Real Talk!

Founded in 1953 by an Anglican priest, the iconic, non-religious telephone counselling service known as “Samaritans” has since spread worldwide. With plenty of experience, the organization has identified this as the most depressing time of year.

Of course, Mondays have always had the distinction of being the most unloved day of the week. It is a day when most workers must face the prospects of another week of waking up to the alarm clock, fighting traffic, meeting deadlines, juggling personal life with the demands of their employer… all that fun stuff… and so on.

Today, as many of us complain about bad weather, holiday let-down, incoming holiday bills and failed resolutions, it seems that, in Britain, Samaritans look forward to close to 10,000 calls from the seriously depressed. Referring to this auspicious day, the third Monday in January, as “Blue Monday”.

I remember my grandmother using the term Blue Monday but it had to do with Monday being the traditional laundry day. I would help her pass shirts through the wringer and she would regail me with stories of how fortunate we were that we didn’t have to use washing boards and pots of boiling water any more.

Dr. Cliff Arnall, (according to reader Steve Anderson Arnall is a self-described doctor, clinical psychologist, motivator and lecturer from Cardiff University, Wales) has verfied the Samaritans’ findings, by way of a mathematical equation that uses six identifiable factors: weather, debt, time since Christmas, time since failing our New Year’s resolutions, low motivational levels and the feeling of a need to take action.

Yes, Dr Arnall’s (assuming he is a doctor) calculation reveals: Monday, January 21, 2008 is officially the worst day of the year.

Co-founder, Dr Mike Finnigan, of Advanced Performance (1996, with a mission “…to be the first choice provider in the UK and US of Corporate and Personal Development") warns that, “If you think about January 21 as ‘Blue Monday’ then the part of the brain known as the reticular deactivating system will immediately begin to focus on things that arise during the day.”

Sounds very scientific and therefore, a little scary!

Now, I’m no Einstein, but I do know that the reticular deactivating system (and the activating system, too) are connected to an individual’s memory and emotion brought about by chemical exchanges in the brain and brainstem. (Sort of a reciprocal-interaction of chemical and electrical processes.) There have been a lot of studies concerning the role of the reticular activating system in relation to the perception of external stimuli.

Combined with the diffuse thalamic projection system, the reticular formation plays a significant role in our wakefulness and our sleep. Current studies cite reticular deactivation as the physiological component of sleep. Reducing the amount of light or noise in a room is a simple example of passive reticular deactivating.

Messing with reticular systems, by way of anesthetic, for instance, does not prevent the transmission of sensory messages via the usual pathways. However, an anesthetized patient will not respond to the message in a discriminative manner- this may infer that the reticular system may be particularly important to integrate and expand upon information received, allowing us ‘perception’.

Undoubtedly, the reticular formation is implicated in orienting us and responding to stimuli. It is an important component for perception and the awakening attention and reaction to the external environment.

So, essentially, Dr. Arnall has contrived a method of calculating a cause for being blue AND Dr. Finnigan is saying that if you stop and think about being blue, you will start to feel blue….

Okay, so put away your mathematical equations and your neurological charts…it really isn’t all that scary.

In northern climates, awareness of “Seasonal Affective Disorder” or SAD began some 150 years ago. It is believed that SAD is caused by variations in seasonal light. People who work “night shifts” or in windowless offices are often affected by the disorder, blamed primarily on lack of sunlight. Treatments for SAD include, talking about it, improved nutrition and exercise. In severe cases, light therapy or medication may be suggested.

Here are my own suggestions:

Be your best version of yourself.

1/ don’t spend time thinking about depressing things
2/ go outside for a walk and look for something to smile about
3/ laugh out loud
4/ eat an apple
5/ call a friend
6/ do something nice for your self
7/ do something nice for somebody else
8/ grab every bit of sunshine that you can (sit by a window if you can’t go out)