LibbyAnn
01-23-2006, 06:32 PM
Got the blues today? Turns out you are not alone!
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/13690039.htm
Today is the bluest of Mondays
PSYCHOLOGY: A British researcher's equation pegs today as the year's worst day.
BY SHELLEY EMLING
COX NEWS SERVICE
LONDON - Having a bad day? Well, no wonder. According to one scientist, Monday, Jan. 23 is the gloomiest day of 2006.
Cliff Arnall, a health psychologist at the University of Cardiff in Wales, has devised a formula that combines personal and seasonal factors to calculate the year's emotional low point.
Arnall said January is a time when people are simply working and don't have a lot of events, parties or holidays to look forward to.
People are struggling to cope not only with the bleak weather, but also with the debts they amassed by spending too much over the holidays.
It's also a time when people are starting to feel like failures because they've broken their resolutions so shortly after making them.
On paper, the formula looks like this:
The variables are (W)eather, (D)ebt, (d) monthly salary, (T)ime since Christmas, time since failure to (Q)uit a bad habit, low (M)otivational levels and (NA), the need to take action.
"All these elements converge to make for a very unhappy day on the 23rd of January," Arnall said.
He said his formula holds true for the United States as well as Britain, except perhaps in places such as Texas, Florida or California, where better weather could help to lift the day's depressing mood.
But Arnall said there are ways to beat the late-January blues.
Instead of trying to turn over the same old new leaf every New Year's Day, he suggested, why not resolve to make a change in a different month, such as March or April?
"I also advise people to do the unusual every January," he said. "Go for a walk in the woods or just get out and about."
Arnall said groups of friends or even co-workers could throw parties to celebrate the 23rd, because being around people you like can be a great way to boost your spirits. People also could resolve to make a budget for their holiday spending next December.
Leslie Godwin, a LosAngeles-based author and life-transition coach, agreed that January is a tough time of the year. She encouraged people to try to exercise, even when the weather is bad.
"Exercise releases hormones that give us a sense of well-being, and it should be seen as an antidote to feeling down or blue," she said.
Godwin, who emphasized that it generally takes three weeks to create a habit, said the best exercise is any kind you are likely to do at least five days a week.
"If you start exercising around New Year's, then you will have formed a positive new habit by the end of the month," she said.
Even if you aren't exercising, there is some good news: It's only six months until what Arnall figures will be the happiest day of 2006 -- June 23.
"In June there is a lot more of an emphasis on nature, with plenty of flowers and trees in full bloom," he said. "There's also the likelihood that people are seeing more of their neighbors because of more daylight.
"People are experiencing positive memories of their childhood summers and they are looking forward to taking their holidays," he said. "All this happens in June, so that it's usually a very good month."
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060123/OPINION01/601230306/1068/OPINION
Editorials
Day of Gloom
Can't explain your melancholy? You're not alone
January 23, 2006
Welcome to the gloomiest day of 2006. That's right, 23 days into the year and this is going to be the low point. It has nothing to do with the reorganization announcement due today from Ford Motor Co., although that's not going to help.
No, according to a Cox News Service report, there are "personal and seasonal factors" combining to bring today down, based on a formula devised by a health psychologist at the University of Cardiff in Wales.
Obviously unaware of all the excitement in the air across Michigan because of a) the Super Bowl coming to Detroit in less than two weeks and b) Gov. Jennifer Granholm's State of the State speech Wednesday, researcher Cliff Arnall says most people are struggling at this time of year because of bleak weather, excess debt from holiday spending and a general lack of meaningful events to anticipate. Arnall also says that by now, most people already have broken their New Year's resolutions, so they are feeling like failures, which adds to the general sense of blah in the air.
Plus it's Monday, eh?
Arnall says the formula through which he arrived at his conclusion about today holds true for Britain and the United States, although it may be a less depressing kind of day in those parts of the United States that receive sunshine and warmer temperatures.
That is not usually the case on these peninsulas at this time of year.
So if someone suggests you are dragging a bit today, explain that this is just the day for it.
