Winter Blues
In the past few years, it has become more apparent to me that I go through significant mood swings during the winter where I would get irritated very easily, often over very insignificant things. Yes, I know I can be a drama queen and occasionally overreact to things, but this is different. Even as I got teary eyed over spilled coffee or lack of internet connection, I know how ridiculous my reaction was, but at the same time, I just could not help feeling that the world is coming to an end. And as quickly as I go down that spiral, I quickly snap out of it as well and wonder what the hell happened and what the big deal was!Dan has mentioned in the past that I was most likely suffering from the ‘winter blues’, also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder. Last winter was very bad because I was not happy with my job at Banfield, so I found myself a new job and by the time I started at Companion, it was spring and my problem was solved. However, this year I am happy with my job and every other aspect of my life is going very well; there is no reason to be sad. But that did not stop me from going through moments when I felt like the world would come to an end, like when I could not locate that specific music file on the computer so that I could listen to that specific song… When I know that life is good but I still feel sad, sometimes very sad, I know I need to do something about it.
I decided to use light therapy with a 10,000 lux light box. I sit in front of it for 30 to 45 minutes a day soon after I get up in the morning. So far, I have noticed that I am more energetic during the day and I don’t feel as irritable as before. Granted, I have also started working out a bit more in the past couple weeks and the days are getting longer, but I still feel the benefit of the light therapy. By the time March or April come around, I will probably not need the light box anymore until next November. By then, I will be back to full swing with my rowing; I am sure that will help also.
I won’t say that light therapy saves my life, like so many testimonials on SAD or light manufacturer websites, but it does make living with me a bit more tolerable and more predictable and I am sure Dan will agree to that!
posted by Anne-Gigi @ 9:11 PM
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