The newspaper I read yesterday carried a reference to 'Blue Monday' - that is the Monday that, this year, is the second full working week of the year. As if we didn't need the reminder, the weather is usually not great at this time of year. (Last year there was torrential rain on Blue Monday). The festive season is well and truly over; but the debts we have incurred are still with us. What's more, we may have failed in our efforts to even make, never mind keep, any new year resolutions. So that the problems we had at the end of last year are well and truly carried over into this year. None of us are immune, according to the report in Wikipedia. However, help is at hand in the form of a handy little website specifically made for the purpose of trying to cheer people up on, what is known to be, a day with depressing tendencies. In the meantime, I said I'd be mentioning a book which my son gave me for Christmas. It's called 'The Happiness Project' and it's about one woman's quest to spend an entire year on various experiments to see if she could make herself more happy. The end result for the author was a book in which she reported that 'yes' - she had made herself happier. She is not the first or the last to carry out such an experiment. She lists a whole load of references of the kind you'd expect to find in any self-respecting 'self help' book. However, no book or website, by itself, is going to make someone happy. As someone (possibly me) once said: 'Self-help books? I've read them all and they don't work'.So what's the answer? In a nutshell: try and do something to cheer up someone else. Taking action increases energy and starts the fight against depression. Make a list of the good things in your life (starting a 'gratitude' diary or list is one way.)
In my own experience, I have found that to a) ask for and b) accept help is the first step to conquering depressing thoughts. I am certainly no happiness guru - but, for me, the fact that my son gave me such a thoughtful and insightful gift is something I treasure.
Writing this blog is my 'gratitude' list (in a way).
What follows is the entry from Wikipedia which relates the origins of 'Blue Monday':
Blue Monday (date) 1
Blue Monday (date)
Blue Monday is a name given to a date stated, as part of a publicity campaign by Sky Travel, to be the most
depressing day of the year.
This date was published in a press release under the name of Cliff Arnall, at the time a tutor at the Centre for
Lifelong Learning, a Further Education centre attached to Cardiff University. Guardian columnist Dr. Ben Goldacre
reported that the press release was delivered substantially pre-written to a number of academics by public relations
agency Porter Novelli, who offered them money to put their names to it.[1] The Guardian later printed a statement
from Cardiff University distancing themselves from Arnall: "Cardiff University has asked us to point out that Cliff
Arnall... was a former part-time tutor at the university but left in February."[2]
According to a press release by a mental health charity,[3] the formula is:
where weather=W, debt=d, time since Christmas=T, time since failing our new year’s resolutions=Q, low
motivational levels=M and the feeling of a need to take action=Na. 'D' is not defined in the release, nor are units.
Arnall says the date was calculated by using many factors, including: weather conditions, debt level (the difference
between debt accumulated and our ability to pay), time since Christmas, time since failing our new year’s
resolutions, low motivational levels and feeling of a need to take action. Writing about the calculation, Ben Goldacre
stated: ... the fact is that Cliff Arnall's equations ... fail even to make mathematical sense on their own terms.[1]
This date allegedly falls on the Monday of the last full week of January. The date was declared by Arnall to be 24
January in 2005,[4] 23 January in 2006,[5] 22 January in 2007,[6] 21 January in 2008,[7] 19 January in 2009,[3] 18
January in 2010. In 2011 there has been confusion about the correct date. Some claimed it was on 17 January 2011[8]
while others say blue Monday was on 24 January 2011.[9][10][11]. In 2012, Blue Monday will fall on January 16th.
[12][13]
Mr Arnall also says, in a press release commissioned by Wall's ice cream,[14] that he has calculated the happiest day
of the year—in 2005, 24 June,[15] in 2006, 23 June,[16] in 2008, 20 June,[17] in 2009, 19 June[18] and in 2010, 18th
June.[19] So far, this date has fallen close to Midsummer.
References
[1] Goldacre, Ben (2006-12-16). "MS = media slut, but CW = corporate whore" (http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ science/ 2006/ dec/ 16/
badscience. uknews). London: The Guardian. . Retrieved 2008-01-21.
[2] Goldacre, Ben (2006-11-18). "How GxPxIxC = selling out to your corporate sponsor" (http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ science/ 2006/ nov/ 18/
badscience. uknews). London: The Guardian. . Retrieved 2008-01-21.
[3] "Campaign aims to help ease January blues British public urged to ‘Beat Blue Monday’" (http:/ / www. mentalhealth. org. uk/ media/
news-releases/ news-releases-2009/ 13-january-2009/ ). www.mentalhealth.org.uk. 2009-01-13. . Retrieved 2009-01-13.
[4] "Jan. 24 called worst day of the year" (http:/ / www. msnbc. msnMSNBC. 2005-01-24. . Retrieved 2007-03-13.
[5] "Jan. 23 most depressing day of the year: report" (http:/ / www. ctv. ca/ CTVNews/ World/ 20060123/ depressing_day_060123/ ). CTV.
2006-01-24. . Retrieved 2007-03-13.
[6] "Blue Monday: The unhappiest day of the year" (http:/ / www. dailymail. co. uk/ news/ article-430389/
Blue-Monday-The-unhappiest-day-year. html). London: Daily Mail. 2007-01-22. . Retrieved 2007-03-13.
[7] Booth, Frances (2008-01-21). "Smile! You're not the only one in a bad mood" (http:/ / www. telegraph. co. uk/ news/ features/ 3635353/
Smile-Youre-not-the-only-one-in-a-bad-mood. html). London: Telegraph.co.uk. . Retrieved 2008-01-21.
[8] "'Blue Monday': Today the most depressing day of the year" (http:/ / www. joe. ie/ health-fitness/ health-fitness-news/
blue-monday-today-the-most-day-of-the-year-008758-1). www.joe.ie. 2011-01-17. . Retrieved 2011-01-17.
[9] "2011 is so bad – we have two Blue Mondays!" (http:/ / www. beatbluemonday. org. uk/ ?p=136). beatbluemonday.org.uk. 2011-01-17. .
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