Why the third Monday in January is the most depressing day of the year

After the excitement of Christmas and New Year's celebrations fade, the start of the year can be a tough time for many and impact on mental health.

Since 2005, the third Monday in January has been dubbed 'Blue Monday', taking the title for "most depressing day of the year". This year, that falls on January 17.

While the term was originally coined in a press release by a UK travel website, psychologists say there is something to it.

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"The concept originated from a marketing campaign but there was some 'science' behind it," Sydney-based psychologist Dr Tim Sharp tells 9Honey.

"Essentially, they came up with a formula and surveyed a number of people to determine the day when most people were most depressed."

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As New Year's resolutions quickly fall by the wayside it's easy for people to become quickly disillusioned.

However, as someone who promotes Positive Psychology at The Happiness Institute, Tim who is also known as Dr Happy, says there are things we can do to avoid a negative mindset at this time of year.

"If you've had a difficult year or if you've experienced losses of failures or disappointments, it's important to acknowledge these and allow yourself to feel whatever you feel," Dr Happy explains, adding: "It's perfectly OK not to be OK all the time.

"At the same time, however, it's easy to overlook the good things, the wins and successes, so make an effort to recall and savour these, to practice gratitude and appreciation for all you have (rather than just thinking about what you don't have)."

January is notoriously a time for high divorce rates, relationships ending and people searching for new jobs as they look to start the year afresh.

"Of course we enjoy holidays and so of course we'll look forward to them and then experience some sadness or grief when they're over. But the idea that we can't enjoy or be happy at work, for the rest of (majority) of the year, is definitely unhelpful and invalid.

"There are so many ways in which work brings happiness and satisfaction and positive emotion; work provides structure and social interaction, stimulation and a sense of accomplishment.

"Focusing more on these and actively working to create more positivity in and for our work can be very worthwhile."

Dr Happy adds that "it's important to be realistic" and accept that you can't control everything to help alleviate some of the anxiety.

"Experiencing negative emotions is OK, it's normal and appropriate. But we can minimise these and enjoy more positive emotions by focusing more on what we can control and less on what we can't control.

"Acceptance is extremely valuable in this context," he says.

Some of the things we can control though, is how we choose to spend the day.

Catching up with good friends or family can help provide company, a distraction and a positive mood boost — as can sports, listening to music or treating yourself.

If you or someone you know is struggling, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636. In an emergency, call 000.