Today has been declared the most depressing day of the year. This year, make
it your call
By Sally Wadyka for MSN Health & Fitness
the superstitious have long worried about courting bad luck on Friday the
13th and stayed ?beware the Ides of March.? But for the past couple of years
there has been another day to mark in black on the calendar: The most
depressing day of the year.
In 2005, a psychologist named Cliff Arnall (who was, at the time, a
part-time lecturer at the University of Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning
in Wales), declared that he had devised a formula to calculate the worst
day. That year, it was Monday, Jan. 24; last year, Monday, Jan. 23. So watch
out, because today may well be 2007?s most miserable day.
Or maybe not.
Arnall's so-called formula looks like this: [W + (D-d)] x TQM x NA.
All of the letters and symbols apparently represent a sort of mathematical
code to track the following:
W: How bad the weather is at this time of year.
D: Amount of debt accumulated over the holidays minus how much is paid off.
T: The time since the holidays.
Q: Amount of time passed since New Year?s resolutions have gone south.
M: Our general motivation levels.
NA: The need to take action.
Now that the fun of the holidays is over, we need to make a plan that gives
us something to look forward to. Arnall's dreaded-day formula was originally
commissioned as a public relations stunt for Sky Travel. The company planned
to use it as a tool for encouraging depressed people to start booking winter
getaways. In the two years since he created it, Arnall and his equation
received plenty of January pressand, eventually, lots of backlash.
Several bloggers in Britain, for instance, took issue with Arnall's
pseudoscience, posting entries with titles such as ?Will someone please
muffle Cliff Arnall.? And an article in the London Times last January,
called.
Research + PR = a very depressing equation, exposed Arnall's
prescription as a work for hire rather than a true academic exercise.
It is based on no science, no research and it is incredibly gimmicky, says
Ellen McGrath, Ph.D., president and founder of Bridge Coaching Institute in
New York City. ?But as a marketing strategy, itis brilliant.?
Here?s an interesting twist: McGrath concedes that if you dissect the
gimmick, Arnall?s equation does take into account some very real issues. ?He
took several currents of common experience and funneled them into one
specific moment, she says.
The weather and in particular, the lack of daylight is an issue in January
and February, especially in the northern latitudes. And that is the primary
cause of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Another universal dilemma around this time of year is debt.. ?Buyer?s
remorse is a core part of the post-holiday blues, acknowledges McGrath.
Love is defined as buying a great gift, but when the bills come due in
January it can lead to depression.
Late January is also time to confront reality, say psychologists. Difficult
decisions about jobs, family and relationships are often put off until after
the holidays. So while we may wake up feeling very positive on Jan. 1, life
may look a lot less shiny a few weeks later.
While Arnall's equation has received its fair share of criticism, most
experts agree that if this ?day of doom? prediction helps raise awareness
about the serious issues of depression and seasonal affective disorder,
then, overall that?s a good thing and not harmful. The National Institute of
Mental Health estimates that almost 18.8 million American adults suffer from
depression and nearly six percent of the population is affected by SAD.
Still, plenty of people take offense at such a specific most depressing
day pronouncement. It essentially vacates any concept of free will or
self-determinism, putting the focus on external events rather than what is
within us, says Susan C. Vaughn, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at
Columbia University.
Vaughn elaborates: Even if you have maxed out your credit cards, failed at
your New Year?s resolutions, and the weather is lousy, not everyone will
succumb to depression?especially not all of us on the same day. In fact,
some psychologists and life coaches argue that January can be a time of
focus and motivation. The frenzy of the holidays is past, and there is time
to concentrate on accomplishing new goals.
It depends on how you interpret it, says McGrath. One choice makes you
lose power and one makes you gain it.
this article, i adapted from MSN homepage...well,i did feel angry and sad...become v v v depressed and angry yesterday..izit really da most depressing day of the year...hope so...now,at least da worst had over, then there should be no more worst...