And the good news: This is as bad as it is going to get.
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/13690039.htm
Today is the bluest of Mondays
PSYCHOLOGY: A British researcher's equation pegs today as the year's worst day.
BY SHELLEY EMLING
COX NEWS SERVICE
LONDON - Having a bad day? Well, no wonder. According to one scientist, Monday, Jan. 23 is the gloomiest day of 2006.
Cliff Arnall, a health psychologist at the University of Cardiff in Wales, has devised a formula that combines personal and seasonal factors to calculate the year's emotional low point.
Arnall said January is a time when people are simply working and don't have a lot of events, parties or holidays to look forward to.
People are struggling to cope not only with the bleak weather, but also with the debts they amassed by spending too much over the holidays.
It's also a time when people are starting to feel like failures because they've broken their resolutions so shortly after making them.
On paper, the formula looks like this:
The variables are (W)eather, (D)ebt, (d) monthly salary, (T)ime since Christmas, time since failure to (Q)uit a bad habit, low (M)otivational levels and (NA), the need to take action.
"All these elements converge to make for a very unhappy day on the 23rd of January," Arnall said.
He said his formula holds true for the United States as well as Britain, except perhaps in places such as Texas, Florida or California, where better weather could help to lift the day's depressing mood.
But Arnall said there are ways to beat the late-January blues.
Instead of trying to turn over the same old new leaf every New Year's Day, he suggested, why not resolve to make a change in a different month, such as March or April?
"I also advise people to do the unusual every January," he said. "Go for a walk in the woods or just get out and about."
Arnall said groups of friends or even co-workers could throw parties to celebrate the 23rd, because being around people you like can be a great way to boost your spirits. People also could resolve to make a budget for their holiday spending next December.
Leslie Godwin, a LosAngeles-based author and life-transition coach, agreed that January is a tough time of the year. She encouraged people to try to exercise, even when the weather is bad.
"Exercise releases hormones that give us a sense of well-being, and it should be seen as an antidote to feeling down or blue," she said.
Godwin, who emphasized that it generally takes three weeks to create a habit, said the best exercise is any kind you are likely to do at least five days a week.
"If you start exercising around New Year's, then you will have formed a positive new habit by the end of the month," she said.
Even if you aren't exercising, there is some good news: It's only six months until what Arnall figures will be the happiest day of 2006 -- June 23.
"In June there is a lot more of an emphasis on nature, with plenty of flowers and trees in full bloom," he said. "There's also the likelihood that people are seeing more of their neighbors because of more daylight.
"People are experiencing positive memories of their childhood summers and they are looking forward to taking their holidays," he said. "All this happens in June, so that it's usually a very good month."
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060123/OPINION01/601230306/1068/OPINION
Editorials
Day of Gloom
Can't explain your melancholy? You're not alone
January 23, 2006
Welcome to the gloomiest day of 2006. That's right, 23 days into the year and this is going to be the low point. It has nothing to do with the reorganization announcement due today from Ford Motor Co., although that's not going to help.
No, according to a Cox News Service report, there are "personal and seasonal factors" combining to bring today down, based on a formula devised by a health psychologist at the University of Cardiff in Wales.
Obviously unaware of all the excitement in the air across Michigan because of a) the Super Bowl coming to Detroit in less than two weeks and b) Gov. Jennifer Granholm's State of the State speech Wednesday, researcher Cliff Arnall says most people are struggling at this time of year because of bleak weather, excess debt from holiday spending and a general lack of meaningful events to anticipate. Arnall also says that by now, most people already have broken their New Year's resolutions, so they are feeling like failures, which adds to the general sense of blah in the air.
Plus it's Monday, eh?
Arnall says the formula through which he arrived at his conclusion about today holds true for Britain and the United States, although it may be a less depressing kind of day in those parts of the United States that receive sunshine and warmer temperatures.
That is not usually the case on these peninsulas at this time of year.
So if someone suggests you are dragging a bit today, explain that this is just the day for it.
And the good news: This is as bad as it is going to get.