Yesterday I congratulated myself on surviving ‘Blue Monday’ only to discover it hasn’t actually happened yet! I naturally assumed it would be the first Monday after Christmas that is not a holiday and the first day back at work for many. But no, the most depressing day of the year generally falls on the third Monday in January, this year the 16th. So we still have it to look forward to :O
Apparently it’s the day that Christmas is a distant memory, debt becomes a worry and New Year resolutions are broken beyond repair. I’m not sure it’s going to be a problem for me as I never make New Year Resolutions. That’s not to say I don’t try to make changes in my life. I just would never choose the month of January as a starting point, it’s way too dreary.
The positioning of this day is far from random. Somebody has taken the time to work out the height of our misery, wasn’t that nice of them? If you don’t believe me check out this link: http://www.beatbluemonday.org.uk/?page_id=5. Apparently, a guy called Cliff Arnell, formerly of Cardiff University devised a mathematical formula to work out the date. To be honest it doesn’t seem very mathematical to me, just a case of surmising and making a prediction. But hey, what would I know? If we all had to speak sums I would be rendered mute for the rest of my days!
Words, now they are different. Words make my world go round even though they can also be tricky and difficult to organise. I’ve been reading a lot of them lately having received a number of books as Christmas presents but it may be time to stop sticking my nose in a book and start writing one, (well, another one). Doing so may even help me get through the coming Blue Monday, one of the recommendations for triumph over melancholy is writing down your thoughts. This helps to identify solutions. Hey, perhaps writing this blog is therapeutic, even though it feels like I’m bashing my head off the computer screen sometimes!
My advice for beating any kind of blues is to love your notepad (if you don’t have one go out and buy one at once!). Take time to write in your notepad and don’t hold back. If what you’ve produced is rambling or lacks order who cares? You’ve created something, you can shape it into something else if you choose or just let it be. Sometimes it’s just good to free your feelings. They don’t have to make sense.