Will January 20 Be The Most Depressing Day Of The Year?

January 20, 2025 is called “Blue Monday.” That’s not because blue cheese consumption may increase, as this day is also National Cheese Lover’s Day. It’s not just because it happens to be this year’s presidential inauguration day. This day may be a happy day for some and an unhappy day for others. No, that’s because in 2005, a British company called Sky Travel started calling the third Monday of January each year “Blue Monday.” The travel company claimed that this day was the day each year when happiness levels plummeted southward, or the lowest level of the year. So the question is whether this claim is based on something called science.

Blue Monday was born as a marketing gimmick.

Well, amazing and amazing, the claims that are out there are not based on real scientific evidence. Yes, shocking but true. Apparently he was working with that company. A UK-based psychologist named Cliff Arnall. Create a “depression formula” like this: [W+(D-d)] x TQ divided by M x NA. All those D’s and other letters might confuse you. Now, in this equation, W is the weather, D is the debt, d is the monthly salary, T is the period since Christmas, Q is the period of time when you tried to quit but could not, and M is the decrease in motivation. Level and NA at which the action should be performed. From this formula, they somehow identified the third Monday in January as the worst day in terms of happiness. However, it is unclear how that happened and what scientific evidence is behind this formula.

That’s because the primary motivation for identifying Blue Monday may have been, drumroll please, marketing rather than scientific or health advances. Sky Travel was a travel company, not a scientific research institute. And if you could convince everyone that the third Monday of January every year is the most depressing of the year, you’d probably plan your vacation around that time. If you want to ask Sky Travel more about the origins of this Blue Monday claim, you’re out of luck. Apparently, this company ceased operations in 2010, so the sky’s the limit.

It also doesn’t make sense that one day is a particularly bad day for everyone. Many happy things can happen on January 20th. For example, there’s the aforementioned National Cheese Lover’s Day. So if you love cheese, January 20th might just be Gouda Day, so to speak. Or if you’re a fan of actor Rainn Wilson, you might be celebrating his birthday. office Or Rainn Wilson himself. In any case, remember that no day of the year is universally great for everyone, or universally terrible for everyone, even on Inauguration Day.

The dangers of Blue Monday concept

In general, expecting a particular day to be particularly good or particularly bad for no apparent reason is not a particularly wise thing to do. Expectations can be problematic. Never underestimate the power of suggestions. Being pessimistic about your day can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, leaving you feeling down and depressed. You can expect a bad day and miss out on opportunities. After all, unless you have a time machine or have access to the quantum realm like Ant-Man, no one knows whether a particular day will end up being a good or bad day.

Additionally, the worst day of the year event can oversimplify and trivialize the emotions and emotional states we expect throughout the year, such as depression, anxiety, and ups and downs. This can create a dynamic that says, “I should feel better the next day,” and once again create unrealistic expectations. For example, if January 20th is supposed to be your worst day, what if you feel even worse on January 21st, January 22nd, or later?

Remember, emotional and mental health is not like a slanket. These are not one-size-fits-all and are much more complex. I wrote for forbes About the need for more precise mental health, where assessments and treatments are better tailored to different people and their different situations.

Benefits of Blue Monday concept

With all that said, there is one potentially big advantage to the Blue Monday concept. More attention may be focused on why January as a whole, rather than any particular day in January, is particularly tough for multiple reasons.

• Weather in the northern hemisphere can be cold and unpleasant. Except for what The Weeknd mentions in this song, few people would say they’d rather not be able to feel their hands or face. Additionally, when the weather worsens, people stay indoors and enjoy the outdoors less.
• Daylight hours may be shorter and daylight hours may be shorter. And this can negatively impact melatonin secretion, which can affect your mood, energy, and sleep patterns.
• I was disappointed after the holidays. After the holidays in December and all the parties and stuff on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Eve, January can feel a little empty of celebrations.
• It’s time for introspection. The arrival of a new year may make you take a closer look at your life. And you may not necessarily like what you see. That’s why people tend to make resolutions on or around New Year’s Day. For example, dating app usage tends to be highest on the first Sunday of January each year. as i covered psychology today. unfortunately, Many New Year’s resolutions are forgotten halfway through. The same is true for January, with the possibility of further decline.

This makes the entire month of January, not just one day in January, a prime month for seasonal affective disorder (also known as SAD). SAD is the experience of depression during certain seasons, usually the winter season, and affects about 5 percent of all adults in the United States about 40 percent of the year. According to the American Psychiatric Association. Now, just because you don’t officially have SAD doesn’t mean you won’t get winter blues, and vice versa.

How to deal with winter blues

Therefore, practicing self-care is especially important this month. In other words, be sure to:

• Please expose it to sunlight.
• Get enough sleep
• Please eat well.
• Exercise regularly.
• Avoid drug and alcohol use.
• Stay connected to others.
• If necessary, consider professional help, such as a therapist.

And keep things in perspective. Life is inherently uncertain. You never know what’s going to happen around the corner, good or bad. Remember that what you are experiencing or feeling on “Blue Monday” is not necessarily the new order of the year or your life. Just because things are tough now doesn’t mean they will be tough in the future.