If you're bummed out today, you're not alone.

If you're pissed, despondent, low, blue, mournful, depressed, dejected, or "in the bell jar", take solace.

If you feel gloomy or downcast or spiritless or mopey or dopey or down, there's good reasons to frown, Christmas is super far away, our New Year's resolutions have probably already gone to shit, the weather sucks, and it's time for us to start thinking about bills and taxes, This is London says, which is why January 22 (or the third Monday of January) is the crappiest day of the year.

More than 85 per cent of us expect the future to be happier than it is now, according to researchers.

Dr Cliff Arnall, a Cardiff University psychologist, devised the formula that shows today is the most depressing.

His equation takes into account six factors: weather, debt, time since Christmas, time since failing our new year's resolutions, low motivational levels and the feeling of a need to take action.

Taken together they pinpoint today as 'Blue Monday'.

- Indulge in one of those super expensive pastries that everyone falls all over themselves about. If you don't know where it is, find a few hot women and ask them "do you know where I can find a delicious, huge, and overpriced cupcake nearby?"

- Leave work early. Everyone's sick -- why should they have all the fun?

- Go to a strip club. Have one beer, get one lap dance, and get out of there. This is the sort of quickie where everyone wins.

- Give $20 to a homeless person. You will smile for weeks.

- Run as fast as you can for as long as you can, turn around, and run back home. Then take a really long shower while thinking about the dirtiest sexiest lovable things you will allow your mind to imagine.

- Start an anonymous blog and just let it all out.

- Go to Pink's, The Pantry, Tommy's, M&M, Fatburger, or In-N-Out and indulge in some old-school LA excellence.

- Write someone the sweetest email ever.

- Go to a movie, book reading, concert, or cock fight tonight, no matter what... even alone!

- Replay that Bears win yesterday on your Tivo

photo by Christine Renee