For fifteen years, the expression ” Blue Monday “ reappeared in January on social networks and in the media… The “most depressing Monday of the year” falls this year on January 16, in a particularly gloomy context.
Problem: this concept, supposedly based on the scholarly calculations of a psychologist, only exists in the minds of marketing experts. Decryption of this “infaux” for commercial purposes, far removed from real psychological problems.
Where does this invention come from?
Blue Monday (inspired by the English expression to feel blue“to be depressed”) would irrefutably designate the third Monday of January as the most depressing day of the year… according to an alleged scientific study published in 2005, which is based on the following equation:
why is it wrong
- This equation is more of a joke than arithmetic: some factors are unquantifiable (weather, lack of motivation, etc.).
- Its author, Cliff Arnall, who presents himself as a psychologist, himself admitted in 2010 that there was nothing scientific behind this calculation, and that it had been commissioned by an advertising company on behalf of the travel agency Sky Travel. Ironically, he has since campaigned for its “abolition” as part of a campaign sponsored by the tourist committee of the Canary Islands (Spain).
“These kinds of calculations threaten the public’s understanding of science and psychology. It is also disrespectful to those who suffer from real depression, because it implies that it is a temporary and minor experience, which everyone suffers from”, recalls neuroscientist Dean Burnett in the Guardian.
Beyond the moral problem posed by the spread of pseudoscience, Blue Monday, which was only a commercial operation, can also encourage a worrying phenomenon of compulsive spending. According to a study conducted by a British institute, the Money and Mental Health Institute, out of 5,500 people suffering from mental disorders, nine out of ten people spend more money when they are not feeling well. Purchases trigger feelings of guilt, which may lead to further purchases for ” to feel better “… triggering a vicious circle well described by many psychologists.
[Une première version de cet article a été publiée en janvier 2019.]
Mental health: sites, books and useful numbers
Websites
– French public health resources ;
– Psycom, mental health information site ;
– Footsteps, a new mental health information site for young people ;
– CléPsy, practical sheets for families ;
– sleep better during confinement: advice for adults and children ;
Books
– The 4 stages of rebirth: post-traumatic stress is not inevitableby Michel Lejoyeux (JC Lattès, 193 pages, 19.90 euros);
– Trauma, how to get out of it?, by Coraline Hingray and Wissam El-Hage (De Boeck Supérieur, 192 pages, 19.95 euros);
– From confinement to deconfinement : new perspectives in child psychiatry. Under the direction of Sylvie Tordjman, Carmen Schröder, Richard Delorme. Free eBook to download.
Phone numbers
– Covid-19 coronavirus information: 0800-130-000 (green number);
– Hello childhood in danger: 119, or Allo119.gouv.fr.