Look to the Light
Wrote this a while ago and forgot to publish but the Lord works to perform His wonders and this turns out to be a most appropriate time! Please enjoy
Ooh potato chips! Bread and butter…what could be better? I’ll tell you what. Macaroni pie or scalloped potatoes! Yummy! What is this sudden craving for carbohydrates, I ask myself as I look at the hips that are no more rounded but lumpy and the thighs that have truly thickened.
I munch (read devour) on a chocolate bar while saying to myself, “I can’t believe I am eating, AGAIN!” This thought gets me to reviewing the past few months to identify the pattern. Yes …yes, I have not been sleeping well. And yes, the weepiness, extreme tiredness (was I manually digging a drain today?) and feelings of being over-whelmed are showing themselves too and I really wish others would just leave me alone for a little while. No phone calls, respect the closed windows and doors and don’t ask me so many questions for which you want profound answers. Ah, haah the answer comes to me, it’s winter time!
For me and many other,s this time of year means that our bodies understand the need to prepare for the season of hibernation by building up our fat reserves and slowing down the body and mind. Being a human animal I do not have the luxury of hibernation but the primal instinct still exists therefore I suffer. I need sleep and cannot seem to find it. I am snarly and must fight the black bear tendencies so that I come across overly-animated, some may say ‘hyper’ because, boys and girls I am fighting a growl! I am tired, oh, so tired.
You see I have what is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. It is a syndrome characterized in me by a slowing down of the mind and consequently body functions due to the lack of light as is typical in winter time. But you say, “J, you live in the tropics, why should you be affected?” That is the beauty of the human brain which understands the subtle changes in light that occur in a place situated at , according to Greenwich Mean Time, Latitude: 11º 00' North of the Equator, longitude : 61º 00' West of Greenwich. That northern aspect shows in dusk beginning at around 5:30 p.m., each day with deep darkness within the hour. Yes, here we have shorter days too. I begin to feel the effects of these shorter days as early as mid-August, subtle changes that negatively affect my daily living.
Seasonal Affective Disorder makes me tired and over-tired. I want to quietly sit which of course is not possible since I live in a world of activity. If it were at all possible to say “stop the world, I want to get off” for these 6-8 months of mid-August to April, I would gladly do so. My desire for meat and carbohydrates seems to be insatiable. I never feel full, especially of carbohydrates. Decision making becomes a difficult exercise and I truly appreciate others’ help in this regard. So performing well at school becomes a problem because it is an activity that essentially involves the self and no one else. You’ve got to study; no one can do it for you! My grades have always tended to be poor in the winter sessions. That is one reason I always saw myself as not intelligent enough to pursue a Masters programme or any other higher degree because doing my first degree was such a difficult period. No one recognized I had Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) then.
SAD is a phenomenon that only came into the public eye in North America in the early 1990’s although the Europeans have recognized and accepted this many years before that. So what can be done about it? Quite a lot in fact can be done to alleviate the problem. I have found these solutions helpful in varying degrees. Some may seem outlandish but remember you are suffering with a peculiar syndrome and your working at saving yourself, so:
• See your doctor to determine if you are truly suffering with SAD.
• Talk with a psychotherapist or one of those ‘ists’, if you can afford it.
• Spend time with friends and other people.
• Involve yourself in lots of activity that is not necessarily a singular activity
It is important that you get natural light through your eyes each and every day. You see it is the light that tells your brain it is not hibernation time, dear human. For those in northern climes with little natural light you should be able to buy the appropriate light box. A light box for SAD, imitates natural light and using it for as little as 30 minutes daily can change the chemical formulation in the brain, modify the circadian rhythms so that you can sleep better and eventually make you happy.
Do the research, in tandem with your medical practitioner so that the two (2) of you can select the correct light box for you. If your area has lots of blue sky in the winter, take advantage of that and walk/run in that bright crisp air, removing your sunglasses from time to time and raising your eyes skyward. The natural light going through the eyes to the brain is what does the trick or should I say gives you the treat!
For those of us fortunate to be in the tropics or semi-tropics, where the sun always seems to shine, go outside and take a walk in it. Feel the warm rays against you skin and look to the light without your sunglasses on. Take off your shoes, walk barefooted on Mother Earth! Your chemical formulation will modify and those endorphins of happiness will begin to flow.
You may know of folks who display these tendencies each and every winter, please do not write them off. Now that you understand a bit, you can assist. Talk about SAD so that it does not stay a secret. Things hidden tend to look ugly and often they are not. Knowledge is enlightenment, so throw off the heavy blanket of Seasonal Affective Disorder and come into the light!
Shubh Divali, Happy Divali to all!
Ooh potato chips! Bread and butter…what could be better? I’ll tell you what. Macaroni pie or scalloped potatoes! Yummy! What is this sudden craving for carbohydrates, I ask myself as I look at the hips that are no more rounded but lumpy and the thighs that have truly thickened.
