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BODGER: Blue Monday is bogus, stop looking for reasons to be sad

There’s no evidence one day should be the saddest compared to any other
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Kathi Diewert of Chemainus captures many interesting nature shots around the Island. No matter what it looks like outside, there’s no sense in creating any false sadness on so-called Blue Monday and beyond. (Photo by Kathi Diewert)

Let’s face it, humans are gullible. We can be talked into believing almost anything.

Someone decided the third Monday of January should be the saddest day of the year and so many of us just go along with it as being a fact.

That occurred on Jan. 16, so-called Blue Monday, and most people were surely feeling down in the dumps that day because that’s the way it was supposed to be.

Why? As much as we talk about mental health so much these days, letting these concepts sink into our heads isn’t going to do anyone any good.

A positive attitude to overcome all the negative emotions starts with each individual. If we want to feel horrible because some person said that’s the thing we should be doing, then that’s exactly what will happen.

If we decide to make the best of some gloomy days in January and maintain a positive outlook, then we’ll all probably feel a lot better.

In other words, it’s mostly all in our heads. We can do something about it, people, by giving ourselves a wake-up call, rather than sinking into sadness all in the name of some fabricated day.

The existence of Blue Monday is somewhat bogus anyway, since it was created by a United Kingdom travel company that’s no longer in existence. Then a Welsh psychologist got into it and, voila, we’re all on board.

Supposedly, the concerns to get you down are all about the time of the year since Christmas, weather, debt, the New Year’s resolutions that have already failed, etc.

Fortunately, numerous psychologists are downplaying the concept as not based on any fact-based research.

Tying all these thoughts and circumstances to just one day is ridiculous anyway. Does that mean the skies suddenly brighten and all is well as of Jan. 17 or are we now into the same depressing feelings throughout the week? Where does it all end?

The bottom line is don’t let yourself be subjected to these types of concepts as being significant.

The media could play a huge role by simply not giving it any prominence, but that hasn’t happened yet, with extensive interviews about it still being the norm.

RELATED: Blue Monday is a myth but seasonal affective disorder and winter blues are real



Don Bodger

About the Author: Don Bodger

I've been a part of the newspaper industry since 1980 when I began on a part-time basis covering sports for the Ladysmith-Chemainus Chronicle.
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