With the combination of continued bad weather, unpaid bills, broken resolutions, coupled with the economic downturn, make this potentially one of the worst Blue Mondays ever.

 

A special campaign web site, www.beatbluemonday.org.uk is offering practical advice to tackle the effects of Blue Monday, the symbolic date for the low point in the year.

 

The ‘Beat Blue Monday’ campaign has been developed by Andy Green of creativity@work with the support of GREEN communications.

 

The date is already providing a rallying cry for anyone wanting to use the opportunity be positive with events such as a ‘Gloom Aid’ concert on Blue Monday, at the O2 Academy in London raising funds for the Depression Alliance, the Beat Blue Monday Conference run by the Confident Club on Friday January 15^th and the Optimists Society providing advice and tips on how to be more optimistic on the day.

 

Blue Monday has evolved from an idea originally conceived by Cliff Arnall, formerly of Cardiff University, who created a mathematical formula to identify a number of the elements contributing to a general feeling of mid winter blues.

 

Advice for making you feel better during Blue Monday includes keep active, eat well, keep in touch with friends and family, care for others, do something you are good at, ask for help, accept who you are, talk about your feelings, take a break and drink sensibly.

 

Further help is available from the Mental Health Foundation who have produced a guide ‘How to look after your mental health’ available from www.mentalhealth.org.uk

 

Visit www.beatbluemonday.org.uk for more details about how to overcome ‘Blue Monday’ and how you can do your bit to help charities. The public is also being urged to submit their own creative ideas for beating the January blues to the website.

 

Commenting on the Blue Monday campaign Andy Green of the Flexible Thinking Forum said: “Blue Monday may symbolically be the year’s most depressing day, but it doesn’t have to be, by making the most of potential opportunities around each of us. Blue Monday is also a time to think of others worse off and do something positive to help.”

 

 

ENDS

 

 

Notes to Editors

 

 

Cliff Arnall is a former researcher, lecturer and post graduate tutor at the Medical and Dental School of Cardiff University. He has worked in the NHS helping people with depression and addictive behaviour. He also runs courses and gives talks for organisations on stress and anger management, happiness, understanding depression and the psychology of success.

 

Cliff Arnall devised the following mathematical formula:

 

[W + (D-d)] x T^Q

M x N_a

 

The model was broken down using six immediately identifiable factors; weather (W), debt (d), time since Christmas (T), time since failing our new year’s resolutions (Q), low motivational levels (M) and the feeling of a need to take action (Na).

 

The formula calculates that Monday January 18 2010 is the worst day of the year, when the Christmas glow has faded away, New Year’s resolutions have been broken, cold Winter weather has set in and credit card bills will be landing on doormats across the land – whilst the January pay-cheque is still some way away.

 

 

Gloom Aid takes place at 02 Academy, Islington, London at 7pm on Monday 18^th January 2010.

 

This year the line-up features Mark Morriss lead singer of The Bluetones doing a special acoustic set, comedians Mark Watson and Alex Horne from BBC4’s ‘We Need Answers’, star of ‘Book Club’ Robin Ince, pop-cabaret stars Frisky and Mannish, the poet and national treasure John Hegley, Angelos Epithemiou from Shooting Stars, Edinburgh hit DJ Danny aka comedian Danny Robins, cult internet hit Misery Bear making a very special video and comedy clips from the ‘Funny Or Die’ website!

 

Tickets: £12 in advance available from FeelingGloomy.com or 0844 477 2000; £15 on the door.

The Confident Club Conference on January 15^th 2010 at The Mere Golf and Country Club, Knutsford, Cheshire features four world class speakers to share practical ideas to help you overcome and beat any Blue Monday blues during 2010.:

Tickets cost £195 plus VAT and area available from either 0845 270 2323 or email carol@theconfidentclub.com

 

Depression - a serious personal story. A case study of someone overcoming depression is Clive Gott, a leading motivational speaker who suffered from depression, and is willing to share his experiences. Clive can be contacted on 0771 040 1092 Check out his story at: http://blog.clivegott.com/2009/04/i-dont-bring-me-flowers-anymore-part-1.html