Today (Monday 20 January) is blue Monday. It is the third Monday of the year and is known by some (or many) to be the most depressing day of the year. This is supposedly due to a combination of bad weather, long nights and the lingering negatives of Christmas (overindulging and financial pressures etc). I’m writing this to let you know, Blue Monday is a lie. There is no scientific basis for it!

Blue Monday was actually conceived in 2005, by a travel company (Sky Travel). This depressing day is actually a marketing campaign from 2005 to sell people holidays.  It has since been taken on by the media as the most depressing day of the year, but I just wanted to highlight the origins of this day. We all have good and bad days. Blue Monday is a lie to get you to buy a holiday or other products.

It is not just about one day – we all have bad days, and sometimes we just need to get through them. I had to get through 13 January (my most depressing day) last week. So don’t feel tied to this date to feel emotions, it is after all a marketing ploy for a holiday.

Life is supposed to be messy, sadly sometimes it is a littler messier than others.

Whatever day you have ahead – you have got this!

I want to also take this moment to share something a little more positive. The Samaritans have turned this lie into something more productive. They promote the third Monday in January as “Brew Monday”.

“At Samaritans we know there’s no such thing as ‘Blue Monday.’ We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – feeling low isn’t just something that happens on Mondays or a random day in January. ​This Brew Monday, 20 January, Samaritans is reminding everyone to reach out for a cuppa and a catch-up with the people you care about.”

You can find more details on their website.

Also:

Call the Samaritans 24 hours a day on 116 123

Email: jo@samaritans.org (24 hour response time).