Blue Monday: Why you should mind your health all year round

Today is said to be the most depressing day of the year. But experts say Blue Monday does little to promote our understanding of the complexity of mental health 

Dr Harry Barry, GP and author, says Blue Monday is 'a smart marketing ploy'

You've packed away the Christmas decorations, are back commuting and work is full-steam ahead — all of these factors play into Blue Monday, this year falling on January 15, the most depressing day of the year. But is it real or a PR success story?

The day was first dubbed Blue Monday 19 years ago when on behalf of a travel company, a public relations firm asked a psychologist to identify the most unhappy day of the year.

The third Monday of January was identified as the day the masses were most likely to feel miserable. The PR company suggested that people might even book a holiday with the travel company to boost their mood.

Dr Harry Barry, GP and author, says Blue Monday is “a smart marketing ploy, but I don’t see a huge amount of academic proof that it’s actually true.”

However, the concept lives on in our popular culture. “I think it’s just catchy,” says Dr Barry. “Myths are extraordinary in how they develop a life of their own. If the myth goes on long enough, even if there is no validity, the myth becomes the truth.”

Commodified depression

The creators of Blue Monday may have developed a self-fulfilling prophecy — the more we hear about the day, the more it solidifies as truth.

“If you say to the average person in the middle of January you feel miserable, the nights are short, the weather is bad, you don’t have enough funds, there’s nothing really to look forward to then of course people are going to say that’s exactly how I feel,” says Dr Barry.

When we commodify mental health, as Blue Monday seems to do, the issues of genuine mental health problems will inevitably be misunderstood. “I think as a society we are diminishing the illness of depression...It becomes ‘well I get down as well and I can snap out of it’ “ says Dr Barry.

He explains that people with depression cannot simply “snap out of it” and says viewing it that way can be damaging.

'We have to distinguish between the emotion of depression and the illness of depression'

Low mood

While it’s widely accepted that depression is an illness, we can be reluctant to talk about it openly and use euphemisms like ‘I’m just a bit off’ or ‘a bit low’.

The language we use to describe mood is the same one we use when discussing mental illness. And so when Blue Monday equates feeling low to a few arbitrary factors, the term, by default, implies that a tweak of the weather or leaving the tinsel up a little bit longer is all that’s needed to have good mental health.

“We have to distinguish between the emotion of depression and the illness of depression…We all have times when we are feeling flat or a bit low for a day or two, and maybe we are tired or stressed,” says Dr Barry.

“The important thing is you feel like that for a couple of days and usually your rational brain kicks in and you come out of it. But the problem for the person with genuine depression is that it’s a physical, cognitive and psychological issue which is much larger.”

People with a depressive illness, says Dr Barry, may have difficulty with sleep, remembering things, attention span, their bodies might be less responsive, and they may struggle with appetite or self-harm. “It’s a complete package [of symptoms] and is not the same as feeling a bit low for a couple of days.”

Better conversation

Dr Eddie Murphy, clinical psychologist and Operation Transformation expert, has little time for Blue Monday. To him, the whole idea is unhelpful and unfounded. He says that the research doesn’t support the idea “that people would have extra mental health issues in January. It’s a social media construct.”

In his view, it offers little as a conversation opener around the area of mental health.

“There are better ways to start a conversation. When it comes to regular wellbeing and mental health, we think of it as the absence of depression. But mental wellbeing is about thriving — I think focusing daily on what brings meaning and engagement and managing your wellbeing is a way more helpful conversation.”

Blue Monday does the opposite, it pins all that is negative about January on one specific recurring date of sadness. But if we are to focus on what makes us well, where do we start?

“Invite people to think about their wellbeing through movement, managing their thoughts and emotions and have a conversation,” says Murphy.

One of the core ways to look after your mental health is to support “your relationship with yourself and with others,” he says.

Murphy points to the value of “being less critical or punitive and more supportive and nurturing”. Evidence shows that 30 to 40 minutes of exercise four times a week, and time outdoors, can boost mood. But he cautions that for anyone with significant mental health challenges, the words, “Just move and keep positive,” aren’t enough.

Whatever Monday, January 15, brings, hopefully, it’s you who decides how you feel on the day. Blue Monday holds as many chances as another day to reflect on how you are and have been.

Please feel free to throw the PR formula away with the rest of the advertising pulp.

• If you have any concerns about your mental health, contact your GP either independently or with the help of a family member or friend. Information, support and advice are available from aware.ie or freephone 1800 80 48 48
• Self-Acceptance by Dr Harry Barry is published by Orion Books

This article was first published in January 2023.