a need to take action |
| T = Time since Christmas |
Arnall has since stated that the formula is purely pseudoscience and has urged everyone to “refute the whole notion” of Blue Monday.
In 2013, Arnall told the The Daily Telegraph: ”I was originally asked to come up with what I thought was the best day to book a summer holiday but when I started thinking about the motives for booking a holiday, reflecting on what thousands had told me during stress management or happiness workshops, there were these factors that pointed to the third Monday in January as being particularly depressing. But it is not particularly helpful to put that out there and say ‘there you are’,”
Helpful or not to the general public, marketing media and PR companies have latched on to the concept of Blue Monday and gleefully use it as a way of generating sales opportunities by trying telling us all that we are and should be miserable on this particular day and therefore in need of what it is they can offer as the solution to the misery they have cleverly convinced us we are feeling.
January can feel long, it’s cold outside, the days are short and often grey, the end of the month and payday just can’t come soon enough as we try to balance the budget after the expense of Christmas. Good intentions and New Year resolutions have begun to slip and old habits begin to creep back in as we get back into the seeming drudgery of work, school, eat, sleep, repeat etc…
But feeling this way this for one or two days doesn’t mean you’re depressed, some of the signs of depression to watch out for include, but are not limited to:
- Sleeping too much or having trouble sleeping
- Feeling disconnected, numb and helpless
- Finding no pleasure in things you would normally enjoy
- Negative thinking and negatively forecasting the future
- Feeling tired all the time
- Feeling irritable, restless or agitated.
- Avoiding social events
- Difficulty focusing on a task or recalling information
If you are at all concerned that you or someone close to you may be experiencing depression, please do seek the advice of your medical practitioner.
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can be one of the most effective tools to help lift depression, the techniques used enable the client to focus on solving problems in a way that is manageable and right for them, helping them to take back control of their life once more.
Contact me for a FREE Online Initial Consultation to find out how hypnotherapy can help you too.
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