Today considered most depressing day of the year
Posted January 18, 2016 9:20 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – How’s that dull, grey, January Monday going for you so far?
With the holidays done, bills to pay and weeks to go before another long weekend, today is considered by some to be the most depressing day of the year.
While Blue Monday may have started off as a publicity stunt for a travel company, doctors say the “winter blahs” are very real.
“Blue Monday is pseudoscience, really not based on any kind of reliable data at all,” says Dr Raymond Lam, a professor of psychiatry at UBC and director of the school’s Mood Disorders Centre of Excellence.
“But what we notice — I study seasonal affective disorder, a sub-type of clinical depression where people get depressed in the winter — is that this is the time when we notice more people presenting for treatment,” he tells NEWS 1130.
“Christmas is a stressful time and people try to hold it together to get through the season. It’s in January, when things are over, that they realize how much they’re suffering and they seek help.”
Lam points out many people will experience “lower mood” and reduced energy this time of year, but if it interferes with your daily life, you should see a doctor.
“Start with your family physician because there are other reasons people have problems with mood, energy and sleep so you should have that checked out. But there are some very effective treatments available for seasonal affective disorder or people with milder winter ‘blahs’ – one of those is light therapy.”
Lam says sitting in front of a light box for a half hour every morning helps 60-to-80 per cent of patients improve their symptoms.
“But getting more light is a good idea for anyone, really. We recommend people spend more time outdoors in the winter because you get much more light even on a grey, cloudy day in Vancouver than you would even in bright office lighting.”
A daily walk also gives you some exercise, which is also a proven way to fight mood problems.
Of course if you think a vacation under some tropical sun would do the trick — as the travel industry suggests — who’s to say you shouldn’t write yourself a beach prescription?
