Comments | gatewaygirl: My love/hate relationship with autumn

gatewaygirl

My love/hate relationship with autumn

Oct 14, 2011 22:27

In many ways, autumn is my favorite season. It is the most beautiful time, and the most pleasant for long walks in the woods (closely followed by pre-bug spring). Winter is too cold and obstructive, and summer too hot, sticky, and buggy, but just past mosquito season, the air is clear and crisp, the sky is intensely blue (when it's not grey) and ( Read more... )

Comments 7

celestlyn October 15 2011, 06:48:35 UTC

I can totally relate to what you say about the season. I'm in the northwest part of the US and our winters are long and cold and sometimes come with lots of snow. I occasionally feel like we have two seasons; 7 months of fall/winter and 5 months of spring/summer. I also get seasonal depression and begin to feel anxious about the coming winter early in the fall. As beautiful as early fall is here, it gets cold fast and I can't enjoy it much because I know that the long cold winter is just behind it. Summer here is short, but hot and dry and it's my favorite season with spring a close second.

I'm having to keep the doors and windows shut now, which cuts down on the light in the house and I end up with that fatigued, sluggish feeling that persists when it's dark and cloudy. I suppose I ought to invest in a lightbox. Even if it doesn't work miracles, it would improve things some. We'll have to celebrate the winter solstice, as it heralds the return of longer days and more light!

gatewaygirl October 16 2011, 03:55:20 UTC

A light box helps a lot! You do have have to remember to use it every morning, though (remember, you're tricking your body into producing "awake" chemicals) and it takes a week or two to fully kick in. For me, I've found it's important to keep doing it all the way to the vernal equinox.

sabethea October 15 2011, 09:45:48 UTC

Autumn here hasn't really happened, thanks to late sunny weather. I'm dreading the moment when I turn round and it's suddenly winter - I'm with you on the seasonal depression, though my mental health is shaky at the best of times.

*sends getting well vibes and inspiration for your muse*

gatewaygirl October 16 2011, 03:55:45 UTC

Thanks!

missingkeys October 18 2011, 08:00:06 UTC

Can you tell me more about light boxes (or give any decent links) pretty please? We've never had an actual, proper northern winter before, but it's only Autumn and already my husband's depression seems to be getting worse. I wouldn't have the first clue where to start with looking into them, but if it'd help at all I'd be interested.

gatewaygirl October 24 2011, 19:12:41 UTC

I'm not sure where I got mine will help you, because it's a small company in Alaska. However, their Northstar 10,000 is now sold by Amazon (in the US) so you might be able to get it. Also, their website has lots of useful info: http://www.alaskanorthernlights.com/

I use the lightbox for 20-30 minutes in the morning ... plus sometimes to do jigsaw puzzles!

missingkeys October 24 2011, 19:29:13 UTC

That looks really awesome. Thank you! It's not something I'd ever even heard of before, but if it works...

The weather right now is disgusting, and I'm even finding that I don't really care to do as much as I was doing when it was all sunny and bright. I hate summer as a general rule, but I'm starting to see why people like it compared with winter. Today was so dark I almost needed the lights on all day! :/