There’s no such thing as Blue Monday

Why we should all be saying “Bollocks to Blue Monday”

Spoiler alert — the third Monday in January is not the most depressed day of the year. It’s all complete nonsense and used as a ruse to make us spend more money. That’s what it’s all about.

Pleasure is not the same thing as happiness

We shouldn’t confuse ‘pleasure’ with ‘happiness’. Pleasuring ourselves — spending money on things — does not make you happy. It gives you a quick buzz but it never lasts.

“YOU’RE TALKING BOLLOCKS MATE!”

Some people will tell you that the third Monday in January is the day we all collectively the most depressed. I guess that resonates with us because of the dark and cold days, having no money after Christmas, but its just not true. It’s all a cynical marketing ploy. You can confidently say to anybody who does tell you this — “you’re talking bollocks, mate!”.

Apparently, the idea of Blue Monday started as a marketing ploy created in 2005 by Sky Travel. It was their genius idea to sell their holidays and they brought in a psychologist called Cliff Arnall to add weight to the idea. So much weight that its become an urban myth and has become an annual feature on social media. They thought using poor mental health would be a great way of making money. That in itself is enough to say bollocks to.

It’s not science

The claim was that there was an ‘equation’ which crunched all the data to find out when we were most depressed. This ‘equation’ has now been debunked by actual scientists who described it as nonsense. Even Cliff Arnall, the academic who put his name to ‘Blue Monday’, campaigned against it.

Poor mental health affects people all year round, not just one day a year. It shouldn’t be trivialised by businesses trying to make a quick profit. We live in difficult times and poor mental health is the biggest pandemic of our time. With the cost of living crisis we face more financial pressures. The last thing we need to do is a bit of retail therapy for a quick dopamine hit. All that leads to is more debt, more worry and can worsen our mental health and our relationships.

Poor mental health is a year-round issue

If we’re really concerned about improving peoples’ lives we need to look at the real causes of poor mental health. There are of course many factors affecting and a huge contributor to poor mental health is loneliness. One thing we can do is find ways to build community and connect with isolated people. That can be as simple as just stopping and chatting with someone in your neighbourhood. Pleasuring ourselves will not lead to happiness but connecting with people will.

That’s what we need to address as a country, rebuilding our need for community. That’s one of thing main things we work on at our charity with learning disabilities through the Gig Buddies project. (Run by our charity Stay Up Late).

One practical, money-saving, stress-busting top tip

If you want to do something positive for your mental health on ‘Blue Monday’, try our top tip of unsubscribing from every business that emails you with its ‘Blue Monday’ offers. You’ll not only save money but clean up your inbox at the same time!

Bollocks To Blue Monday

So please join me in saying a massive “BOLLOCKS TO BLUE MONDAY.”

For proper advice on good mental health, please go to a charity like Mind or Rethink for more advice and information about maintaining good mental health.

Don’t get advice on improving your mental health from a travel company or anyone seeking to make a profit from it!