Whether you call it the blahs, the winter blues or seasonal affective disorder (SAD), I’ve got it. It hit me this week with all the force of a Mack truck.
I’ve dealt with SAD before. In fact, I had one semester in college where I very nearly dropped out of school. I dropped three of the four classes I had at that time. I basically stopped leaving the house. That was the first time I realized that winter weather in Michigan greatly affects my mood.
When I was little, I used to think that I was just sad because baseball season was over. And the local amusement park cedar point was closed for the winter. They had one commercial they used to run in the 80s. It was kind of a tearjerker for a little kid. What I thought was just typical childhood sadness ultimately grew into full-blown seasonal depression. It’s not like I was stressed out or unusually sad about anything. Everything just seems… more dull, a lack of joy which is medically known as anhedonia. I still go to work. I still take my regular day-to-day activities, but I don’t get the same joy out of them that I do otherwise.
I’ve been taking steps to combat this however. I used my Light Therapy Lamp several times this week. For those who are interested in ordering a light therapy lamp, it is important to use a hi lux lamp (typically 10,000 lux). It made such a difference for me on Wednesday that I went ahead and ordered one for Kid 1. I just sent it directly to the Amazon drop off center at his school, I didn’t even tell him that I was ordering it for him. I just went ahead and got it because I knew how useful mine has already been.
Kid 1 is dealing with his first Midwest winter. The last I heard, Madison had 9 1/2 inches of snow earlier this week. I don’t believe kid one has ever seen that much snow in real life before. Certainly not all at one time. Moving into Madison this fall, he seemed very excited about dealing with his first winter. I would say to him, have jokingly have seriously “you’re not ready for this“ I knew that I was right. I was afraid that he might’ve picked up my predisposition or tendency for depression and anxiety.
But all is not doom and gloom. The Light therapy lamp helps. I tried to explain to people that it’s not like happy pills. It doesn’t make you high or anything. It just makes you feel more normal. Right now, just feeling normal would be an improvement for me.
The other thing that has helped me immensely is going to the gym. I kind of dragged myself there Saturday afternoon, but it was worth it. It’s important to know that I didn’t go there and lift weights until I can move my arms anymore. I didn’t go crazy on cardio, but I did get a solid workout in. In any event, I definitely got the endorphins back in production Saturday.
Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, 👍 comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related (and perhaps, not-so-related) posts:
- Finally, What I Went Without: Baseball, Disney, and the Adult Itinerary
- Confessions of a Bandwagon Jumper (and Why I’m Happily Falling Off)
- My war against seasonal depression (and the tools I’m using)
- Why I Stopped Believing in “Right Person, Wrong Time”
- Tacky Gifts and Too-Warm Sweaters: The Struggle of Holiday Politeness
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The article “My war against seasonal depression (and the tools I’m using)” first appeared in Rebuilding Rob.
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