Is this Monday really “the most depressing day of the year”?

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EDIT of January 17, 2022: Rain, cold, lack of light, return from vacation, wallet emptied by the end of year celebrations… Here is the Blue Monday bingo (the Monday blues) which falls this year, this 17 January. On this occasion, we suggest that you reread this article which explains why the third Monday of January is indeed the “most depressing day of the year”.

Dead? Want nothing (apart from fifteen-hour nights of sleep)? Burnt out ? If, as Nabilla would say, you are “at the end of your life”, don’t panic, you may just be one of the many victims of Blue Monday. This third Monday of January, proclaimed “the most depressing day of the year”, would be the culmination of a sudden blues and general fatigue.

Why do we have balls on Blue Monday?

The tree has been in the trash for a while, and the decorations have already been put away in the back of the closet. Of the festive celebrations, only the evidence of our abuse of foie gras and yule log remains today, firmly clinging to the hips, while our good resolutions to eat healthier and get back to sport are already at the top of the list of our failures 2018.

The weather is rotten, it’s dark when you wake up in the morning, and dark when you get home from work in the evening. To make matters worse, paying local taxes nipped in the bud any desire to go to the tropics during the winter, leaving us with pale complexions and gloomy moods. As a result, for lack of being able to spend to forget, even the arrival of the sales failed to cheer us up.

“For some, this time of year is complicated, it can mark the aftermath of a phase of stress generated by the holidays, analyzes Dr Philippe Rodet, emergency physician and author of Happiness without a prescription (ed. Eyrolles). All these parameters, combined with gloomy weather and a not very encouraging financial context after the Christmas shopping, contribute to a generalized feeling of less well”.

This cocktail, which begins to infuse in November, would then push us to the indigestion of blues on this third Monday of January. A date calculated according to a mathematical formula, for a concept of Blue Monday brought to light in 2005 by Cliff Arnall, then presented as a psychologist at the British University of Cardiff.

Is it serious doctor ?

No, we are reassured, Blue Monday is not a pathology, it is even “a skilfully orchestrated marketing operation for which Cliff Arnall was asked, with the aim of promoting a travel agency, reassures the Dr Rodet. It was to encourage people to spend, although I doubt that spending money that one does not necessarily have is the way to happiness”.

On the other hand, this blues which seizes many people in January is very real and often corresponds to a transient, or rather seasonal depression, due to winter fatigue and “to the lack of light, adds the doctor”.

And to spoil the picture, while the epidemic threshold has been easily crossed, the seasonal flu can still be remembered. But if you believe in Blue Monday and try to see the glass half full, if this Monday is the most depressing day of the year, the following days will only be less overwhelming!

How to overcome this Blue Monday?

Fortunately, we now know that Blue Monday is not inevitable and that, by taking care of yourself and following good resolutions that really do you good, you can easily make fun of this blow of winter blues. . In the United Kingdom, where this concept was born,
Samaritans, an association supporting people in emotional distress, have thus proposed to rename Blue Monday (monday of depression) Brew Monday (monday of tea), to offer people in the grip of the winter blues the possibility of organizing friendly meetings on this day. there around a good tea. An idea far from being absurd: “creating social ties, promoting human relations is obviously a source of comfort and well-being”, confirms Dr Rodet.

You can also reboost without morale with the contents of your plate and your pair of sneakers. “When you’re not well, you want to do nothing, but you have to maintain a little physical activity”, prescribed the doctor, for a dose of beneficial endorphins. “And with the drop in light, the body has a vitamin D deficit, which promotes seasonal depression, warns Dr. Rodet. It is therefore necessary to favor foods rich in vitamin D, such as fatty fish and cod liver. As well as probiotics, which are found in sauerkraut, pickles or sourdough bread, details the doctor. Certain strains of probiotics are said to have virtues in treating depression, to the point that Canadians, at the forefront of this subject, speak of “psychobiotics”.

To do yourself good, “projecting yourself into something pleasant also has a beneficial effect. This can be splitting up your vacation and regularly planning long weekends, short three- or four-day vacations, suggests Dr. Rodet. Rather than the interminable wait for long summer vacations when you’re in the dead of winter, focusing on closer getaways can be heart-warming.”

Another track, mindfulness and positive thinking. “Listening to music in full consciousness, Mozart in particular, soothes and reduces the production of stress hormones”, reveals Dr. Rodet. Another trick, “which only takes 3 minutes each night before going to bed, is to write down in a small notebook what happened badly and well in your day, the little simple things, the small successes , and we focus on the three best things of the day. This avoids rehashing in your bed what may have upset you, thinking and thus struggling to sleep, which causes fatigue and stress that accumulate over time, explains the doctor. It’s silly as cabbage, but this little exercise, very simple and quick, is similar to a form of mindfulness hypnosis and allows you to focus on the positive. Without any medication, you gradually manage to reduce your stress and increase your optimism and self-confidence”.


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