Blue Monday: An Opening Digest
Words by PSYCHÉscape. Article 001.
“You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.”
- Carl G. Jung
So, it looks like we are finally doing this…The opening digest.
The obligatory introductory first post where you’re supposed to bear it, warts and all. If you’re here for an exclusive exposé, we must apologise in advance.
To be frank, this is not about us.
It’s about you.
It’s about that person who is currently standing far too close to you on the tube, peering over you like you’re in a toilet cubicle and they’re devoid of a modicum of respect for the unwritten laws of personal space. It’s about that one high-maintenance friend you have; the serial texter, the one who expects you to dispense the wisdom of Mahatma Gandhi himself within a reply frame of 0.0001 seconds, making even a craniotome seem appealing. It’s also about your low-maintenance, absent friend who seldom appears to have a single care in the world, née thought in their mind. It’s about that one colleague of yours who is somehow able to simultaneously lick your boss’ backside and sport a stick up their own. Kudos to them – It’s quite a formidable skill.
We digress, this tonic is for everyone and anyone who needs it, or don’t know they need it.
To that end, welcome everyone and anyone.
Today is Monday. For some; Blue Monday.
A loathsome day that follows the two days of freedom. That dreaded inaudible alarm sound that sends shivers down your spine just at the thought of it. The actual antithesis of that FriYay feeling. The notion of Blue Monday is comprehensible, when one considers that today (the third Monday in January) is dubbed the most depressing day of the year. Here the Christmas fun is over and one is left to come to terms with the possibility that they may have slightly overindulged and succumbed to the inevitable and the necessary: hedonism. Returning to the rhythm of normality after over-spending, over-socialising, over-drinking and over-eating, can present a real funk.
But surely confining depression to one day per year is wishful thinking? Perhaps this explains the shift from Blue Monday to Blue Every Monday.
The truth of the matter is that the etymology of the term is at best conjecture. Coined in 2004 by psychologist Cliff Arnall, the concept was devised for a travel company as a shameless PR stunt to promote their winter deals. The formula used to determine the most depressing day of the year is unfounded and pseudoscience. In fact, any scientific evidence to suggest that January sees a rise in mental health referrals remains to be seen.
You have been well and truly punked.
We have never understood why Monday is Blue; Monday is not synonymous with blue. Besides, why is feeling blue bad? The colour blue represents both the sky and oceans and is associated with open spaces, freedom, intuition, imagination, inspiration and sensitivity. It also represents depth, trust, loyalty, sincerity, wisdom, confidence, stability, faith and intelligence.
So, Monday does not have to be bad, nor does it have to be blue. Once your perspective shifts, Monday can be whatever you choose it to be.
Monday can represent a new beginning. It has the power to set the tone of a week. We can’t change what happened last week, but we can learn from it and change it this week.
Just like life, this may feel far beyond your control. And to be honest, life often is beyond your control. It can sometimes feel like one is in a simulation; a false reality, passively awaiting a higher power to control your thoughts, feelings, actions, life and your future.
This is not a game. Life is not The Matrix. You are the higher power. The personal agency you hold over your mentality, present and future far exceeds the combined effect of any external forces. Focus on this; it could change your life.
Stop choosing self-destruct. Depart from this parochial and negative self-fulfilling prophecy.
Be the change that can resonate for a lifetime: your lifetime. Take ownership and choose happiness this week.
Monday’s can offer the opportunity to gain new perspective. A different point of view. Ergo, it only feels right to begin with no other than the genesis of something new.
*Enter PSYCHÉscape.*
Dear reader, welcome to your psychological coming of age.
Please take a proverbial seat, we will begin shortly.