By Louise Kiernan

You may have heard about Blue Monday, but do you know where it came from?

Psychologist, Cliff Arnall, came up with it back in 2004, when a travel company, Sky Travel, asked him for a ‘scientific formula’ for the ‘January blues’. Turns out it wasn’t quite right though. It also turns out that other people grasped hold of this concept. They tried to make it into a commercial day where they would try and sell you holidays or other items that would cheer you up- to supposedly combat the sadness you were feeling! The flip side of this is that it started making people anxious and pressured on what is actually a normal day! Don’t believe the hype!

So, it may be true that for some people January brings the blues because Christmas is over, and we all have to get back to work! But overall, January is seen as a new beginning. You can reinvent yourself, pick up a new hobby, or you can carry on as you were! There are no rules – only the ones you make for yourself.

Not sure if you’re feeling it? Then there are loads of people and places to get support from. Here are just a few:

For support, students can access faculty assistance through the Student Advice Centre’s https://www.dmu.ac.uk/current-students/student-resources/student-advice-centres.aspx

If you need help with your Uni work, you can also check out the library support for Learning and Study purposes which offers help with academic writing, study skills, one-to-one tutorials, disabilities support, and workshops https://library.dmu.ac.uk/class

Photo Credit to Jess Bailey Designs on Pexels