外国人常说的“Blue Monday”究竟是什么意思？

又是周一啦！大家今天的心情指数如何？

在英文中有一个词叫作“Blue Monday”。你知道它的含义吗？它被公认为是每年最让人感到“丧”的一天。那种假期结束后的落差感、堆积如山的工作，是不是让你还没踏进办公室，就想原地躺平？

01

“Blue Monday”是什么意思？

Blue Monday is the holiday that no one wants to celebrate.

“蓝色星期一”大概是最不受欢迎、也没人想庆祝的节日。

Typically landing on the third Monday in January, Blue Monday marks the day when many people find themselves suffering from apost-holidayslump mixed with disappointment over unfulfilled resolutions,an influx ofbills from the holiday season, a bad case of the winter blues or some combination of all the above.

它通常出现在每年1月的第三个星期一。这一天，很多人会陷入节后综合症：假期结束后的空虚感、年初立下的目标没能实现的失落、节日期间累积的账单压力，再加上冬季带来的情绪低落——往往是这些负面情绪交织在一起的结果。

“This has no clinical basis whatsoever,” Christine Crawford, MD, MPH, associate medical director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness tells TODAY.com in a phone interview.

“这种说法完全没有任何临床依据。”美国国家精神疾病联盟（NAMI）副医疗主任、医学博士兼公共卫生硕士Christine Crawford在接受 TODAY.com 电话采访时表示。

In fact, the idea of Blue Monday can be traced to Cliff Arnall, a United Kingdom psychologist coined the phrase in 2005 as part of a PR campaign for a travel company looking to identify the most glum day of the year. Using a variety of benchmarks, Arnall determined that the third Monday in January fit the bill.

事实上，“蓝色星期一”这一概念可以追溯到英国心理学家Cliff Arnall。他在2005 年为一家旅游公司策划公关活动时，首次提出了这个说法，目的是找出一年中“最令人情绪低落的一天”。Arnall 综合了多项指标后，认定1 月的第三个星期一最符合这一标准。

02

如何应对“Blue Monday”？

“Try to look at ways in which you can break up your day so that it feels manageable, so that you have things that are built into the day that are motivating,” Crawford says.

Crawford表示：“试着寻找一些方法来拆解你全天的任务，让工作量变得易于掌控。在日程中加入一些能带给你动力的小环节。”

“If you have a job where you have to focus for a long period of time, schedule in breaks during your day where you can reward yourself, whether it’s to watch one episode of a show or spend some time on social media, and then you get back to work,” she suggests.

她建议道：“如果你的工作需要长时间高度集中，记得在一天中穿插安排一些休息时间作为给自己的奖励。比如看一集剧或刷一会儿社交媒体，然后再重新投入工作。”

Crawford also recommends intentionally staying connected to people after the holiday season and not isolating, even if that feels like the easiest option.

此外，Crawford还建议在假期结束后，要有意识地保持与他人的社交联系，不要自我封闭——即便躲在自己的小世界里看起来似乎是最省力的选择。

“You really have to beproactivewhen it comes to setting up opportunities to connect with friends and family. Make sure that you are scheduling time to call your loved ones or scheduling time to have that brunch with your girlfriend.”

“在维系与亲友的关系上，你需要更加主动一些。一定要抽出时间给家人打个电话，或者和闺蜜约一顿早午餐。”

Unsurprisingly, she also recommends moving your body. “Any opportunity that you have to engage your muscles to be active, you are actually treating your Blue Monday, your low mood, because you are causing your body to release its ownantidepressants.”

此外，她也强调，多活动活动身体非常重要。她表示：“只要有机会让肌肉活动起来，其实就是在对抗‘蓝色星期一’和情绪低落，因为运动会促使身体释放自身的‘天然抗抑郁物质’。”

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Crawford says tocut yourself some slack. “Have some grace for yourself,” she says. “Set up realistic expectations about your daily routine and your daily schedule and have that build and expand over time. But make sure to be realistic about it.”

最后，或许也是最重要的一点，Crawford建议要放过自己。她说：“对自己宽容一些。为日常生活和工作计划设定一个切合实际的预期，然后循序渐进地去完善。但核心前提是：一定要脚踏实地。”

生活不必时刻紧绷。 周一只是新开始的序曲，而不是压垮你的大山。今天，你打算给自己安排一个小奖励来对抗“Blue Monday”吗？在评论区分享你的快乐小秘诀吧！

英语表达积累

post-holiday：假期后的；节后（的）

例句：Many people feel tired and unmotivated during the post-holiday period.

很多人在假期结束后都会感到疲惫、提不起劲。

an influx of：大量涌入；蜂拥而至

例句：After the holidays, many families face an influx of bills.

假期过后，很多家庭都会迎来一大堆账单。

proactive：主动的；积极预防的

例句：You need to be proactive about staying in touch with friends and family.

你需要主动去维系和朋友、家人的联系。

antidepressant：抗抑郁药；（口语中也可指）抗抑郁的物质

例句：Exercise helps the body release natural antidepressants.

运动能帮助身体释放天然的抗抑郁物质。

cut yourself some slack：对自己宽容一点；别对自己太苛刻，原本是航海和攀岩里的说法，意思是把绳子放松一点，别拉得太紧

例句：It’s been a tough year — cut yourself some slack.

这一年已经很不容易了，别再对自己那么苛刻了。

Ref : https://www.today.com/life/holidays/what-is-blue-monday-rcna187319

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