It's officially Blue Monday, dubbed the saddest day of the year. On Morning Ireland, reporter Cian McCormack probed further into this phenomenon, finding out where the concept comes from and what we can do about it.
Cian spoke with Conor Pope, Consumer Affairs Correspondent with the Irish Times who explained that Blue Monday is actually an artificially constructed concept invented by a marketing company.
"They did it so that they could sell holidays to people who are feeling particularly glum in the post-Christmas period. Whilst it was an artificial invention… it actually has hit home a universal truth among Irish consumers. In the post-Christmas period… they're looking at their bank accounts now and they're feeling pretty miserable because they were probably paid well before Christmas. They might not get paid until the end of January so you're looking at a 6 week period between paychecks and a lot of people will find that very difficult to manage."
Cian also spoke to Dr Harry Barry, GP and author in a number of books on depression and anxiety who says the January effect is real.
"The bank balance is empty, the light hasn't returned. I think the marketing people have just happened to put a Monday on it but I believe it's really right through the middle of January. Let's face it, isn't every Monday morning difficult… I think we should treat Monday as any other day. Perhaps this is the time when we start looking forward. Try and get out and exercise a little bit as much as you can… Those practical things are probably the best thing of all."
So, marketing construct or not, the Blue Monday phenomenon is a legitimate complaint. As one passer-by summed it up, "It's kind of like a delayed hangover after the Christmas and new years and yet you're miles away from Paddy's day"
Click here to listen to that report in full.