January is the worst month, except for December and February and sometimes March.

[urbpan]

Winter is crud. There are moments of magic, but I find it hard to rise above the long months of cold and damp and dark. My enthusiasm and creativity plunge, when I should be taking advantage of being homebound, time that could be spent writing and learning and/or making art. I end up writing depressing screeds like this one.

I should say that I am writing this on a new computer, one that has a battery that charges and can be moved from room to room or even outdoors. One that I could plug my microphone into and record my podcast without the electronic interference of the power cable. I read that's a problem from someone on the internet. Also the speakers are twice as loud as those on my old computer. (I'm the kind of person that would replace the radio in my car before the engine.)

Many thanks to my friend Rachel who greatly facilitated the upgrade. I don't make important decisions without being pushed or pulled over the edge, so I can only understate my appreciation. Thank you Rachel!

My goals for the new year are the kind that I'll only fulfill if I have someone there to help me along or give me a substantial shove. The help I need on the "learning to play a new instrument" goal may come from my friend Kiki, who is offering to lend me one of her pointy guitars, and show me a chord or two. The "brew my own beer" goal will be met when the scoffing about how easy it is (supplied by my friends and relatives) gets to be too much and I go buy the damn kit already. I'll also have to stop buying beer for a few months to save up for the kit.

The first Urban Nature Walk of 2013 will happen Sunday the 27th, location to be announced. A good friend who works for the Department of Conservation and Recreation has tentatively agreed to co-lead the walk. She wasn't enthusiastic about leading a walk in places that have been degraded in her mind as "work" but I'm hoping to tap into her knowledge. I also hope that having a group of interested amateurs listening to what she has to say will help spark some of that enthusiasm.

Maybe it's just winter.

Comments

[uneko.livejournal.com]

well, there's no helping people and the world sometimes ;)

But in all seriousness, if you feel this way all the time, then the problem probably isn't Seasonal Affective Disorder. SAD effects people seasonally. Yes, that means there are people who are affected by summer instead... but the vast majority are affected by the coming of winter. If you feel lethargic, sluggish, tired, scattered, withdrawn, and depressed in winter in a way you don't feel in summer, then you might suffer from SAD. If you feel this way year round, then you might have a different problem that could, perhaps, be helped with antidepressants. Though Antidepresents are always a... difficult thing to take, and I don't suggest them unless they are Needed (with a capital N. Sometimes things like this are Needed. That's okay. Everyone needs help sometimes)

... I'm no doctor, anyway. I just suffer from a problem. Last year it broke me, for a few months. This year, I've changed how I live and I"m doing much better. (unless I mess up and don't get enough daylight. Then my symptoms sharply reoccur.) I don't know if either of you suffer SAD, but I hate to see anyone suffer when a solution COULD be in their hands.

In any event, your outdoorsy day to day life probably helps, but as far as I understand it, SAD is a reaction to the change in amount of sunlight one recieves. Winter sunlight just might not be Enough. People in the northern parts of the world are most effected...(I think finland has something like a 10 or 15% portion of the population that is effected) For you.. out all day might just not be enough. Or maybe you aren't affected by SAD. That's possible too. In fact, I honestly think it's likely.

But urbpan himself might be a different story. OR he might not. I don't know. I just know that the symptoms he describes remind me a lot of myself when I sleep all day and only see the dawn and the dusk.

I'm sorry if I've somehow offended you, but believe me that I'm just trying to help.

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

sorry, i punctuated badly or left out a word. i LOVE the summer. i feel great, energized, love life, love working, love chores, love everything. winter, not so much. winter, i feel like i could sleep all day every day and i resent having to go outside.

[uneko.livejournal.com]

Ahhhhh! :) well, then that makes it more likely again in my mind :) You could very probably get a perscription for a lamp pretty easily, because i think the requirement is basically to have "depression" issues in one part of the year and only one part of the year for two years in a row.... I gently encourage you guys to look into it a bit more. Even if you don't buy a lamp, maybe you can find something else that can help a little -- vitamin D suppliments, natural serotonine boosters (sugar, nuts, fish, turkey, avacados, fish oil suppliments, HTP or Rhodiola (I have a friend who's HTP pill makes the difference between "okay" and "not okay")) more fish, etc.

I wonder if your body just needs or is used to more sunlight because of your summer lovin', or if what have you... winter just might not have enough daytime for you, or bright enough light, or what not. Or maybe something else al together. I have a few friends who are lizards and hate the cold, while ignoring the sunlight aspect. :)

Anyway, I'm not trying to badger, I just don't like seeing people suffer, especially when sharing some of my knowledge might be able to help. <3 Especially not when they (you and Urbpan) provide me with some entertainment every day and are part of the reason I come to live journal every day. So I share knowledge and open doors. It's up to you to know if stepping through the door is what's right for you <3

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

vitamin d helps, as does tanning!

i think i need more because i'm darker skinned. also, i hate the cold, it hurts me!