Blue Monday Mindset: Is the Saddest Day of the Year a Real Thing?

As the winter chill deepens and the skies take on a perpetual gray hue, many people struggle with seasonal affective disorder. This feeling has a name and a day — Blue Monday, otherwise known as “the most depressing day of the year.”

There are plenty of emotional changes that accompany this time of the year. The weather is dark and dreary, there is little sunshine, and rough weather brings changes to even the most optimistic person.

According to Forbes, Sky Travel, a company in the U.K., began labeling the third Monday of January each year as “Blue Monday” in 2005. The company claimed that it’s the day when happiness levels fall to the year’s lowest levels.

However, per Harper’s Bazaar, “Scientists have since called the Blue Monday calculation — which is based on factors including weather, debt level, time since Christmas and failed New Year’s resolutions — ‘nonsensical’ and ‘farcical.’”

A CNN article by Kristen Rogers and Rob Picheta identified the psychologist behind the calculation as Cliff Arnall, based in the U.K., and his formula is: [W+(D-d)] x TQ divided by M x NA. In this equation, W stands for the weather, D for your debt, d for your monthly salary, T for the time since Christmas, Q for the time since you failed to quit something that you attempted to leave, M for low motivational levels, and NA for the need to take action. Contrary to what this formula may indicate, only some are destined to feel the same way on the third Monday of January in a given year.

Ultimately, most variables involved in the formula are subjective. According to Rogers and Picheta, “None of the factors he included can be measured, or compared by the same units. The formula can’t be adequately assessed or verified. For example, there is no way to measure the average number of days since people slipped up on their New Year’s resolution. And January’s weather varies among different states, countries and continents. In short, there is no scientific merit to it.”

The winter blues are a mild form of SAD, an actual medical condition. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a medical condition that affects individuals during certain times of the year — particularly when the weather gets colder and the days get shorter.

SAD can impact your quality of life and hinder your ability to build a sustainable routine throughout the year. Although it’s not curable, individuals can find ways to manage living with the disorder.

For most people afflicted with SAD, symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months. These symptoms can make people feel moody and have less energy. Ways to combat it include exercise, spending time with friends and family, adjusting diet, getting enough Vitamin D, and managing stress.