The third Monday in January is considered by many as "the saddest day of the year" or "Blue Monday", as it is known in English. But why?
The belief about this day goes back to 2005, when the agency Porter Novelli quoted in a statement the research of psychologist Cliff Arnall, of the University of Cardiff, in which he proposed that the day was the saddest of the year, estimated by this formula math.
According to this formula, the W is the climate; the D are the debts and the d is the salary; the T is the time since Christmas; Q is the time that has passed since he failed to try New Year's resolutions; M is the motivation; and Na is the need to do something.
This formula is obviously illogical because ... what is being estimated and what do you take as an indicator of these variables? How can you compare monetary values with climate?
Porter Novelli's intention to use "the Arnall equation" was to find the time of the year when people were more likely to hire trips and buy plane tickets. According to the formula, this happens in January.
People feel sad when they do not have anything planned, but once they book their holidays they have a goal, they work towards that free time of relaxation, "said a spokesman for Porter Novelli.
Saying that it is the saddest day of the year was just that the travel company Sky Travel had greater exposure and reinforced the idea that traveling is the best solution for sadness, which would increase sales.
In addition, the formula might not be from Arnall, since the British newspaper The Guardian later reported that the statement with it was sent to various academics who were offered money to use their name and attribute the "investigation".
So no, it's not the saddest day of the year.