Blue Monday
Today is ‘Blue Monday’, which tends to fall on the third Monday after Christmas, due to a number of factors including after Christmas debts, rubbish British weather and failed diets. However, there is no scientific or medical explanation as to why today is the most depressing day of the year.
The term Blue Monday was introduced by Mr Arnall, when he was paid by a public relations firm to select the most depressing day of the year as part of a publicity campaign by Sky Travel. He used a formula (shown left) to help him decide on the most depressing day of the year.
In this seemingly complicated equation W= weather, d= debt, T= time since Christmas, Q= time since failing our New Year’s resolutions, M = low motivation levels, Na= the need to take action and
D was not defined in the press release. Whether anyone actually knows the answer to this complex maths is another question entirely.
Mr Arnall, who is a member of the British Society of Clinical and Academic Hypnosis, was later paid by ice cream company Walls to identify the happiest day of the year. So don’t let all this talk of depression dampen your mood, because the happiest day of the year is coming up on June 17.
He said: "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', it is almost a self-fulfilling prophecy that it is the most depressing day."
Female First- Rachael Patan