Well, I made it. How was the worst day of the year for you? Apparently British psychologist Dr. Cliff Arnall dubbed Jan. 24 the worst day of the year.
To come to his conclusion, he weighs variables like weather, debt, salary, time since Christmas, the need to take action, low motivational levels and the time since failed "quit" attempts.
According to Arnall, the cold, wet winter months combined with failed New Year's resolutions, the debt left from Christmas and the overall misery of Monday make Jan. 24 the perfect "most depressing day of the year."
I don't know that his calculations can pinpoint the exact day that is most depressing for the majority of us, but I'm intrigued by his research.
It does make sense that January would be a low month for many of us. We are broke after buying gifts, paying to go away or entertain for the holidays. And in January that reality starts to sink in. Free dinners are big in December, and we're back to eating beans and toast while watching reruns on TV in January.
The joy of the Christmas season is over, Christmas lights are coming down, and Visa bills are showing up in the mail.
And the weather sucks! I used to think weather didn't affect my mood. In fact, when I moved here with my husband from Calgary, I was excited to leave the snow behind and "enjoy" the rain. I used to say, "I love the rain. It's better than snow." That was before my first real winter here, with fog enveloping my house and yard and no sign of sunlight for days on end, while the rain continued to fall.
My stylish winter jackets from the prairies were quickly soaked through and I traded them in for gumboots and a rain jacket.The novelty of a wet winter wore off quickly.
Other than the lack of sunshine and cold wet winter weather winter on the Coast, it's the lack of community involvement that I find most depressing.
In Calgary, there were a multitude of winter activities and places to play indoors.
I think getting out in your community helps to heighten your mood. My daughter's still too young to enjoy the arena, but I plan to bring her there to try her hand at skating next winter.
Let me just push my recreation soapbox here for a minute.
We need a recreation centre in Sechelt! A pool, oh, how I'd love a pool. We need a place to gather and have fun together during those long dreary winter days. We need to talk to each other about the nasty weather and then laugh at ourselves for letting it get us down. I mean, it's not like we're being pounded by a tsunami, tortured by rebel soldiers, sold into slavery or dying from starvation. When you start to compare the winter blahs and beans and toast with real misery around the world, it's hard to stay depressed, even if it is Jan. 24.
