It’s a holiday in the U.S., but if you’re feeling gloomy nonetheless, you’re hardly alone.
Besides being Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, today is also Blue Monday, a day many believe to be the most depressing day of the year.
The term got started in the 2005. Dr. Cliff Arnall, a South Wales lecturer, determined that the third Monday of January was the worst day of the year, due to factors including most people are back to work, the realization that the holiday season is most certainly over and awareness of just how far over budget we went in our holiday shopping.
There’s even a Blue Monday formula Arnall came up with – [W + (D-d)] x Tq ÷ [M x Na]. W represents weather, D means debt, d equals monthly income, T is the time since Christmas and q is the time period since we’ve broken our New Year’s Resolutions. M stands for motivational levels, and Na is the feeling of needing to take action.
Sound like hooey? Many agree with you — especially since several of the numbers used in that Blue Monday formula fluctuate per person and, presumably, there are still a few resolutions left unbroken out there.
Still, Blue Monday gives you an excuse if you’re moody today. And if you’d like to plan ahead for future bad moods, Blue Monday will fall on Jan. 21 next year and Jan. 20 in 2020.