Sunday, December 27, 2009

SAD

I think I shall go to the tanning salon tomorrow. Bad, I know. But better than SAD. The lack of sunlight, the lack of outdoor exercise, the lack of available nutritional food, and the lack of the structure of work days has got me feeling less than great.

I like winter for a few months, and then I am done. Since winter seems to have arrived a couple of months early here this year, I am already done with it just as it is starting. I think I will have to do some tricky stuff to get through.

Tricky like like the tanning salon (not proven to be a substitute for real sunshine, but I swear it improves my mood). Tricky like maybe planning a quick trip to a place not incredibly expensive but warm. I may not be willing to fly, so it may have to be within driving distance. If my sponsor and her husband end up in Tucson for the winter as they probably will, that will make it an easy decision - I will go visit them. Tricky like maybe going out for a walk at lunchtime when I am at work if it is sunny. I can get the majority of my workouts in the gloom of the dark mornings on my treadmill, but I need some fresh air.

I made some phone calls this afternoon to some people I thought might need a word of encouragement or just to know that someone cares about how they are. That is what I have been taught to do as a member of AA.... When I am thinking of myself a lot it tends to make me very unhappy, but when I turn my thoughts to others, it tends to help me forget myself - if only for a moment.

Pulling out all stops to get through the next couple of months without gaining weight or getting terribly depressed.

Oh, and I plan on staying sober, and I hope you do too.


12 comments:

mommaof3 said...

I totally know what you mean about turning your thoughts to others to get the attention off yourself.

I hope the tanning bed works....I hate the winter blues!

We are having sunshine, but cold. My run tonight wasn't too bad, though and there were still Christmas lights up!

Anonymous said...

Just started snowing here and it is so pretty. Those words will bite me you know where soon enough!

Syd said...

You are always welcome to come to this fair city. We had a cool day at around 48 F here. My friends in Sweden have a tough time with SAD.

dAAve said...

Is SAD an acronym or do you mean you're sad? I'm so glad I live in a winter-lite region.

Ed G. said...

We're so fortunate that we have some tricks up our sleeves. I wish for you enough light and happiness to overcome the seasonal stuff.

Blessings and aloha...

Mary Christine said...

SAD = Seasonal Affective Disorder

Scott W said...

The worst part of winter for me is the artificial heat. It dries out my sinuses and makes me sick, and my skin starts falling off. It's gross.

Hope said...

I recently started using a SAD light box for 15 minutes in the mornings. I am already noticing a difference. It was well worth the investment. I wasn't going to bother getting one because it was so late in the season of darkness (we were down to 7 and a half hours of daylight last week) but was encouraged to and am so glad I did.

~Christina~ said...

I remember reading that Rosie Odonnell suffers from S.A.D. while she is in NYC. She purchased some kind of special lights that helped her. You might want to google it and see if you can find them.

Im in Miami, FL so usually donr have that probably but I can imagine it is debilitating. Best of luck to you!

Enchanted Oak said...

I relate to this so much! I'm done with winter and it's hardly begun here. We don't even have snow. Just bare trees and cold weather and fog. Thanks for the tips on dealing with SAD. And thanks for the reminders of what to do to alleviate too much inward focus today. I think I'll stay sober, too.

Lou said...

I hear a lot about people who have problems with this. I'm afraid of slipping and breaking my ankle and never being able to run again, so I'm on the treadmill from here on out.

However, when I can I go out and walk (carefully) during the daylight. It's not much sunshine, but like you I have to have fresh air.

PS It makes my day when someone calls me to "check" on me, or give a few words of encouragement. Thanks for the reminder that I can do that for someone, it's free.

Mary LA said...

Wishing I could send you some sunshine and heat --