I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues: Reflections on Holiday Sadness
I recently was asked to do an information webinar on ‘Holiday Blues’ to support the wellbeing of the staff of an international company with headquarters in the USA. This was followed by a storytelling session featuring four members of the same company’s global staff sharing personal stories on what they go through during the December/January holiday season.
Now as a repressed historian, I had to get some background information on why the colour blue is associated with sadness and melancholy. It was an interesting learning journey for me, so wanted to share it with a wider audience.
When I think of the colour blue I strongly associate this with the positivity of nature and natural beauty. A blue sky, with or without clouds. The blue sea, from the cyan of shallow lagoons to the midnight blue of the deep ocean. Connecting with nature is an important part of my wellbeing, and growing up on a series of sub-tropical islands (Hong Kong) with heritage from a tropical island (Sri Lanka) and now living on a Western European one (United Kingdom), sea and sky are feature high in the things I like/need to look at as part of helping my mood!
Eco-psychology and eco-therapy: how connecting with nature can improve our wellbeing
Bodies of water are an important part of my wellbeing. I am a water baby, having learned how to swim at a very young age. My kindergarten was next to a British military base where Nepali Gurkhas used to visit. My father shared the story of how my eldest brother (8-9 years old) used to gingerly step into the pool with his inflatable arm bands. My second brother (4-5 years old) used to cry with fear by the side of the pool. Meanwhile, at two years of age I was diving for coins in the deep end of the pool, taught and supervised by the Gurkhas. My father often sarcastically commented on the difference in water confidence between his three sons.
I remember when I was living and working in land-locked Sheffield, South Yorkshire, although I was generally happy with my job and social network there, I knew that something was not quite right. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. When I had to visit Liverpool (Merseyside) for an academic conference and saw the tidal power of the River Mersey as it flowed into the Irish Sea, I realized what I had been missing: water. That phenomena reminded me of the story of one of my Canadian friends from Alberta who grew up in the Rockies. When he went to university/college in eastern Canada (Toronto) it took him a while to realize that he was similarly unsettled because there were no substantial mountains there. When asked to get me to do something while visiting family in Sri Lanka on holiday, my niece exasperatedly (but correctly) said to her elders ‘there is no point…he is watching the sunset on the beach. You won’t get anything out of him now.’
How do you like blue in your fashion? Royal? Prussian? Midnight? Cobalt? Electric? Navy? Powder?
I also thought of blue-coloured formal wear, for some reason! I sometimes wear a navy blue sarong with an embossed blue jacket when I host events. My Australian sister-in-law wore an electric blue sari for one of her wedding parties. A former Miss Universe from the Philippines ( Pia Wurtzbach) wore an eye-catching royal blue dress, the year when the first runner-up from Colombia was mistakenly announced as the winner instead of her. Needless to say, the jilted winner and her blue dress got huge press exposure! The colour chosen represented the seas around the Philippines, with the geometric beadwork design inspired by the sunrays reflecting on the waters of Manila Bay.
Why is the colour blue associated with sadness: a brief history!
One of the reasons relates to my clinical specialty of paediatric emergency medicine. On Caucasian skin, a bruise can take many colours including blue.
Descriptions of bruises were used in French literature at the time of the European plagues after heavy losses of life in the British Isles, including ‘the hearts of [the British] are black and blue with grief’.
This image of a bruised heart resonates with my emphasis of using stories to heal emotional wounds.
A bruised heart certainly conjures up for me themes of sadness, grief, and loss.
In the 19th century, the English phrase blue devils referred to the hallucinations brought on by severe alcohol withdrawal. The mental states of depression and melancholy were also strongly associated with alcoholism, along with the shaking of delirium tremens (DT) that occurred after not drinking in those who normally consumed large volumes of alcohol.
Slaves brought from West Africa to work in the plantations of the Southern States of the USA endured great hardship. The music genre and musical form known as ‘blues’ originated in the deep South around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spiritual, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the African-American culture. ‘Blue notes’ (or worried notes) which were slightly flattened in pitch are an essential part of the blues sounds. The tone and lyrics of these songs were of oppression. With the association of ‘constantly looking over your shoulder’, poor mental health, and alcohol consumption, the blues also became known as ‘the devil’s music’. The blues laid the foundation for many key musical genres including jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, and hip-hop.
The paediatrician in me could not help making reference to a Disney PIXAR film! The cartoon ‘Inside Out’ which centred around a pre-teen character called Riley.
Inside Riley’s mind are five key emotions: joy; anger; disgust; fear; and sadness. I do not think it is a coincidence that the colour theme associated with the character ‘Sadness’ is blue.
#PowerOfConnection: The WHO Commission on Social Connection
The World Health Organization (WHO) have recently established a three-year WHO Commission on Social Connection. This is in recognition that social isolation and loneliness are widespread, painful, and that the research clearly shows that they are harmful to our health and wellbeing.
Social isolation and loneliness increase the risk of early death by as much as obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, and smoking daily. It increases the risk of stroke, cardiovascular diseases, anxiety, depression, and dementia.
It can affect people of all ages. Globally 25% of older people and 5-15% of adolescents are socially isolated and lonely. The proportion in adolescents and young people is steadily increasing.
I warmly welcome the formation of this new WHO Commission. Promoting social connection should take a higher priority in improving wellbeing, economic prosperity, social development, and innovation. Making and maintaining social connections is an important strategy to cope with winter. We live in a time of great disconnect. Stories have the power to connect us to ourselves, our friends and families, our workplaces, our communities, and wider society. Storytelling is just one of many tools that can help us reconnect as humans.
How to beat the winter blues in December and January
There were some very interesting themes that came out of talking about sadness during the holidays. I personally feel that many holidays such as Christmas can affect our mental health because of the often unrealistic expectations that the holidays will be ‘perfect’, with all the right food, presents, and company. The reality is that the commercialization of holiday seasons can put more pressure on us, drive unrealistic spending and in fact cause more financial insecurity.
Grief can be magnified at times of family unity, and this was a strong theme among the employees who shared their stories. Loneliness and social isolation during holidays affects more of us than we think. Those with caring responsibilities need to be reminded of the importance of looking after themselves during the holiday season, and that self-care is a necessity and not an indulgence. Above all, it was clear that a key consideration is how we as a workplace, community, and society can connect with those that that we love, trust, and respect.
Then there is the comedown we may experience after the adrenaline-rush of the holiday season. It can be hard to keep motivated when coming back to work. Depending on the season, the reduction in sunlight, the colder temperatures, and the emotional pressures of the season can all push us towards hibernation tendencies. Social activity and social connection is what I champion. The vehicle that can keep us connected as humans? Sharing personal stories.
