I remember the first time I felt SAD.
My husband retired, and we sold our urban home and bought an Amish farm. We
moved during a snow storm, on Ground Hog Day, into a house that had no central
heat, no running hot water, no shower, and an outhouse. Two makeshift electric
outlets provided a place to plug in our coffeepot and pellet stove.
The snow that arrived that day never
disappeared until around June (just kidding). Of course it melted with the
spring thaw, but for months the two beautiful gardens, the grape arbor, fruit trees, and the babbling brook
that lured us to this lifestyle change lay buried under feet of snow. I couldn’t
even determine where they were anymore. Our narrow dirt road was trafficked mostly
by buggies, so the township highway department paid little attention to the
care of our only egress from our valley. We had no television, no phone, and
couldn’t get a radio signal.
One dark day I stood looking out the
windows at the lovely snow-blanketed rolling countryside and started to cry.
Not sobbing. Not dramatic. I think forlorn
would be the best choice of word. It felt like those were some of the darkest
days. To the best of my knowledge, that was the first time I ever experienced
the symptoms of SAD.
Are you a candidate for SAD?
For those who don’t know, there really is such an ailment. The letters are an
acronym for Seasonal Affective Disorder. According to WebMD,
anyone can get SAD, but it's more common in women and people who live far from
the equator where daylight hours are short. They say the risk of getting SAD
goes down as you age, but for me, I think it has escalated. Most people with
SAD start to have symptoms in September or October and feel better by April or
May.
If you are a SAD
victim, you may experience some of these symptoms:
- Feel sad, grumpy, moody, or anxious - I honestly am not a grumpy or moody person, but I do feel sad in the winter. I’m sad that the daylight hours are so short. I’m sad that sidewalks are for ice skating, and snow freezes in piles like granite. I’m sad that the temperature hovers at 0 degrees, and the only time I see my toes is when I’m in the shower. I’m sad that even my dog doesn’t want to go out. I’m sad that I can only see the fence around my garden and none of the lush greenery of the life force of nature. I’m sad that the only sunlight on my face comes through the kitchen window while I’m eating lunch.
- Eat more and crave carbohydrates, such as bread and pasta - Who doesn’t want more bread and pasta? There’s not much else to do in these dark days except cook and eat. We can’t go outside and play. The roads are too miserable to just get out for a ride. It’s too cold to go to the ice cream stand for a cone. Let's go make a big fat chocolate cake! Why not boil up a big pot of pasta? Don’t forget the meatballs. How about a skillet full of pierogi with butter and onions? Let’s cheer ourselves with comfort food!
- Gain weight – Doesn’t it go without saying? We’re stuffing ourselves with cake, pasta, and pierogi. We’re carb loading, but not running any marathons to burn it off. We can’t safely go for a walk. There’s no yard or garden work to do. I could do some housework, but that’s a blog left for another day. It’s too much effort. Piling on layers of clothes to drive three miles to Planet Fitness seems like too much effort too. The same goes for digging out some work-out DVDs. I’m not feeling it. Sigh….
- Sleep more but still feel tired – As a menopausal women, I don’t sleep well on any given night. By 9:00 p.m. I’m inching toward the bedroom. My eyes generally don’t stay open past 10:00 p.m. However, after the first half hour, I wake and spend the rest of the night tossing and turning. That is until the last hour before it’s time to get up. Then I go into the deepest slight of the night, making it difficult to get up and greet the day at a respectable time. In my opinion, if you need to turn on the bedside lamp to help you wake up, then it’s not time to get up. I need the dawning sun to brighten my bedroom gradually.
- Have trouble concentrating – Why wouldn’t I? My body is overloaded on carb energy with no way to spend it. I’m not doing any aerobic activity to pump blood or oxygen to my heart or brain. I’m not sleeping well. It all adds up to absent-mindedness. I feel the need to create list after list to keep myself on track.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not making
light of SAD. It is a true form of depression. It can also be very debilitating
for some people. I’m fortunate that I know about it. A few weeks after
daylight savings time begins, I’ll start feeling energized and renewed.
How do you know if it’s SAD or
something else? You need to talk with your doctor. It could be something else. Your
doctor may choose to do some blood
tests to rule out other conditions that can cause similar symptoms, such as low thyroid
(hypothyroidism).
A mental health assessment to be sure there are no other mental issues at play
might be another recommendation.
Some ways to feel better are by
doing the very things your body is trying to avoid. Regular exercise is one of
the best things to do. Getting more sunlight can help too. Google the words “light therapy.”
You’ll find multitudes of lighting products that simulate natural light. Some
even have timers that will gradually illuminate like the sun and then gradually
recede to mimic a sunset. There are herbal products too that may help the
symptoms, but as always never use an herbal product without consulting with
your doctor, especially if you are taking prescription anti-depressants.
It’s been a tough winter. It’s easy
to be lethargic on these slow, cold days. Could you be SAD? If you’ve been
feeling melancholy, but couldn’t put a name to your feelings, I hope you found
this helpful. If you think someone else might find this article helpful, please
forward it to them. In the meantime, keep your face toward the sun. It could be worse. You could live in Boston in this winter of 2015.
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