{"id":682338,"date":"2026-01-08T13:59:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T13:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/682338\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T13:59:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T13:59:10","slug":"january-blues-narrative-may-do-more-harm-than-good-charity-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/682338\/","title":{"rendered":"January Blues narrative may do more harm than good, charity warns"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Merseyside mental health professional has warned that labelling January as a depressing month risks trivialising mental health issues.<\/p>\n

Hannah McGovern, Campaigns and Marketing Officer at mental health charity Be Free Campaign<\/a> thinks instilling poor expectations of the month can make people feel worse than they originally would.<\/p>\n

Terms such as January Blues and Blue Monday have become commonplace to mark the beginning of the year and end of the festive period.<\/p>\n

McGovern said: \u201cLabelling certain days as inherently depressing can trivialise mental ill health while also reinforcing the expectation that people should feel low.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen this messaging is repeated year after year, especially in corporate or media spaces, it can create a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. People may feel pressure to identify with the label even if it doesn\u2019t reflect their experience,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The January Blues are an umbrella term that encapsulates low mood during the month.<\/p>\n

Blue Monday refers to the third Monday in January and is often described as the saddest day of the year. This year it falls on the 19th.<\/p>\n

There is no scientific proof that this day is any different to others. It is widely considered that the concept was a PR stunt that was initially used to sell holidays, although the term has caught on and is still used today.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t to say that feeling low in January isn\u2019t normal. Common disorders including Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)<\/a> is associated with feeling depressed during the winter months \u2013 but this usually goes away in the summer.<\/p>\n

McGovern said: \u201cJanuary often follows a period of rest, routine disruption, and social connection.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour body may be used to late mornings or relaxing, so returning to work and structure can feel jarring and take some time to readjust.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cThere\u2019s also a growing \u2018reset\u2019 or \u2018lock-in\u2019 culture in January, where people feel pressured to change or improve their lives unrealistically.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat can become an unhealthy pressure when change is framed as urgency rather than gradual growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Be Free Campaign believes this messaging can affect anyone, but especially those who are already vulnerable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese labels can reinforce the stigma that their struggles are \u2018just January blues\u2019,\u201d said McGovern.<\/p>\n

Labels may also discourage people from seeking help if their distress is dismissed as the January Blues.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cWhen people minimise their own experiences or assume they should simply wait it out, they may delay recognising when they need support.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s particularly concerning when we already know many people hesitate to seek support due to these stigmas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important to contact your GP or a mental help professional if these negative thoughts keep reoccurring for a long period of time or are severely impacting your life,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Featured image (C) Glen Carrie via Unsplash<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Merseyside mental health professional has warned that labelling January as a depressing month risks trivialising mental health…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":682339,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[206816,748,393,4884,51925,206817,179,218,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-682338","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-blue-monday","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-january","13":"tag-january-blues","14":"tag-liverpool","15":"tag-mental-health","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115859840292415911","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/682339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}