Blue Monday marks saddest day of 2009
By Hannah Larking
News Editor
January 28, 2009
 If last week was worse than your usual case of the Mondays, it’s likely you were not alone.
According to British psychologist, Cliff Arnall of Cardiff University, Monday, Jan. 19 marked the saddest day of the year 2009.
Acknowledging the saddest day of the year is a fairly new tradition. The date, calculated based on factors including weather, debt, time since Christmas, time since failing New Year’s resolutions, and motivation levels, has been coined Blue Monday.
Blue Monday began as a commercial opportunity for a company named Sky Travel to sell flights, but quickly became a landmark in the psychological calendar.
While feeling down now and again is entirely normal, Blue Monday provides an opportunity to evaluate the severity of depressive symptoms, and at the same time bear in mind that persisting signs of the condition could prove to be a greater problem.
During the snowy season when it’s dark early and cold always, symptoms of depression including a change in appetite, headaches, irritability, fatigue, oversleeping, anxiety and decreased motivation, could also be symptoms of what’s known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
According to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Seasonal Affective Disorder is a psychological condition that appears at the beginning of late autumn or early winter, and usually lasts until spring, or whenever the days start to get longer.
SAD is said to be caused by an insufficient amount of sunlight, which causes levels of the sleep hormone, melatonin, and the feel-good hormone, serotonin, to decrease. The condition may also cause abnormalities in the stress hormone, cortisol.
CMHA research in Ontario also suggests that between two and three per cent of the general population may experience symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder, and another 15 per cent will have a less severe experience described as the winter blues.
SAD tends to begin in people over the age of 20 and decrease with age, but the condition is more common in women than men.
While not all of us can afford to head off to Florida, there are other ways to relieve some of the symptoms.
If you are suffering from mild symptoms of SAD, spending time outdoors during the day might be beneficial.
According to the CMHA report, “Exercise relieves stress, builds energy and increases your mental and physical well-being.” Being more physically active is a good step to taking hold of your SAD symptoms.
This can mean anything from taking a stroll, to heading off to the gym for an hour to take your mind off things.
The Seasonal Affective Disorder Association (SADA) also suggests that many people with SAD respond well to light therapy. A report released by the SADA states that ordinary light bulbs are simply not strong enough.
Special light boxes can be purchased at home hardware stores and have been proven to, literally, lighten the mood. Studies show that just having these specially designed lights on while reading, working, or eating is beneficial to your mental health.
Other helpful tips include avoiding sleeping in past sunrise, even if it means going to bed earlier and avoiding too much coffee, especially in the afternoon.
For people who are more severely affected by SAD, the CMHA advises that counselling and therapy, especially short-term treatments such as cognitive-behavioural therapy, may be helpful for winter depression. Antidepressant medications are also safe and effective in relieving symptoms.
With Windsor’s declining economy and biting cold winter, it seems natural for every day to feel like Blue Monday—but there is hope. Arnall has also done a calculation for the happiest day of the year, June 20. And that’s only 19 weeks away.
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