JUST one more day to go!Debt, family strife and a lack of sunshine can all make people feel depressed in January, an Ipswich psychologist said today.

JUST one more day to go!

Debt, family strife and a lack of sunshine can all make people feel depressed in January, an Ipswich psychologist said today.

Lilian Power, who has been practising psychology for 20 years, said the weeks after Christmas are a time when people are forced to confront the problems in their lives.

Miss Power, who is based in Bramford in Ipswich, said people may feel this month that their lives are not working.

She spoke after Ipswich Citizens Advice Bureau said debt problems were increasing and that the pressure to buy expensive Christmas presents was a factor.

Miss Power said: “People throw a lot of money at one day in the expectation it will change things.”

But their expectations could be unrealistic, she said.

An academic study has claimed that January 24 is the worst day of the entire year.

Cliff Arnalls, of the University of Cardiff, made headlines in 2005 when he developed a formula which showed debt, the weather, people's desire to quit their jobs and the time elapsed since Christmas made it the worst day.

Miss Power said the months after Christmas have traditionally lead to an increase in people getting divorced and there may also be a rise in the number of people suffering from depression.

“Parents think it will be unkind to their children to divorce before Christmas.

“It's also a time when people feel affected by the lack of light.

“As winter draws in they can shrink inside themselves a bit - and there is some scientific evidence that the sun has an effect.”

Miss Power said this could explain the popularity of holidays to foreign sunspots like Spain and Greece during the winter.