Last year when I quit blogging and then started up again, I shared that I had finally found a reason for some of my struggles (Now I Know: Seasonal Affective Disorder). It was a relief to have a diagnosis. It also has helped me better prepare myself for these challenges.
Over the last week or so I can tell that the SAD is starting up again. I’m thankful that it is the middle of February so hopefully there will only be about six more weeks before it will lift.
People who have never experienced depression will often say, “Just stop thinking about it” or “Don’t worry so much” or “Get busy and it will go away”. Unless you have experienced it, you can’t fully understand how counterproductive those kinds of comments are to the one suffering.
I mention all this today because I read a comment on another blog that was about dealing with winter. The mom mentioned that she liked her son so much better in the summer than in the winter. My first thought was that perhaps the child is suffering from SAD. One of the ways SAD can manifest itself is feelings of frustration. In a child that could easily come out as anger and aggressiveness.
Anyway, my goal in writing this is to make people aware that winter can be very hard on some people. It isn’t something they can snap out of at will. I imagine it can impact children as well.
This timely devotional from Streams in the Desert was a blessing to me when I read it this morning.
The Father’s Hand by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
“Your heavenly Father knoweth” (Matt. 6:32).
A visitor at a school for the deaf and dumb was writing questions on the blackboard for the children. By and by he wrote this sentence: “Why has God made me to hear and speak, and made you deaf and dumb?”
The awful sentence fell upon the little ones like a fierce blow in the face. They sat palsied before that dreadful “Why?” And then a little girl arose.
Her lip was trembling. Her eyes were swimming with tears. Straight to the board she walked, and, picking up the crayon, wrote with firm hand these precious words: “Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight!” What a reply! It reaches up and lays hold of an eternal truth upon which the maturest believer as well as the youngest child of God may alike securely rest–the truth that God is your Father.
Do you mean that? Do you really and fully believe that? When you do, then your dove of faith will no longer wander in weary unrest, but will settle down forever in its eternal resting place of peace. “Your Father!”
I can still believe that a day comes for all of us, however far off it may be, when we shall understand; when these tragedies, that now blacken and darken the very air of heaven for us, will sink into their places in a scheme so august, so magnificent, so joyful, that we shall laugh for wonder and delight. –Arthur Christopher Bacon
No chance hath brought this ill to me;
‘Tis God’s own hand, so let it be,
He seeth what I cannot see.
There is a need-be for each pain,
And He one day will make it plain
That earthly loss is heavenly gain.
Like as a piece of tapestry
Viewed from the back appears to be
Naught but threads tangled hopelessly;
But in the front a picture f air
Rewards the worker for his care,
Proving his skill and patience rare.
Thou art the Workman, I the frame.
Lord, for the glory of Thy Name,
Perfect Thine image on the same.
–Selected
Using Sticker Books As Learning Tools
Sallie, I so appreciate your honesty.
Even though I am someone who has always loved staying at home, I have to face the fact that I’m dealing with agoraphobia.
It isn’t as fun as it sounds.
I appreciate your honestly too Sallie.
I definitely get blue in the winter, but I can manage it.
I am starting to think that people who live in winter climes are meant to slow down, hunker down, almost hibernate for the winter, to conserve energy and food and all of that, since way back in the day.
But instead we are forced keep go, go, going, and nothing slows down and stops for the cold and the gray and the snow and the ice. I’m not dismissing SAD at all, I know that is a real biological condition. I’m just wondering if there is some sort of natural thing, at least for me, that my body is trying to do for me that I am fighting. Perhaps we need to rest in God and his design and plan, instead of trying to be what the world tells us we should be.
Hang in there, spring is just around the corner!
Judy and Ann – Thank you for your kind words.
{{{{{{Judy}}}}}} – I hope you can find someone to help you deal with your agoraphobia. That would be very hard.
Ann – I think you are right about winter being a time to slow down. God created the seasons for a reason. We think that we can live above them because we have electricity and we no longer are an agrarian culture. But the winter IS a time to rest. I’ve wondered how much illness could be avoided if people would just slow down in the winter and take care of themselves. Instead, people push themselves harder and harder to keep up a frantic pace.
I was thinking of doing a post about ways I’ve learned to cope with my SAD. One of the key ways I’ve discovered is I do the things that bring me pleasure or make me happy. That might sound obvious, but I don’t think it always is in this culture of keep going no matter what. For me this means watching movies or reading books that make me happy, looking at pretty magazines, walking on the treadmill (exercise hormones are good for SAD), buying flowers, and eating foods that I crave. So much of the advice out there is to avoid certain foods, but I have not found it helpful in my case. God made our bodies to crave things we need. And if I crave chocolate or carbs or whatever, I’m going to eat it. In fact last year when I gave up sugar drinks (pop, coffee drinks) for Lent, I think it aggravated my SAD. I won’t do that again.
