'Blue Monday': Spanish experts reveal how to survive the gloomiest day of the year

TODAY - Monday, January 19 - is scientifically proven to be the 'most depressing' day of the year, but experts in Spain have offered advice on how to get through it and insight into why the northern hemisphere is plunged into doom and gloom at this time of year.

A mathematical formula devised by Cardiff University (Wales) researcher Cliff Arnall shows that the third Monday in January - which he calls 'Blue Monday' - is the most miserable of the year north of the equator, based upon the weather, finances, Christmas and motivation levels.

With the excitement of the festive season now a distant memory, the credit card bills from the extra expense it involved and the extra pounds on people's waistlines remain and have to be dealt with - but payday is a long way off and, three weeks into January, the majority of New Year's resolutions about dieting, exercising, giving up smoking or cutting down on alcohol have gone by the wayside.

Along with the 'flat' feeling of the celebrations being over and the aftermath to repair, the weather is usually cold and grey in Europe and most of North America by this point in January.

Arnall's mathematical formula uses 'W' to denote the weather, 'd' to denote debt left behind by Christmas and 'D' for income or money in the bank, 'T' for time since Christmas, 'q' (shown here as º) for 'time since failing New Year's resolutions', 'M' for motivational levels, and Nª for low motivational levels.

Multiplying the weather and money in the bank minus debt by time since Christmas and squared by how long it has been since New Year's resolutions were given up upon, and dividing this by motivation multiplied by lack of motivation, the result, somehow, comes to the third Monday in January.

The formula looks like this:

[W = (D-d)] x Tº

       M x Nª

And Spanish meteorologist Mario Picazo agrees there could be something in these complex workings.

"Even though we live in one of the countries with the most hours of sunlight per year, and the days are getting longer, we still have many long nights and many weeks of wind, cold, rain and snow ahead of us which are certain to affect the odd person's mood," Picazo admits.

But help is at hand, and it's all about mind over matter, says Spanish health and sports psychologist Patricia Ramírez Loeffler.

"Emotions such as sadness and anxiety arise when people are faced with threats - that of struggling to pay off their credit cards, in this case - or imbalance in stress levels with more negative than positive pressure," Dr Ramírez explains.

"And if you focus your attention on what is immediately ahead, on the minus points - winter, cold, re-starting your routine by going back to work, getting less sleep and having more responsibilities and burdens - you forget to take into account the plus points.

"For example, if you're going back to work after Christmas, it means you're lucky because you have a job. If you have credit cards to pay, it means you have an income sufficient enough to have been granted a card in the first place. You probably have heating to escape the cold, and returning to work means meeting your colleagues again and sharing tales about what you did over the holidays.

"If you place more value and pay more attention to what you haven't got, as opposed to what you have got, you feel depressed.

"What you place most emphasis on when thinking, what you talk about and share with others, is a choice - you decide whether to talk and think about the plus points or the minuses."