Ah, we’re going to eat “Blue Monday” today, this Monday supposed to be the most depressing day of the year, the one where we’re all going to feel ugly, tired, defeated, disappointed and in a bad mood.
And all this concentrated on the third Monday of January. A pivotal date determined in 2005 by the psychologist Cliff Arnall, (so-called) professor at the University of Cardiff, after having compared parameters such as the weather, the post-holiday period, Christmas expenses… And who s turned out not to be scientifically established at all. Simply, the marketing of an airline had seized it and since then, all the 3rd Mondays of January are black cats.
And even though the deception was almost as publicized as Blue Monday, it turns out that “popular wisdom” loves to believe it. “ Une real sociological study conducted on an impressive cohort of 340,000 Americans in 2012 focused on correlating day of the week and mood. It shows that Friday is truly a day when the mood (or morale) is boosted by the arrival of the weekend, and this among women as among men and active, young and retired people. “, details psychologist Nicolas Pinon, lecturer at UC Louvain and HE Vinci. On the other hand, from Monday to Thursday, the mood does not vary: “The results reported an even fluctuation in mood, positive or negative and an overall loss of pleasure during those 4 days. “
But then, where does this reluctance to Monday come from? “I would speak here of a self-fulfilling prophecy”, advances the shrink: the sentences “like a Monday”, the little anxiety of Sunday evening to which we are more attentive since less busy can make Monday a “bad” day. Except that when you’re there, everything is the same as a Tuesday…
And concerning this satisfaction of everyone to talk about Blue Monday every year, the psychologist sees a welcome causality in a period that is not very sunny and post-holidays. “ If we think more about our two yearsborn from Covid, it’s very simple: overall, nothing is right! However, there, we are offered on a platter an answer to the malaise felt. Many people are reassured to think that there is a causality between what they feel and what is said about society as a whole..“ That’s all it takes to see in Blue Monday the idea that once this “rotten” day is over, everything can only get better!