It's SAD
Have I written about this before, Dear Reader? I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD.)
You know the kind of thing where it's autumn, the days are getting shorter? Sometimes (like today) it's overcast and rainy. The quality of 'daylight' is pretty poor and you begin to feel a tad low in spirit. Those of us living outside the tropics, where winter hours of daylight are appreciably shorter than summer hours of daylight, and then for a given (low) value of 'daylight', know about 'Winter Blues'. Specially those of us who live in climates more prone to 'dull and damp' rather than 'cold and snowy'.
Winter Blues can be bad enough. Particularly in a dull winter. SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is worse. Sometimes much worse.
Some with SAD start feeling the effects of shorter hours of daylight come August. I'm usually good into September. Some get really, really low; perhaps to the point of being unable to get out of bed come midwinter. I usually just get low. Though some years I can have a full-blown Depression, requiring the use of anti-depressants and, occasionally, Sectioning to our local NHS Mental Hospital (LNHSMH.) I've been there several times over the past thirty years. Each time what there is (buildings) and what's on offer (facilities, courses etc) gets less and less.
Once upon a time our LNHSMH had a farm attatched, where patients could work as part of their therapy. The first time I was Sectioned they had a Gardening project as therapy. Mind you, back in those days people also ended up 'dumped' in such institutions if they had certain conditions - Down's Syndrome, 'Learning Difficulties', Atethoid (Spastic) or even Pregnant Outside Marriage (some of these girls/women were 'inside' for years. How does getting pregnant outside marriage bring 'shame' on your family, when them committing you to an institution as a result, maybe permanently, doesn't? It's like this whole 'Honour' thing some cultures have. How is killing a member of your family, usually a young girl/woman, 'Honorable' in any way?)
Over the years things have improved (mainly in attitudes to the various 'conditions' listed above.) But things have also been cut. Severely. Repeatedly. In fact many large 'institutions' were closed back in the 1980s in favour of 'Care in the Community'.
In theory this was a Good Idea. In practice I'm not so sure. First of all you need a Community where people can receive Care - valuing as Real People, not just 'patients' or 'inmates', still less 'our disgrace'! Many long-term 'patients' had become institutionalised. They needed a lot of care and training to live in any different arrangements. That costs money. It still does.
Of course, one of the advantages of shutting down large institutions was that you could sell off the often extensive grounds, usually as building land. What were once Hospital Farms, worked by patients as part of their therapy, were slowly converted into 'Luxury Developments of Four and Five Bedroom Executive Houses.' Affordable housing? Come on, this was in the money-mad 80's, under a Conservative government. Some of the erstwhile LNHSMHs were out in the countryside, thus considered ripe for 'conversion' and redevelopment.
Some of the Hospital buildings had Preservation Orders on them, so were re-developed into Luxury Apartments. Would you want to live in an apartment that had been part of a mental hospital, Dear Reader? Not sure I would!
Even our Local had large grounds. They're much smaller now, and more built on as the NHS has build smaller wards, different wards, and re-located other departments (medical records, anyone?) There is still a Common, with mature trees, where the locals come to exercise their dogs and play cricket. Periodically that and the trees come under threat for various reasons. Then the locals rise, sign petitions and bother local government.
'For goodness sake,' They say. 'You can't build more homes or whatever there. Where will people park? The roads are already congested. More people will mean more cars. And what about the infrastructure? How will the sewers cope with all the extra waste water and sewage?' Generally the Council goes away.
Dear me, how did I get there from 'Winter Blues' and worse? Anyhew, I've learned over the years not to plan for or attempt to do too much between now and New Year. Christmas is not a Vast Event dependant upon me doing all the work. We invite a few close family members to stay and generally take things easy.
I knit socks, etc, throughout the year, so there's no major pressure to come up with special presents in a couple of weeks. Leave that to Knitting Divas like the Yarn Harlot! Though she has her own added pressures this Fall/Winter
And I get out the light box, as recommended. 10,000 lux, at a distance of 30-40cm, for a period of time. it starts off as 30 minutes each morning and can extend to up to 120 minutes in a particularly bad (gloomy) winter, sometimes with a 30-60minute boost around 4:30-5pm, but no later as it makes getting to sleep difficult.
