In recent days, several media outlets in the United States and Britain have indicated that this Monday, January 16th, will be blue monday (Blue Monday in English), a date considered the saddest day of the year. But this event is just a myth, because it has no scientific basis.
The origin of Blue Monday
The term Blue Monday was coined in 2004 by Arnal Cliffpsychologist and motivational speaker, after he was paid by former British travel agency Sky Travel to find a “scientific formula” for the ‘sadest day of the year’, as part of an advertising campaign aimed at selling weekend trips.
Arnall’s equation is as follows: 1/8C+(Dd) 3/8xTI MXNA and includes variables that are impossible to quantify: “C” is the climate factor, “D” is the debt Christmas left us, “d” is the money raised in January, “T” is the time elapsed since the end of Christmas, “I ” is the time that has passed since the last failed attempt to get rid of a bad habit, “M” is the individual’s motivation and “NA” is the need to take life-changing action.
The formula, incidentally, determines that this date coincides with all third Mondays in January.
However, there is no point in trying to identify what is the saddest day of the year because it will be different for everyone, due to the different circumstances we find ourselves in.
Difficult dates for people with depression
Although for many people Blue Monday is just an ordinary date, mental health experts point out that repeated use of the term can be harmful to people with depression or other mental health problems, who will put pressure or anxiety on being happy on the date. .
“Simplifying our understanding of depression and moodiness isn’t helping anyone,” Craig Jackson, professor of occupational health psychology at City University of Birmingham in England, told Live Science.
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