January is ticking by and the festivities of Christmas and New Year feel like a lifetime ago now. The first month of the year is traditionally seen as the gloomiest, and we are approaching what has become known as the most depressing day of the year. Blue Monday takes place in the middle of the month, a month which can sometimes feel like it lasts a lifetime. The day is supposed to be the saddest on the calendar. This is usually argued to be a result of several factors. The long gone festivities, financial worries hanging over from Christmas and the still dark and gloomy weather factor into giving the third Monday of January it’s infamous name. To many, the day isn’t actually the most depressing and Blue Monday isn’t real. The phrase was coined by Sky Travel back in 2005 as a way of being able to sell more summer holidays. Yet despite this, the factors which combine to at least make Blue Monday feel bleak are very real. The stresses of life in 2023, for example the ongoing cost of living crisis, have been this year combined with the usual poor weather we get through January. A concern across January is mental health, which can be made worse by the combination of factors. Some of the best tips provided by health experts include getting as much fresh air and sunshine as possible and trying to be sociable. Others include exercising as much as you can. In 2023, Blue Monday once again falls on the third Monday of the month. This is Monday January 16.