We dusted off the light box, H tested it. It works, fortunately he's an engineer and understands how to convert the 'footcandles' measured by Grandad's old light meter into 'lux'. Fiat lux*!
I started using it last Friday. *Le sigh! It's necessary, and better than any alternatives, that I do know.* Now I have to remember to not pull up the blind in the living room until after I've switched the light box off. Don't want to dazzle passers-by!
Also recommended are walking, preferably early on in the morning, getting out in the sunshine as much as possible, and exercise.
To which end I've been to Pilates again this morning. Not only did I get up off the floor all by myself today. I did so at least three times. Once when I desperately needed another tissue. Yes, Dear Reader, the cold has long been given Notice To Quit. I am able to breathe and thus sleep nights. I just need to keep blowing my nose during the day, but not as much as last week.
All being well I shall continue the exercises tomorrow morning with swimming and a walk along the Front. Here's hoping the weather provides sunshine! The forecast looks promising, so far. Swimming and the walk I enjoy anyway. At this time of year they count as Important Therapy. Hmmm, wonder if I could get the bus ticket and swim charge on prescription? The way the government keeps cutting the NHS, I very much doublt it. w00t for over-60s swim charges!
Should you, too, find yourself subject to SAD, I'd advise looking on the SAD Association website. If you're outside the UK, there may well be SAD associations in your neck of the woods, though bear in mind that they are generally run by SAD people. Thus when they are most needed, the people running them are at their worst. Such is lif!
Right, suppose I'd better get in some more exercise and go chase dust. Particularly now H has 'deep cleaned' the Dyson and removed all the compacted dust in various tubes. Yes, Dear Reader, I could, probably, have done it myself, but I'm allergic to dust. The reaction is like having in heavy cold, and I still have the tail end of last week's!
Y'all have a good day now!
*Fiat lux! No, not an Italian carwash. It's Latin for 'Let there be light!'
"And there was light. And God saw the light, and it was good. God separated the light from the darkness. He called the light Day and the darkness Night. There was evening and morning. The first day." Genesis 1:3-5
You know the kind of thing where it's autumn, the days are getting shorter? Sometimes (like today) it's overcast and rainy. The quality of 'daylight' is pretty poor and you begin to feel a tad low in spirit. Those of us living outside the tropics, where winter hours of daylight are appreciably shorter than summer hours of daylight, and then for a given (low) value of 'daylight', know about 'Winter Blues'. Specially those of us who live in climates more prone to 'dull and damp' rather than 'cold and snowy'.
Winter Blues can be bad enough. Particularly in a dull winter. SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is worse. Sometimes much worse.
Some with SAD start feeling the effects of shorter hours of daylight come August. I'm usually good into September. Some get really, really low; perhaps to the point of being unable to get out of bed come midwinter. I usually just get low. Though some years I can have a full-blown Depression, requiring the use of anti-depressants and, occasionally, Sectioning to our local NHS Mental Hospital (LNHSMH.) I've been there several times over the past thirty years. Each time what there is (buildings) and what's on offer (facilities, courses etc) gets less and less.
Once upon a time our LNHSMH had a farm attatched, where patients could work as part of their therapy. The first time I was Sectioned they had a Gardening project as therapy. Mind you, back in those days people also ended up 'dumped' in such institutions if they had certain conditions - Down's Syndrome, 'Learning Difficulties', Atethoid (Spastic) or even Pregnant Outside Marriage (some of these girls/women were 'inside' for years. How does getting pregnant outside marriage bring 'shame' on your family, when them committing you to an institution as a result, maybe permanently, doesn't? It's like this whole 'Honour' thing some cultures have. How is killing a member of your family, usually a young girl/woman, 'Honorable' in any way?)
Over the years things have improved (mainly in attitudes to the various 'conditions' listed above.) But things have also been cut. Severely. Repeatedly. In fact many large 'institutions' were closed back in the 1980s in favour of 'Care in the Community'.
In theory this was a Good Idea. In practice I'm not so sure. First of all you need a Community where people can receive Care - valuing as Real People, not just 'patients' or 'inmates', still less 'our disgrace'! Many long-term 'patients' had become institutionalised. They needed a lot of care and training to live in any different arrangements. That costs money. It still does.
