Today is blue Monday, apparently the most depressing day of the year. According to a formula the third January of Monday combines a variety of factors which make for a pretty miserable day, these include the weather, debt, monthly salary, time since Christmas, time since failing our new year’s resolutions, low motivational levels, and the feeling of a need to take action. But is Blue Monday really a thing?

While Christmas now seems like a distant memory and payday is still out of touching distance, there are plenty of other things that could make this a great day. Lets face it none of us live in the UK for the great weather, and New Years resolutions are there to be broken. So what really makes today so terrible? Is it a concept provided by the media that we have embraced like so many others?

With #’s galore across social media suggesting everyone and their dog are suffering from Blue Monday, the risk is the trivialisation of depression and mental illness. With such effort going into breaking the stigma around mental illness and those affected by it, we should consider those around us that have Blue Monday and much worse every day of their lives. Instead of using Blue Monday as a reason to feel sorry for ourselves, let’s use it as a day to spread awareness.

According to mentalhealth.org 1 in 6 of us have experienced a mental health issue in the last week. And yet over half of those people would have been embarrassed or scared to speak to anyone about it. For those people around you suffering with anxiety and depression, be they family, friends, co-workers, use today to reach out to them, start a conversation, drop them a message, even a smile to a stranger on the train could make someones day a little less blue. In the process, it might make your day better too.