Blue Monday isn't a thing...

January is a depressing time for many. The weather's awful, there's less daylight, and your body is struggling to cope with the withdrawal of the depression-alleviating calorific foods, such as chocolate, of the hedonistic festive period.

January is one long post-Christmas hangover.

So there are many reasons why someone may feel particularly "down" during January. But every year, much of the media (traditional and social) become fixated on a specific day – the third Monday in January – as the most depressing of the year. It has become known as Blue Monday.

This silly claim comes from a ludicrous equation that calculates "debt", "motivation", "weather", "need to take action" and other arbitrary variables that are impossible to quantify and largely incompatible.

It was a marketing exercise in 2005 by Dr Cliff Arnell. Dr Arnall is usually described as a Cardiff University psychologist. Dr Arnall briefly taught some psychology-related evening classes at the university's adult education centre. Apparently, this makes him a Cardiff University psychologist. Using that logic, I'm an Asda manager because I once made one of their staff fetch me a discount chicken.

"Following the initial thrill of New Year's celebrations and changing over a new leaf, reality starts to sink in," Arnall said. "The realization coincides with the dark clouds rolling in and the obligation to pay off Christmas credit card bills." - Dr Cliff Arnall

The statement was then used by travel company Sky Travel to encourage sales of trips to sunnier climes.

But true clinical depression (as opposed to a post-Christmas slump) is a far more complex condition that is affected by many factors, chronic and temporary, internal and external. What is extremely unlikely (i.e. impossible) is that there is a reliable set of external factors that cause depression in an entire population at the same time every year.

But that doesn't stop the equation from popping up every year. Its creator has since apologised for creating the "meaningless" and claimed it was meant to "encourage people, where possible, to take a positive outlook on the time of year as an opportunity for new beginnings and change."

A kernal of truth?

Part of the longevity of the Blue Monday myth is that it feels legitimate.

You needn't be an expert in psychology to recognise that January might be one of the least enjoyable months of the year: the excitement of the holidays has gone; the related bills begin rolling in; the weather is unpleasant if not downright dangerous (in the northern hemisphere, at least). It's often cold and drab out, with summer a distant memory nearly half a year away.

Social media posts relating to broken New Year's Resolutions increase and, in one study, the dates around Blue Monday see the highest volume of posts relating to guilt at those resolutions, weight-gain over Christmas or complaints about dark nights and miserable weather.

Temperature, daylight hours, time elapsed since Xmas, nights spent at home. These are all factors in Dr Arnall's equation.?

When something makes sense to us, our confirmation bias will go looking for evidence to support that sense; even when that sense is not objectively true.

Pseudoscience

I believe strongly that pseudoscience (like this equation) regularly presented as genuine science harms the public understanding of science and psychology.

It's also disrespectful to those who suffer from genuine depression, suggesting that it is temporary, minor and experienced by everyone, rather than what may be a chronic and incapacitating condition.

People with clinical depression often face an uphill struggle being taken seriously, especially as "depression" is such a general term.

But, still, Blue Monday-related superficially-inspirational posts of resilience, support and listening ears appear every year. Across social media channels, people will advocate that "it's OK to not be OK" - which, of course, it is.

Mental wellness should be supported, advocated for, and funded. We should recognise that conditions including depression and burnout are recognised medical conditions in individuals. They are not the same as being overstretched, tired or exhausted - and they don't affect whole groups at the same time.

Yes, it is important to raise awareness that support is available.

Yes, it is equally important to offer genuine support for individuals to ask for.

However, the cynic in me recognises the reduction in "it's OK to not be OK"-type content, messages and social media posts that are published on the Tuesday following Blue Monday.

We revert to type.

When it comes to long-term mental health approaches, to paraphrase Mind - a mental health charity in England and Wales - we can help bring about real change, end discrimination and promote good mental health.?

But how much harder is this goal to achieve with the promotion of pseudoscientific information as a once-a-year fad?