Of course, one of the advantages of shutting down large institutions was that you could sell off the often extensive grounds, usually as building land. What were once Hospital Farms, worked by patients as part of their therapy, were slowly converted into 'Luxury Developments of Four and Five Bedroom Executive Houses.' Affordable housing? Come on, this was in the money-mad 80's, under a Conservative government. Some of the erstwhile LNHSMHs were out in the countryside, thus considered ripe for 'conversion' and redevelopment.
Some of the Hospital buildings had Preservation Orders on them, so were re-developed into Luxury Apartments. Would you want to live in an apartment that had been part of a mental hospital, Dear Reader? Not sure I would!
Even our Local had large grounds. They're much smaller now, and more built on as the NHS has build smaller wards, different wards, and re-located other departments (medical records, anyone?) There is still a Common, with mature trees, where the locals come to exercise their dogs and play cricket. Periodically that and the trees come under threat for various reasons. Then the locals rise, sign petitions and bother local government.
'For goodness sake,' They say. 'You can't build more homes or whatever there. Where will people park? The roads are already congested. More people will mean more cars. And what about the infrastructure? How will the sewers cope with all the extra waste water and sewage?' Generally the Council goes away.
Dear me, how did I get there from 'Winter Blues' and worse? Anyhew, I've learned over the years not to plan for or attempt to do too much between now and New Year. Christmas is not a Vast Event dependant upon me doing all the work. We invite a few close family members to stay and generally take things easy.
I knit socks, etc, throughout the year, so there's no major pressure to come up with special presents in a couple of weeks. Leave that to Knitting Divas like the Yarn Harlot! Though she has her own added pressures this Fall/Winter
And I get out the light box, as recommended. 10,000 lux, at a distance of 30-40cm, for a period of time. it starts off as 30 minutes each morning and can extend to up to 120 minutes in a particularly bad (gloomy) winter, sometimes with a 30-60minute boost around 4:30-5pm, but no later as it makes getting to sleep difficult.
We dusted off the light box, H tested it. It works, fortunately he's an engineer and understands how to convert the 'footcandles' measured by Grandad's old light meter into 'lux'. Fiat lux*!
I started using it last Friday. *Le sigh! It's necessary, and better than any alternatives, that I do know.* Now I have to remember to not pull up the blind in the living room until after I've switched the light box off. Don't want to dazzle passers-by!
Also recommended are walking, preferably early on in the morning, getting out in the sunshine as much as possible, and exercise.
To which end I've been to Pilates again this morning. Not only did I get up off the floor all by myself today. I did so at least three times. Once when I desperately needed another tissue. Yes, Dear Reader, the cold has long been given Notice To Quit. I am able to breathe and thus sleep nights. I just need to keep blowing my nose during the day, but not as much as last week.
All being well I shall continue the exercises tomorrow morning with swimming and a walk along the Front. Here's hoping the weather provides sunshine! The forecast looks promising, so far. Swimming and the walk I enjoy anyway. At this time of year they count as Important Therapy. Hmmm, wonder if I could get the bus ticket and swim charge on prescription? The way the government keeps cutting the NHS, I very much doublt it. w00t for over-60s swim charges!
Should you, too, find yourself subject to SAD, I'd advise looking on the SAD Association website. If you're outside the UK, there may well be SAD associations in your neck of the woods, though bear in mind that they are generally run by SAD people. Thus when they are most needed, the people running them are at their worst. Such is lif!
Right, suppose I'd better get in some more exercise and go chase dust. Particularly now H has 'deep cleaned' the Dyson and removed all the compacted dust in various tubes. Yes, Dear Reader, I could, probably, have done it myself, but I'm allergic to dust. The reaction is like having in heavy cold, and I still have the tail end of last week's!
Y'all have a good day now!
*Fiat lux! No, not an Italian carwash. It's Latin for 'Let there be light!'
"And there was light. And God saw the light, and it was good. God separated the light from the darkness. He called the light Day and the darkness Night. There was evening and morning. The first day." Genesis 1:3-5