‘A psychologically informed approach to coping with ‘Blue Monday’ and beyond…’

21.01.2022: As I write this week’s PIE blog, as the lead for Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE), at the national youth homeless charity — Centrepoint, I am minded that apparently this week contains the most depressing day of the year or ‘Blue Monday’ (Monday 17th January 2022). You might have seen something on this in the media this week, noting how a psychologist (Arnell, 2003) from Cardiff University used an equation to determine this ‘fact’ based on weather conditions, our debt levels, the time since Christmas, the time since failing our new year’s resolutions, our low motivational levels and the feeling of a need to take action. However, the good news is that despite the ongoing persistence of this equation in the media, other psychologists have debunked the science behind this (e.g. Burnett, 2014; https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2013/jan/21/blue-monday-depressing-day-nonsense-science). Moreover, it has been noted that the concept of ‘Blue Monday’ was largely created as a PR exercise by the holiday companies to get us to book our summer holidays (c.f. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/blog/what-does-blue-monday-mean-our-mental-health)!

So why has the concept persisted? Perhaps because it ‘feels true’ as January is a difficult month for many people (and not just because many of us undertake a ‘dry’ January of no alcohol post-Christmas or it is a particularly long time to pay day!). However, most mental health professionals would note that identifying one day, as the most ‘depressing’ of the year is unhelpful because everyone is different and experiences different circumstances. Perhaps for you, your colleagues or the homeless young people we support, there may be other days of the year that we actually find more difficult? For example, days that we associate with a loss (e.g. anniversaries) and so we need to be mindful of these individual differences and not take a ‘one size fits all approach’. Moreover, it is important to distinguish between temporarily feeling low in mood or motivation, which we can all experience from time to time, and experiencing longer-term depression or mental health issues that can be disabling within our everyday lives.

Regardless of whether this week we have experienced ‘Blue Monday’ or not, the past couple of years with the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have placed significant pressure upon all of our mental health (if not our physical health as well). Consequently, the concept of ‘Blue Monday’ can be most useful if it is a reminder of the importance of taking care of ourselves, and each other, to promote psychological well-being. The pandemic has effected many of the things that would normally protect our mental health such as our social connections, financial security, physical health, our activities as well as our hopes for the future). Therefore, it is arguably more important than ever as we move into 2022, to refocus our attention on what we can do to increase our psychological well-being or for those we work with or support.

As a result, I thought I would use this week’s blog to highlight some of the key actions we can take to support our psychological well-being (or the mental health of those homeless young people we support). Some key tips for managing are mental health, not just in January but also throughout the year, are highlighted here by the Mental Health Foundation: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/how-to-mental-health. These include the importance of talking about how we feel with those we trust or those we have formed positive and supportive relationships with. These can include our friends and family, as well as our colleagues or if we are significantly struggling, seeking out support from mental health professionals or our GP. It is important to reach out and connect with others, and most importantly not be afraid to ask for help if we think we might need it. There is no shame in struggling as we can all find modern life, and juggling all our personal and professional commitments, a challenge. In Centrepoint, our PIE Team offers staff support sessions, so please do not hesitate to get in touch if you are worried about your mental health and we can signpost you to appropriate support. For the homeless young people we support, they are a variety of agencies that can offer help including our own in-house Health Team (c.f. https://centrepoint.org.uk/what-we-do/health/).

It is also important that we keep physically active. Regular exercise can boost our self-esteem and improve our concentration and sleep. For example, I have challenged myself this year to take part in the #NHS1000miles on Twitter, which is to walk, run, cycle or swim 1000 miles in 2022. It is not too late to join this and actually it is not as horrifically difficult as it sounds as over the course of the year this distance only equates to 2.74 miles (or around 5km) a day. Just walking the dog on the school run, or walking to and from the train station if I am travelling out to one of our supported accommodation services to deliver reflective practice sessions has really increased the amount of physical exercise I am undertaking and thankfully I don’t have to go anywhere near a gym! You could even do this as part of a fundraising event either alone or with others (c.f. https://centrepoint.org.uk/get-involved/fundraising-and-events/fundraising/).

Related to this of course is the importance of eating healthily. Our brains need nutrients in order to function well in just the same way as all the other organs in our body. Ensuring we take our lunch breaks (even when we are busy) and eat our ‘five a day’ is critical to maintaining good health. Sadly, many of the homeless young people we support can struggle with adequate nutrition, particularly if they have been rough sleeping and this is why our dietetics service and in-house food points can be so critical to support them to develop healthy eating habits for life (c.f. https://centrepoint.org.uk/about-us/blog/the-food-point-centrepoints-social-supermarket/). We also need to ensure that we are managing our alcohol intake. Alcohol is a depressant drug, so although we might drink it to change our mood or increase our confidence (it can be a very good disinhibitor), the effect is only temporary and when it wears off, we often feel worse. Trying to keep within the safe drinking limits, including having at least 2–3 days ‘alcohol free’ per week, is therefore important (c.f. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-support/calculating-alcohol-units/) for both our physical and mental health.

