It’s Monday 17th January 2022.
Today marks what many believe to be the most depressing day of the year. Dubbed Blue Monday, this dismal day of despondence, dejection, desolation and despair comes around on the third Monday in January. But is there any truth behind these crestfallen claims, and how does this affect the real world from a life insurance perspective?
Image: blue sky over Chester – iam|INSURED
Whilst we may be seeing blue skies here in the North-West (and hopefully everywhere else in the country, for that matter!), this day is said to be blue in a whole different way and, all jokes aside, this can be a tough time for many across the UK.
iam|INSURED has a long and positive history of supporting mental health charities as well as people with mental health issues to get life insurance.
Read more about MENTAL HEALTH
Is Blue Monday really the saddest day of the year?
The idea behind Blue Monday is that by this time of year, the festive period has ended, the New Year is well underway, and we’re all broke and battling with whatever decisions we’ve made for our New Year’s Resolutions while suffering the cold weather.
This is compounded with the very real fact that many people suffer from something called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. Sometimes called Winter Depression it can, at best, cause you to feel gloomy during these cold, short, darker days. At worst, it may exacerbate the symptoms of any existing mental health conditions and leave some people feeling unable to cope.
Useful Mental Health Links
However, Blue Monday is an idea based on a calculation that considers things like time spent sleeping, travelling, relaxing, delays, stress, and so on. The so-called ‘formula’ behind Blue Monday was found to be flawed in many ways and therefore dismissed as “meaningless”. In fact, the man who originally came up with the idea even campaigned against Blue Monday for a time, though his Twitter account now appears to be disabled.
It is unlikely that the third Monday of January is the recurrent culprit of these low moods, nor is it likely to be the only culprit. The struggles are far more likely to be a result of the effects that winter has on us creatures at a time when we just feel like hibernating.
How do you deal with Blue Monday?
We fully understand how tough this time can be regardless of whether Blue Monday is malarkey or not. Therefore, we’ve put together a list of suggestions that may help ease the burden.
- Exercise is well known to release endorphins and has a plethora of other health benefits.
- Healthy Eating is good for your mind as well as body. Brains need good food!
- Occupy your mind: try taking a break from tech and go for a walk, do some cooking, or read a book the old-fashioned way. These are all healthy distractions.
- Don’t blame yourself for finding it difficult. One of the biggest things which weighs on people is the feeling of guilt for, say, struggling to get out of bed. This will only lead to more negativity and it’s important to remember that you need to take care of yourself.
Useful resources
Here are some links you may find useful for beating the blues.
