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I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) too. I have found the best ways to get through winter wit a decent attitude is two-fold.
1. Get a lightbox (I use the SunTouch Plus) Your VA might be able to get it for you, they gave me mine. (Getting out in natural sunshine is good, too, but often there isn’t enough of it, even if it’s sunny, if you are in northern latitudes.
2. Get the proper treatment for SAD. I take a medicine from Oct/Nov-ish to Mar/April-ish, while things are cloudy and days are shorter. It makes a huge difference.
3. The rest of the things you’ve said are perfect. Diet, family and friends, etc.
4. Plan your expenditures and budget! Decide how much you are going to spend on presents, parties, travel, special meals, special baking, etc. And do it now, rather than just before. That will help to keep you on track, and not have a debt hangover in spring. And it makes it easier to say yes or no to last minute invitations if you have your budget laid out.
Thanks for the advice! I recently bought a “Happy Light” from Amazon. I don’t really waste my time with trying to get the VA to do much for me IRT smaller things. It’s too cumbersome and I value my time. The light has definitely helped and will be part of my winter regimen.
Oh, boy! This is all good struff you wrote, Drew, and I’m with you all the way on this except for that bright picture of Christmas goodies. Damn it! Those are pure love! Everything in that picture is made by hand in someone’s home kitchen! If bakeries have it, then fine, but mostly that is a loving undertaking that costs quite a lot just for the ingredients! Especially with daughters, set out this holiday to bake gingerbread boys. Girls need a daddy’s attention, and the project will help set them up to stay slim, stay beautiful, stay faithful (another topic, but daughters of men who left often have several marriages; my dad gave me the silent treatment, and I went to bed with a lot of men just for good talk!!!). Anyway, let’s put the goodies back into their proper place in family life, as a holiday treat, something made together to lighten the work, a celebration! We really can find our strength in having just one or saying no to something else, in wearing nice clothes in a size that fits us and makes us proud. We can celebrate with a teeny-tiny slice of joy — while knowing that even a teeny tiny bit of hooch is often a slippery slope. . . . This week I drove 15 miles to my VA hospital. My primary care doctor lied to me that I needed to have all my meds looked at to be sure they don’t interact badly. WTF! She’s an MD — do I have to drive 30 miles and waste a day to get this? No. She wanted me evaluated for mental slippage — I who play 4-suit Spider Solitaire! As it turned out, I sailed thru the tests, given by a gentle woman with a Hindu man’s name. It ended up I could choose her for primary care — and of course, I did! I felt so loved and cared for by her. She saw me as a person. She cared about me! Oh, God bless! And Bldg 802 for Geriatric Care is closer to the parking lot! Oh boy! Easy does it, Drew! Things do work out!
I am certainly not trying to frame all holiday treats in a bad light! LOL.
I am warning myself out loud of eating as a way to deal with depression. Mmmm, sugar makes me feel better… wait it’s gone. I think I’ll have another cookie- who brought these Christmas cookies to our house? I have addictive tendencies.
TiffanieG
October 7, 2022 17:45I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) too. I have found the best ways to get through winter wit a decent attitude is two-fold.
1. Get a lightbox (I use the SunTouch Plus) Your VA might be able to get it for you, they gave me mine. (Getting out in natural sunshine is good, too, but often there isn’t enough of it, even if it’s sunny, if you are in northern latitudes.
2. Get the proper treatment for SAD. I take a medicine from Oct/Nov-ish to Mar/April-ish, while things are cloudy and days are shorter. It makes a huge difference.
3. The rest of the things you’ve said are perfect. Diet, family and friends, etc.
4. Plan your expenditures and budget! Decide how much you are going to spend on presents, parties, travel, special meals, special baking, etc. And do it now, rather than just before. That will help to keep you on track, and not have a debt hangover in spring. And it makes it easier to say yes or no to last minute invitations if you have your budget laid out.
Just my thoughts.
Drew
October 26, 2022 13:52Thanks for the advice! I recently bought a “Happy Light” from Amazon. I don’t really waste my time with trying to get the VA to do much for me IRT smaller things. It’s too cumbersome and I value my time. The light has definitely helped and will be part of my winter regimen.
Erika E
October 6, 2022 15:57Thank you for being that friend, Drew. I needed to read this today & I have some planning to do for the winter months myself.
Mimi Routh
October 6, 2022 15:33Oh, boy! This is all good struff you wrote, Drew, and I’m with you all the way on this except for that bright picture of Christmas goodies. Damn it! Those are pure love! Everything in that picture is made by hand in someone’s home kitchen! If bakeries have it, then fine, but mostly that is a loving undertaking that costs quite a lot just for the ingredients! Especially with daughters, set out this holiday to bake gingerbread boys. Girls need a daddy’s attention, and the project will help set them up to stay slim, stay beautiful, stay faithful (another topic, but daughters of men who left often have several marriages; my dad gave me the silent treatment, and I went to bed with a lot of men just for good talk!!!). Anyway, let’s put the goodies back into their proper place in family life, as a holiday treat, something made together to lighten the work, a celebration! We really can find our strength in having just one or saying no to something else, in wearing nice clothes in a size that fits us and makes us proud. We can celebrate with a teeny-tiny slice of joy — while knowing that even a teeny tiny bit of hooch is often a slippery slope. . . . This week I drove 15 miles to my VA hospital. My primary care doctor lied to me that I needed to have all my meds looked at to be sure they don’t interact badly. WTF! She’s an MD — do I have to drive 30 miles and waste a day to get this? No. She wanted me evaluated for mental slippage — I who play 4-suit Spider Solitaire! As it turned out, I sailed thru the tests, given by a gentle woman with a Hindu man’s name. It ended up I could choose her for primary care — and of course, I did! I felt so loved and cared for by her. She saw me as a person. She cared about me! Oh, God bless! And Bldg 802 for Geriatric Care is closer to the parking lot! Oh boy! Easy does it, Drew! Things do work out!
Drew
October 26, 2022 13:55I am certainly not trying to frame all holiday treats in a bad light! LOL.
I am warning myself out loud of eating as a way to deal with depression. Mmmm, sugar makes me feel better… wait it’s gone. I think I’ll have another cookie- who brought these Christmas cookies to our house? I have addictive tendencies.