On our Centrepoint PIE day training, we also talk about the importance of self-care when we work in the homeless sector. This work can be emotionally draining at times, particularly (but not exclusively) if we are working in a ‘frontline’ role wherein we may be exposed to the trauma of those homeless young people we support (i.e. vicarious trauma). This is a normal response because if we are compassionate people then listening to and empathising with the distress of others can take its toll on us. When we connect with and support another person, as per within a PIE based relationship, we will often be naturally effected by what they tell us. In fact, if we are not effected then this can actually be a ‘red flag’ or sign we are experiencing burnout or ‘compassion fatigue’ and so definitely need to take a break and engage in some self-care! Everyone’s self-care is different (have I mentioned before in this blog that I hate running?!) but finding something that works for us is important. For me, it is yoga, spending time with family, watching a good film or drama series and getting out in nature to walk the dog. Even simply taking a ‘break’ from work is important. It might not even be as much as taking periods of annual leave (although that is important too). Rather, just taking 5 minutes away from our desk or screen or after a particularly difficult or challenging conversation or long meeting to refocus or recharge our batteries can sometimes make all the difference to how we are feeling that day.

It can also help our mental health this January to refocus back on activities, hobbies or interests that we enjoy or we are good at. Psychologists (e.g. within Cognitive Behaviour Therapy: CBT) often highlight that psychological well-being and improved mood can come from undertaking a mixture of activities that give us mastery and pleasure. In other words, undertaking activities that enable us to achieve something (i.e. completing a task at work or home, such as DIY or gardening) should be balanced with undertaking activities that we do just for the enjoyment (i.e. watching a good film, spending time with others, listening to music or reading a book). Achieving something boosts our self-esteem whilst enjoying ourselves can decrease our stress. Therefore, what activities (both mastery and pleasure based) can we or those we support be encouraged to engage in this month? Perhaps we can try something new this year that we have always wanted to do, or perhaps re-start something we used to enjoy before lockdown now that COVID-19 restrictions are starting to ease?

Interestingly, being altruistic or helping another person can also actually positively impact upon our psychological well-being or to put it another way ‘kindness matters’ (e.g. Otake et al, 2006). Doing something for another person, however small, can actually make us feel better because we feel useful and of value, which boosts our self-esteem and self-confidence. It can be useful to remind ourselves perhaps of why we are working in the homeless sector, and therefore within some of our reflective practice sessions at Centrepoint we often reflect on not just what has been challenging but also what has been going well. It can be hard within this work at times to see positive change, but often when we stand back and reflect, we can see how even small steps can add up to a big change for a homeless young person we are supporting. This can give us a sense of achievement and motivate us to ‘keep going’, particularly when the path ahead can seem challenging or impossible.

Finally, psychologists would also argue that it is important to ‘accept who we are’. For some of the homeless young people we support, the reason that they are within Centrepoint services is because family relationships have broken down because they have not been accepted for their authentic selves. For example, around their sexuality or gender identification (c.f. https://centrepoint.org.uk/about-us/blog/creating-safe-spaces-for-homeless-lgbtqplus-youths/). However, this does not just refer to this issue but also how much we are able to generally accept ourselves, both our strengths and challenges. Recognising that all humans are different (and that this diversity is a good thing!) can help us to accept that we are unique and are all of worth or value. Accepting ourselves for who we are right now (and helping those homeless young people we support to do similar) is much more psychologically healthy than comparing ourselves to others (especially on social media!) who will not have had our life experiences or challenges. This acceptance of ourselves underpins many psychological therapies (e.g. Acceptance & Commitment Therapy: ACT) and can boost our self-confidence and self-esteem, which in turn can help us to cope better with future challenges that we are likely to face.

Therefore, in summary, I have been reflecting this week whether we can re-frame ‘Blue Monday’ differently this year. Accepting of course that it is not an evidence-based concept, it can still be a helpful reminder at the start of another year of the importance of looking after our psychological well-being as well as those homeless young people we support. The past year has been challenging for all of us with the COVID-19 pandemic but all of us have shown great adaptability in the face of one of the most significant challenges in living memory. In Centrepoint, our amazing staff have coped with many crises and have kept our ‘frontline’ services open for homeless young people, embraced digitalisation and innovation, and worked collaboratively online. I am hopeful that with the increase in vaccination and available treatments that we can start to finally move beyond COVID-19 in 2022 to a ‘new normal’ that continues to acknowledge the importance of and prioritises our psychological well-being. Therefore, I would encourage us all to use ‘Blue Monday’ week to reflect on what we have learnt over the past year, and use this opportunity to make a commitment for the year ahead to proactively manage our psychological well-being…