Whew!
It's been a while since I've posted.
This winter has been difficult. David has really *really* bad SAD. These past months have been a never-ending torment of anger and depression (unfortunately, a great deal of it directed at me). Being a caregiver to someone who has depression is hard. Very hard. It's probably the most difficult thing I've ever had to or ever will have to do on a daily basis.
By Spring Break, I was emotionally and physically exhausted. I needed a vacation (so did David), and so we took one. And it was a great vacation, and David and I feel 95% better, but I realized that things will need to change before the next New England winter.
The biggest thing that needs to change is our standard of living. For hardly souls, keeping the thermostat set at 54 degrees or walking to the store or to church or to work no matter the winter weather is a very hard inconvenience, but is also part of the thrill of living in New England. However, for David, who comes from Southern CA, it's an unbearable hell. Because he cannot tolerate New England during the winter, he'll need to insulate himself from the climate. The first step will be to keep the thermostat set above 72 all the time. The second step will be to buy a car and to drive it everywhere. The third step will be to have his lightbox on at every waking hour (he didn't use it nearly enough this past winter). The fourth step will be to get away at least once a month during the winter to someplace sunny and warm.
Simply put, to survive New England winters, we need to live richly. We need to spend lots of money to make life here more like life in CA. Yes, it would be simpler to just move to CA, but that's not an option right now...
This winter has been difficult. David has really *really* bad SAD. These past months have been a never-ending torment of anger and depression (unfortunately, a great deal of it directed at me). Being a caregiver to someone who has depression is hard. Very hard. It's probably the most difficult thing I've ever had to or ever will have to do on a daily basis.
By Spring Break, I was emotionally and physically exhausted. I needed a vacation (so did David), and so we took one. And it was a great vacation, and David and I feel 95% better, but I realized that things will need to change before the next New England winter.
The biggest thing that needs to change is our standard of living. For hardly souls, keeping the thermostat set at 54 degrees or walking to the store or to church or to work no matter the winter weather is a very hard inconvenience, but is also part of the thrill of living in New England. However, for David, who comes from Southern CA, it's an unbearable hell. Because he cannot tolerate New England during the winter, he'll need to insulate himself from the climate. The first step will be to keep the thermostat set above 72 all the time. The second step will be to buy a car and to drive it everywhere. The third step will be to have his lightbox on at every waking hour (he didn't use it nearly enough this past winter). The fourth step will be to get away at least once a month during the winter to someplace sunny and warm.
Simply put, to survive New England winters, we need to live richly. We need to spend lots of money to make life here more like life in CA. Yes, it would be simpler to just move to CA, but that's not an option right now...