Create your own workplace carnival and samba - using everyday office items –
to beat Blue Monday on January 16th
A Brazilian percussionist from Yorkshire is leading a nationwide campaign to encourage everyone to use everyday office items to create their own office samba bands to help beat the Blue Monday blues on ‘the most depressing day of the year’ on Monday January 16th.
Claudio has produced a special video showing how to transform everyday office items from staplers, paper clips and waste bins into samba-sound creating rhythms at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngviv_37vzY .
According to Batley-based percussionist Claudio Kron do Brazil everyone has a natural rhythm and by using ordinary items, such as staplers to create a cha-cha-cha rhythm, paperclips to produce a shaking sound, and waste bins for bongos, the downbeat workplace can be transformed into a fun carnival atmosphere.
By creating a common rhythm Claudio believes the resulting upbeat sounds works as a drum therapy to help bring people together and take their minds off depressing thoughts
A special campaign web site, www.beatbluemonday.org.uk is offering practical advice to tackle the effects of Blue Monday, the symbolic date for the low point in the year, along with a special ‘5 stage Binge Happiness Work-Out’ programme to help people to make themselves happier.
Campaigners are aiming to reduce stigma associated with depression by talking about it and using the day as a springboard to improve quality of life by promoting and encouraging more happiness.
Blue Monday has evolved from an idea originally conceived by Cliff Arnall, formerly of Cardiff University, who created a mathematical formula to identify a number of the elements contributing to a general feeling of mid winter blues.
The syndrome was first defined by Cliff Arnall, formerly of Cardiff University, and marks the third week of January when people suffer from a series of combined depressive effects (see below for the mathematical formula).
Commenting on his efforts to encourage everyone to create their own workplace carnival Claudio said: “I believe that if your heart beats you can play the drums. The Carnival has proved time and time again to be the greatest event for making people happy – by using both drumming and carnival we can help everyone triumph on Blue Monday.”
Claudio kron do Brazil is a percussionist, songwriter, dancer and poet from Bahia in Brazil who came to the UK in 1996. He now performs and runs percussion workshops all over the world and works with community groups and businesses to spread his philosophy of the power of percussion to create harmony, happiness and health.
His flowing dreadlocks and ability to engage audiences into the world of drumming have become his trademarks.
Further details about how to overcome ‘Blue Monday’ and how you can do your bit to help charity can be found at the website: www.beatbluemonday.org.uk. The public is also being urged to submit their own creative ideas for beating the January blues to the site.
ENDS
For further details please contact Andy Green on 07815 884 525 Alternatively,andy@andygreencreativity.com
Notes to editors
Cliff Arnall is a former researcher, lecturer and post graduate tutor at the Medical and Dental School of Cardiff University. He has worked in the NHS helping people with depression and addictive behaviour. He also runs courses and gives talks for organisations on stress and anger management, happiness, understanding depression and the psychology of success.
Cliff Arnall devised the following mathematical formula:
[W (D-d)] x TQ
M x Na
The model was broken down using six immediately identifiable factors; weather (W), debt (d), time since Christmas (T), time since failing our new year’s resolutions (Q), low motivational levels (M) and the feeling of a need to take action (Na).
The formula inspired the idea for Blue Monday which this year falls on Monday January 16th as symbolically the worst day of the year, when the Christmas glow has faded away, New Year’s resolutions have been broken, cold Winter weather has set in and credit card bills will be landing on doormats across the land – and the January pay-cheque seems some way away.
Blue Monday – Happiness Work Out
The 5 Step ‘Binge Happiness Work Out’ consists of:
Step 1 – write down four things over the last week which make you feel grateful. Then write and recapture how you felt about one of the best experiences or thing to happen to you in your life.
Step 2 – write about something good you have done for someone else.
Step 3 – write a short email or letter to someone who you like or care for. Why not tell them how good they are and why they are important to you?
Step 4 – make a list of your favourite places you have visited, or places you would like to go. Really imagine you are there.
Step 5 – write about your future where everything has gone as well as you have hoped. Also, think about the present, and make a note of four things that went really well for you during the last week.
In a psychological study by Laura King of Southern Methodist University it demonstrated the positive benefits of writing about their positive future. (L.A.King (2001) ‘The health benefits of writing about life goals’ Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (p798-807))
Publish Date: 26 Jan 2012