The most depressing day of the year?

It’s no secret that your mood may be markedly lower in the colder, darker months, particularly if you are susceptible to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): a reduction in the exposure to sunlight can often lead to lower serotonin levels, affecting mood, appetite and sleep. But there is no single 24-hour period that represents ‘the most depressing day of the year’ for an entire population.

Blue Monday has been dispelled as a myth, merely a PR stunt crafted to sell more holidays in January when we’re likely suffering from the post-festive break ‘blues’: New Year’s resolutions broken, diets neglected, pockets empty.

What Blue Monday has inadvertently helped to do, however, is to create conversations around mental health. Such conversations are crucial as we face a myriad of mental health issues across the UK, inside and outside the workplace:

• 1 in 5 workers feel unable to manage work-related stress (Mental Health UK)

• 4 in 5 UK employees say that work-related stress affects their relationships with colleagues, family and friends (Mind The Workplace)

• Around 4 million UK adults now experience ‘chronic loneliness’ (Campaign to End Loneliness), 60% of whom experience mental distress (Gov UK)

• 1 in every 6 UK adults are experiencing depression (ONS)

• 79% of UK employees report feeling close to burnout (CharlieHR)

• Up to 75% of people don’t seek the help they need because of stigma and reluctance to be seen by a doctor

• 54% of people say it is difficult to manage energy throughout the day

• 68% of people say they wake up feeling barely rested

• 46% of people say they feel nervous most of the time (87% data)

Turning the negative into positive

Samaritans is a charity campaigning to make suicide prevention a priority. Offering a more positive spin on Blue Monday, the Samaritans coined ‘Brew Monday’, reframing the day as an opportunity to boost social connection and emotional wellbeing by getting together over ‘a brew’. Encouraging individuals to take a proper break over a warm drink with colleagues, family or friends, Brew Monday stimulates meaningful conversations to life the spirits of all involved.

Now a nationally renowned awareness day, Brew Monday is proving successful in helping to break the stigma around mental health. Crucially, the Samaritans stress that Brew Monday conversations can only take place on this particularly day of the year, nor exclusively on Mondays. Rather, as our blue days are individual to each of us, we all need to learn how to speak up when we are struggling. It is important that we can also listen closely to hear when any of our friends or family are struggling too. Read this article from the Samaritans to uncover tips for helping someone open up when something’s up.