I munch (read devour) on a chocolate bar while saying to myself, “I can’t believe I am eating, AGAIN!” This thought gets me to reviewing the past few months to identify the pattern. Yes …yes, I have not been sleeping well. And yes, the weepiness, extreme tiredness (was I manually digging a drain today?) and feelings of being over-whelmed are showing themselves too and I really wish others would just leave me alone for a little while. No phone calls, respect the closed windows and doors and don’t ask me so many questions for which you want profound answers. Ah, haah the answer comes to me, it’s winter time!
For me and many other,s this time of year means that our bodies understand the need to prepare for the season of hibernation by building up our fat reserves and slowing down the body and mind. Being a human animal I do not have the luxury of hibernation but the primal instinct still exists therefore I suffer. I need sleep and cannot seem to find it. I am snarly and must fight the black bear tendencies so that I come across overly-animated, some may say ‘hyper’ because, boys and girls I am fighting a growl! I am tired, oh, so tired.
You see I have what is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. It is a syndrome characterized in me by a slowing down of the mind and consequently body functions due to the lack of light as is typical in winter time. But you say, “J, you live in the tropics, why should you be affected?” That is the beauty of the human brain which understands the subtle changes in light that occur in a place situated at , according to Greenwich Mean Time, Latitude: 11º 00' North of the Equator, longitude : 61º 00' West of Greenwich. That northern aspect shows in dusk beginning at around 5:30 p.m., each day with deep darkness within the hour. Yes, here we have shorter days too. I begin to feel the effects of these shorter days as early as mid-August, subtle changes that negatively affect my daily living.
Seasonal Affective Disorder makes me tired and over-tired. I want to quietly sit which of course is not possible since I live in a world of activity. If it were at all possible to say “stop the world, I want to get off” for these 6-8 months of mid-August to April, I would gladly do so. My desire for meat and carbohydrates seems to be insatiable. I never feel full, especially of carbohydrates. Decision making becomes a difficult exercise and I truly appreciate others’ help in this regard. So performing well at school becomes a problem because it is an activity that essentially involves the self and no one else. You’ve got to study; no one can do it for you! My grades have always tended to be poor in the winter sessions. That is one reason I always saw myself as not intelligent enough to pursue a Masters programme or any other higher degree because doing my first degree was such a difficult period. No one recognized I had Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) then.
SAD is a phenomenon that only came into the public eye in North America in the early 1990’s although the Europeans have recognized and accepted this many years before that. So what can be done about it? Quite a lot in fact can be done to alleviate the problem. I have found these solutions helpful in varying degrees. Some may seem outlandish but remember you are suffering with a peculiar syndrome and your working at saving yourself, so:
• See your doctor to determine if you are truly suffering with SAD.
• Talk with a psychotherapist or one of those ‘ists’, if you can afford it.
• Spend time with friends and other people.
• Involve yourself in lots of activity that is not necessarily a singular activity
- join an exercise class;
- go shopping with a friend (s);
- partying, party, party, and I mean dance and chat at the parties, no sitting around;
- volunteer especially with children (they are noisy and active);
- invite friends over for a lime;
- invite yourself to dinner and a movie with friends;
- parang, sing in the church/office choir for Christmas. You're off-key, so what;
- say yes to all the Christmas and Carnival initiations;
- greet (nod & smile) everyone you pass by in the street; and
It is important that you get natural light through your eyes each and every day. You see it is the light that tells your brain it is not hibernation time, dear human. For those in northern climes with little natural light you should be able to buy the appropriate light box. A light box for SAD, imitates natural light and using it for as little as 30 minutes daily can change the chemical formulation in the brain, modify the circadian rhythms so that you can sleep better and eventually make you happy.
Do the research, in tandem with your medical practitioner so that the two (2) of you can select the correct light box for you. If your area has lots of blue sky in the winter, take advantage of that and walk/run in that bright crisp air, removing your sunglasses from time to time and raising your eyes skyward. The natural light going through the eyes to the brain is what does the trick or should I say gives you the treat!
For those of us fortunate to be in the tropics or semi-tropics, where the sun always seems to shine, go outside and take a walk in it. Feel the warm rays against you skin and look to the light without your sunglasses on. Take off your shoes, walk barefooted on Mother Earth! Your chemical formulation will modify and those endorphins of happiness will begin to flow.
You may know of folks who display these tendencies each and every winter, please do not write them off. Now that you understand a bit, you can assist. Talk about SAD so that it does not stay a secret. Things hidden tend to look ugly and often they are not. Knowledge is enlightenment, so throw off the heavy blanket of Seasonal Affective Disorder and come into the light!
Shubh Divali, Happy Divali to all!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteNever really understood SAD till now. Now I can understand why some people react the way they do during the winter months.
ReplyDeletePlease do your best working on staying active so the effect of SAD will be limited. Yes you are in the best place to overcome it.
I now understand why my Uncle in Vancouver B.C. becomes a different person this time of the year.
Stay strong,
Friend in Tucson,Az.