Blue Monday: bad mood or fake news?
Not a lot of people love Mondays, probably even less love Blue Monday. If you have never heard about it and still do not know what is so special about this Monday, we are going to explain it to you right away.
Blue Monday, the third Monday of January, is known as the most depressing day of the year.
It seems it has been established thanks to a complicated equation by the psychologist Cliff Arnall. This equation includes weather conditions, the amount of debts due to Christmas time and the time separating us from next Christmas, the monthly salary, the time passed since we realized we already failed with our new year good resolutions, level of motivation and our resolution to act. Well, a set of data that is not actually measurable.
So, what is Blue Monday exactly?
In practice, Blue Monday is a marketing gimmick that dates to 2005, attributed to the travel agency Sky Travel. The strategy consisted into persuading clients that due to the bad day, the best way to fight scientifically proven sadness was to buy a nice travel ticket.
This publicity stunt had an unbelievable success and the news that Blue Monday was the most depressing day of the year seemed to be a scientific truth.
A lot more companies used Blue Monday with selling purposes even if Cliff Arnall himself state that he had been payed to sign a study with no scientific evidence.
The only sure thing is that Monday remains one of the least-loved day and that the end of the festivities might result uninspiring for a lot of people.
So, Blue Monday is a fake news, but cheering we up is always a good idea. In-Domus suggests you some leisure activities to turn your mind off from reality, even for just a few hours:
- Take some time for yourself: a walk in the neighbourhood, or a run for sportspeople, helps you release the stress.
- Satisfy a whim (with moderation): order from your favourite restaurant, buy that object you really want (benefit from sales), or book that trip you so want to have (just as Sky Travel suggested).
- Find some time to dedicate to your passions: sing, dance, read, paint, cook or do the gardening… options are unlimited.
And if you woke up in a Blue Monday mood allow yourself to take a day off… a little break never hurt nobody!
