I have sad. No, you didn’t misread that, and you grammar Nazis of the ‘net don’t need to try and tell me those three worse are wrong; when I say ‘I have sad’ what I mean is that I have Seasonal Affective Disorder, commonly known as sad, also known as the winter blues.
Seasonal Affective Disorder
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that comes and goes in a seasonal pattern.
SAD is sometimes known as “winter depression” because the symptoms are more apparent and tend to be more severe during the winter.
The symptoms often begin in the autumn as the days start getting shorter. They’re typically most severe during December, January and February.
SAD often improves and disappears in the spring and summer, although it may return each autumn and winter in a repetitive pattern.
Symptons
Symptoms of SAD can include:
a persistent low mood
a loss of pleasure or interest in normal everyday activities
irritability
feelings of despair, guilt and worthlessness
feeling lethargic (lacking in energy) and sleepy during the day
sleeping for longer than normal and finding it hard to get up in the morning
craving carbohydrates and gaining weight
For some people, these symptoms can be severe and have a significant impact on their day-to-day activities.
(source: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Seasonal-affective-disorder/Pages/Introduction.aspx)
Fortunately I only have mild SAD, but I do also suffer from regular depression, as well as stress and anxiety and a few other things.
Why am I boring you all with this, I’m sure you’re asking; I woke up this morning in a major grump, before I even opened the curtains and discovered that the weather is pretty rubbish, not awful but still bad enough to affect my mood.
I’ve had some people say I just have the rainy day blues and it’ll be fine, but that doesn’t explain why my body goes through this before I’ve even seen the weather; I have to explain to them that it is a recognised medical condition.
Since I am suffering from a major lack of sunshine, which is making it hard for me to summon the energy and the enthusiasm to do much, I thought I would find some sunshine, and here it is
It’s not much, but I hope it helps, even a little, all those who like me are having a bad day because of the weather. And now I’m off to shop for a sun lamp so I can get through winter in a better mood than the one the weather wants to put me in.
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