About 12 years ago I was diagnosed by a military doctor as possibly having SAD, or Seasonal Attitude Disorder. I had an epiphany this year that the doc was incorrect. I believe I suffer instead from JAFSAD, or January And February Suck Ass Disorder. A politer way of phrasing is to say that I am annually afflicted with the January blues and the February blues.
I’m separating these two blues into two different categories because for me they tend to have different “flavors”. January is an existential, soul sucking month from hell. Perhaps someday I’ll write about my battle with the January blues. However, today is all about the February blues.
For me February just a long, tedious and depressing slog. It’s winter when the month begins and it’s still winter when it ends. Nothing seems to change. Admittedly, the daylight hours are getting longer, but they aren’t getting longer fast enough. The sunlight is still weak and watery, the skies are often cloudy and gray, and the only holidays to relieve the boredom are Valentines day and Presidents day. Yippee-fricking-yay.
I don’t like to ride my bike in the cold and the ground is frozen so not much to do in the garden. I’ve never enjoyed skiing or snowshoeing. So I don’t have many reasons to get outside. It’s 28 (sometimes 29) Mondays in a row.
A buddy of mine once suggested they should just combine January and February into a single month call Januabruary. (Hat tip to Dave S). Which, interestingly enough, is pretty close to what the ancient Romans did. They blocked off the days from winter solstice to the spring equinox into one, long miserable slog. Life began again the day Spring arrived.
Ok, so enough of the bitching. What can those of us who suffer the February blues do to alleviate our symptoms? Here are a few things that I find help me:
- The most recommended treatment for SAD and the winter blues is exercise. Exercise, exercise, exercise. Preferably outside in the sunlight if at all possible. I try to do some sort of physical activity nearly every day. I say “try”, because I am not as consistent as I would like.
- Engage in hobbies. I may not be able to do much in the garden now, but I do like to draw out new garden beds or ponder ways to tweak my older beds. I research bike events I would like to ride when the weather improves. Writing helps as well.
- Drink beer. Ok, no, most mental health experts disagree with this. They say that drinking too much alcohol may make depression worse. So I only drink one or two beers a day, and only a few times a week. But I find that a tasty ale every now and then helps me to relax and lighten my mood.
- Reading. Lots of reading.
- Doing mindfulness meditation at least 10 minutes a day.
- I take vitamin D3 supplements during the winter. There are some studies that claim vitamin D may help SAD sufferers. There are other studies that claim many Americans are vitamin D deficient because they’re inside all the time, and so they don’t get enough of the “sunshine” vitamin. I decrease my intake of these supplements in the summer because I get enough vitamin D by being out in the sun a lot.
Also, there are a couple positive events in February that can help sufferers deal with the winter blues. The first is Groundhog Day. How is this a positive you ask? Because, whether the goofy little rodent sees his shadow or not, there is only six more weeks of winter left. Basically, Groundhog Day is a celebration that WINTER IS HALFWAY OVER! Now that is something to cheer about.
Here’s another positive – toward the end of the month you may notice a promising sign that Spring is on its way, if you know what to look for. I’ve noticed this phenomenon for many years and it cheers me up every time. But you have to actively seek it out. During the last week of the month, on a sunny day, go outside at noon and just soak up the sun. Go out there with the right frame of mind and you will soon come to realize that, for about an hour or so, that it looks and feels almost like a bright spring afternoon. Proof that Winter is finally loosening its icy grip.
Anybody else dealing with the SAD or the winter blues? If so, what do you do to help manage it?
