Why Blue Monday is stupid

I don’t know about you, but I’m having one of those days where everything makes me mad. Just this morning I woke up with a really bad headache, shouted at my mum about something really trivial, and spilled my drink all over the floor JUST as I was going out the door to work. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the traffic on my way to work is always busy, but this morning it seemed even more ridiculous than usual!

So when I FINALLY got to work, opened my emails and saw my colleague Jo had asked our team if anyone planned to write anything for the website about Blue Monday, I was not only mad at myself for not remembering, but also because Blue Monday is made up and shouldn’t actually exist!

Today is Monday 15^th January, A.K.A. ‘Blue Monday’. It’s supposedly the most depressing day of the year and has been calculated using a formula which kind of looks like algebra. The date generally falls on the third Monday of January, but it can vary. Despite the formula for calculating Blue Monday looking very official, it actually has no foundation in scientific research whatsoever, and it was in fact made up by a PR company for a marketing concept to encourage consumers to book more holidays.

Concepts like Blue Monday can be dangerously misleading for people who struggle with mental health issues. I have anxiety and I know that those feelings aren’t dictated by what day of the month it is. I’m not having a bad day today because it’s Blue Monday, I’m having a bad day because bad days happen. I’m having a bad day because I’m feeling angry and frustrated, and I’ve labelled today in my head as being a bad day.

The term ‘Blue Monday is incredibly belittling to those of us who suffer from mental health issues as it implies that our struggles are comparable with ‘feeling a bit down’ and therefore do not need to be taken seriously.

Whatever you hear or read on social media today, remember that Blue Monday isn’t real. It’s a completely made up concept that has no baring over how you’re allowed to feel. If you are still worried though, here is a list I’ve created of really awesome films to watch that might help to boost your mood…

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World