The original formula looked at weather conditions, debt, the amount of time since Christmas, depression over our failed New Year’s resolutions and the fact that most of us hate Mondays, to declare the third Monday of the month as the most depressing. – CTV
Less than a week into 2014, many Americans are facing "Blue Monday" — a day that many are calling the most depressing day of the year.
But is it just a myth put out by the media?
Upbeat Drinks, a United Kingdom-based drinks company, surveyed “more than two million tweets over the past three years to determine that” Jan. 6 “is the most depressing day of the year,” according to CTV.
Using the “Upbeat Barometer,” the company discovered that Jan. 6, which is the first day back from holiday vacation for many, was “the day when individuals post the most negative tweets,” CTV reported.
The idea of "Blue Monday" stems back to 2005, when a psychologist was hired by a travel company to find the most depressing day of the year, CTV said.
“The original formula looked at weather conditions, debt, the amount of time since Christmas, depression over our failed New Year's resolutions and the fact that most of us hate Mondays, to declare the third Monday of the month as the most depressing,” CTV reported.
There are other factors that go into this theory. Liberty Voice said many couples consider divorce more often after the holidays. And the fact that people are returning to work after the holiday season isn’t helping matters, Liberty Voice said.
But this may just be a myth.
Patrick Smith of BuzzFeed called “Blue Monday” a media myth that won’t disappear. Smith also said there are too many inconsistencies with “Blue Monday” for it to really be considered as a factual. Smith explained "Blue Monday" is big the U.K., and that it has been disproven by studies over the year.
The Guardian reported that there was no such thing as "Blue Monday." Writer Pete Etchells said the fact the day was first discovered by a travel company shows bias, as the company just wants to increase their sales. And there’s no scientific facts to back any of this up, either, Etchells said.
“It’s a stupid gimmick that has the potential to undermine public confidence in science and the perception of scientists, and it downplays a serious mental health issue. All for the sake of selling a drink,” Etchells said.
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