This Week: Happiest Of The Year?

To hear psychologists tell it, this week—the third week of June—should be the happiest one of the year, a time when flowers, sunny evenings, and pleasant memories of childhood summers all come together to create a lot of very good moods.

At least that's what some people think.

A few years back, a Welsh psychologist named Dr. Cliff Arnall, once a lecturer at Cardiff University, famously devised a formula that combined various ingredients to calculate the gloomiest and happiest days of the year.

The complicated equation comprised several variables: (O) being outdoors and outdoor activity, (N) nature, (S) social interaction, (Cpm) childhood summers and positive memories, (T) temperature, and (He) holidays and looking forward to time off.

Arnall comprised a similar equation to figure out the worst time of year: (W) weather, (D) debt, (d) monthly salary, (T) time since Christmas, (Q) time since failed resolution quit attempt, (M) low motivational levels, and (NA) the need to take action.

More recently, Arnall admitted that it wasn't particularly helpful to identify the year's worst day—which is generally the third Monday in January—because it became "a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Even so, many therapists agree that it's important to take stock of your surroundings and their impact on your personality.

"In June there is a lot more of an emphasis on nature, with plenty of flowers and trees in full bloom," Arnall has noted.

"There's also the likelihood that most people are seeing a lot more of their neighbors because of more daylight," he said. "People are experiencing positive memories of childhood summers and they are looking forward to taking their holidays.

"All this happens in June, so that it's usually a very good month," he said.

At least one resident, though, was skeptical of the equation.

"School is about to end for the year which means parents are scrambling to figure out what to do with the kids," said Carrie Goldsmith, mother of two. "I'm not really sure if this is the best time of the year or the worst time. I just can't say yet. Maybe ask me in a week."

So what do you think? Is this the happiest week of the year for you? Let us know in the comments section below.