Coping for the Seasonally Affected

It just so happens to be an incredibly gloomy day today. And a Monday. The 1970s music group “The Carpenters” weren’t kidding. Looking out the window the sky is a dirty white, there is no bright yellow sun poking through the clouds, and it is just dark enough to roll over and fall back asleep. Starting in my early teens, the weather has consistently had a massive impact on me. It will take my low lower, my high higher. It can even make my high low, and vice versa. The sun, I have often said, can be all I need on some days. A part of me may just worship that sun. It seems that those days when the sky is overcast, the blanket of white clouds is just sucking the energy and life from me. I struggle to get things done. That’s when I’m being positive. When it’s bad, I am entirely useless. For years, I lived on an island in Canada up in the northwest. Maybe one of the most beautiful places in the world. During the spring and summer, it was a paradise. But from October to March, it was my own personal hell. Rain, constantly. Overcast, daily. My depressions were magnified tenfold. I was ugly in those winters. When every day looks like this? You feel it in every bone. Your body is heavier, and your mind is too. I am glad to be off that beautiful island. I am healthier away from it. Now in the Midwest U.S., the sun is more prevalent. But like anywhere, there are still these glum days. And it will take me a couple more hours to convince myself to get dre...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Tags: Brain and Behavior Depression Disorders General Mental Health and Wellness Personal Psychology Self-Help changes in mood Sad Seasonal Affective Disorder seasonal mood Weather Source Type: blogs