Blue Monday may be like any other Monday: UBC expert

As the holiday season feels like all but a distant memory for many, Blue Monday, often dubbed the most depressing day of the year, is set to hit on January 16.

Falling on the third Monday in January, the day comes after the Christmas, New Year’s, and Hanukkah holiday’s are done.

But one expert says that Blue Monday may not be different than any other Monday in the year.

“Mondays are challenging generally…Mondays are the times that we…typically see the highest rates of suicide, and certainly Mondays are a jarring transition from the weekend for most people to the work-week,” Tyler Black, a clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia in the department of psychiatry, said.

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“So within January, Mondays are a tougher day, but that’s true of every month.”

But Karen Benbasset Ali, a counselor at Vancouver’s Alpine Counselling Clinic, says that people can feel a “slump” in their moods following the holidays.

“I think that the feelings are real in January, whether it happens specifically on a single day, I would say that’s probably a bit of myth-making. My feeling is that there’s sort of a general lower mood that comes with less light and stressors that seem to happen in winter months,” Benbasset Ali said.

Benbasset Ali and Black both say that a big factor of potentially feeling down in January is isolation.

“I think one of the things that probably hits us the hardest is when people start leaving from the holiday breaks…is just dealing with loneliness. Loneliness is a big factor in depression,” Black said.

Combatting the blues 

But to fight off feeling isolated, Black says its important to reach out to people.

“It’s always important to keep your connections active and reach out to others, because it does feel like a bit of a retreat when people go from congregating all together during the holiday period to back to the regular grind,” Black said.

Benbasset Ali says that for her, she likes sending ‘Happy New Year’ texts to contacts as a way to connect.

“I just find that that helps with the isolation of the new year, so I often find I’m making plans once I’ve reached out, rather than waiting for others to reach out,” she explained.

As the New Year begins, many people make plans and set resolutions.

“I also encourage people to do things like simple acts of kindness. We know that when we’re kind to others, we tend to feel better.”

She says that a simple way of doing this is buying the next person in line a coffee.

Instead of following lofty resolutions, Benbasset Ali recommends making small changes.

“There’s a lot of pressure in the new year [with] New Year’s resolutions, and I think that that puts a lot of pressure on people. I much prefer when people make tiny, small sustainable changes in their routines,” Benbasset Ali said.

“It’s choosing something like going for a simple walk, or trying to sleep a little bit better in the new year…don’t try to make big shifts.”

Black adds that seeking help is also an important step.

“Whether it’s through counseling or talking to a friend or, or a more formal mental health support. Just being aware that our mental health is is something that we can keep an eye on it doesn’t have to get to the point of a crisis before we intervene,” he explained.

Weather change and mental health

On top of the post-holiday blues, the weather change can also make an impact on the populaces’ mental health.

After seeing unseasonable weather for the past few months in Metro Vancouver — from drought, to snow, and then heavy rainfalls — the typical rainfalls seems to have finally hit the area.

When the sun is blocked by the rain, and the all-too-familiar cloudy sky, the B.C. division of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) says that the weather, and season change can affect people’s mental health — including seasonal depression.

“Everyone’s mood can be affected by the weather. It dictates what we wear, when we travel and what activities we choose to do. But when the seasons change, bringing long term changes in the weather, temperature and length of day, some people are affected in other ways,” the CMHA said on its website.

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Although it says everyone can be affected by the flip in season, the CMHA says it can also have additional mental health challenges.

“The seasonal changes can affect their entire sense of well-being. If you find that you feel like a completely different person depending on the season, you may have a mental illness called seasonal affective disorder (SAD),” the group explained.

CMHA says SAD is a kind of depression that only appears at certain times of the year, and often happens in the colder months like January.

“SAD may be caused by lack of sunlight. But this may not be the whole answer, as it’s also thought to run in families: 13 to 17 per cent of people who develop SAD have an immediate family member with the disorder,” it added.

The group says some symptoms of the disorder include feeling tired all the time, weight gain, appetite change, and feelings of hopelessness and irritability.

“It is very important not to diagnose yourself without speaking to your doctor because there may be other causes for these symptoms. And even if it does turn out to be depression, it may not be the SAD form of depression,” the CMHA said.

Benbasset Ali says that taking Vitamin D, the ‘sunshine vitamin,’ may also help with SAD and fighting depression.

With Blue Monday set to arrive in a few weeks, Benbasset Ali, Black, and the CMHA, encourage people to reaching out to experts for help if needed.

B.C. help lines:

Mental Health Support Line: 310-6789

Anywhere in BC 1-800-SUICIDE: 1-800-784-2433