I’ve also learned that if I feel like I need to get out of the house then I get out of the house even if it just means wandering the mall or going out to eat. Again, this might sound obvious to some but if you are struggling with SAD sometimes it just seems like too much work to get out, especially if the weather is really crummy. The winter Caroline was a baby (four to six months old) was the very worst. She was not sleeping through the night and the weather was bad that year so we did not get out enough. Looking back, I’m sure I probably had some post-partum depression with the SAD which was made much worse by the sleep deprivation. That was a very hard winter.
Anyway, I just share this to hopefully encourage others who might struggle as well. 🙂
Thank you for sharing. I’m sorry you are struggling with this. My mother-in-law had it. 🙁
I was wondering. You have shared Streams in the Desert now more than once. Do you get in in your email inbox? Because I recently (because you shared about it) signed up for it online — and the “articles” *I* am receiving are not at all the same ones you are sharing.
How does that work? Does anybody know? I am so curious!
In Jesus, Susan (DE)
Susan – The ones I use are from here. They are the originals which I vastly prefer to the updated versions. Enjoy! 😀
I am a 74 year old retired Pastor and I have always had a problem with SAD. But not so much the last few years and not so much since moving to Arizona. (I’m not suggesting you move. Ha) However, I am a book reviewer and I have just finished two books that might help: Think and Make It Happen by Dr. Augusto Cury and This Is Your Brain On Joy by Dr. Erl Henslin. Thanks for your post.
I have often wondered if I struggle with SAD. It’s hard for me to tell because I alternate winters b/t being pregnant (tired, overwhelmed, homeschooling, etc.) and having an infant. I always struggle some with ppd.
Have you looked into getting SAD lights?
After much research on S.A.D., we bought a therapy light. I highly recommend it. It’s like buying a bit of spring. I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Martha – Do you have a link to the light that you purchased? Would you be willing to share why you chose it versus other options out there? Thank you! 🙂
Here’s a very basic article, can’t find the link to my favorite: https://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/winter_depression
We bought an “Apollo health brite lite 6” on ebay. (I’m taking this from their website): “For 20 years, the briteLITE series has been the choice of doctors, researchers and hospitals, because Apollo Health is consistently at the forefront of the science of light therapy. The briteLITE brand has been used in more light-therapy research than any other brand.” Our device was $199 on ebay. I see they have one today for $99 because although it is new in box, it has been opened. This model was recommended by a friend. I was skeptical, but desperate at first. I bought it for S.A.D., but it also affects one’s sleep rhythms, so a bit of experimental trial/error is required. Our personal experience is that when there’s been 2 cloudy days in a row, we set it on the kitchen table, set it for 30 minutes, and eat breakfast and read our Bibles in front of it. Seems to work nicely. You need to be sitting almost in reach of it, so I would think that Caroline would be fine… Ours came with a hefty and helpful manual. Hope this gets you pointed in the right direction.
Thank you! Sorry, I was away a couple days. 🙂
Sallie,
Have you thought of adding vitamin D3 during the winter (or all year long if you don’t get much sun in the summer)? I have recently started taking 2000 IU of D3 and it has helped my “blues” considerably. I have read a lot of information about this from various sources and many say that SAD is affected by low D3. I also read an interesting study (can’t remember the source right now) that said that people who just took the vitamin didn’t have as much relief as those who combined the D with going outside and allowing the eyes to take in the unfiltered sunlight (no sunglasses) for awhile (maybe twenty minutes?) . So maybe along with the light box (or sunlight) you might try 2000IU D3 as well. 😀
Hi Sallie!
Another vote for trying out Vitamin D. Have you read anything from the Weston Price Foundation? Westonaprice.org. Here’s an article on Cod Liver Oil and SAD : http://www.westonaprice.org/basicnutrition/vitamindmiracle.html. I have just moved from VA to NE and I am very concerned about having a vitamin deficiency – we are so housebound here! And bundled up when we go out! It turns out that there is no physical way to get enough Vit D at this latitude. So I am now taking Cod Liver Oil and I’ve got my three year old on the program, too. She loves it – not joking! We were in Whole Foods the other day and I decided not to buy a certain brand (not enough Vit D) and she was shouting, “I want Cod Liver Oil!!” in the store. I was so embarrassed! Of course my 14 mo old is not liking it. I don’t either, but its not so bad. Anyway, perhaps you already know about this, but I thought I’d let you know anyway, in case it would help. And strangely, my friend in VA just told me she has a Vit D deficiency. Even VA doesn’t have a lot of UVB rays in the winter. I hope you find some help for this. What a frustrating experience.
just a clarification – there’s no physical way to get enough Vit D from sun exposure at this latitude. Supplement and/or light therapy can make up for what you can’t get from the sun. 🙂