Wintertime Blues

     I typically love fall and winter, or at least, I used to love fall and winter. I like the chilly temperatures so I have an excuse to wear my favorite leather jacket and tights under my shorts, the color-changing leaves, and I even love a nice non-dangerous amount of snow. I also seemed to write more during fall and winter. These days, I don't love fall and winter so much.
     For the past couple of years, I've noticed that my mood changes during fall and winter. My mood is low, and I feel blah. I don't want to write as much or exercise as much. I basically just want to hang out in my room with my cat and binge watch Netflix or Hulu while I cram my face full of junk food. I wouldn't take it so far as to say that I feel depressed all the time, but I would say that I feel moderately unhappy for a great deal of the time during fall and winter these days.
     I mentioned this to my therapist, and she said it was a seasonal affective sort of thing. I learned about that in my Abnormal Psychology class in college as a mental health disorder. Cue a new freak out that something else wasn't quite right in my brain. Then my therapist explained that people that didn't have any diagnosis of a depressive disorder were also more likely to feel depressed during the fall and winter months because of the decreased amount of sunlight. So, people with healthy brains might also be feeling blah and unmotivated during fall and winter, too. I felt relieved after hearing that because, since one of my OCD obsessions is that I might become severely depressed and suicidal, I'm terrified that I'll be diagnosed with something that includes depression at some point.
     My therapist mentioned that some people even go on medication during fall and winter so they can feel better. She also mentioned that I could get this light machine that would simulate the sun rising while I was still sleeping, which would cut down on the depressing amount of dark I have to deal with while it's cold out. Both of those are good options.
     I thought about both of them. I decided against both. The medication is still a scary area for me that I'm not willing to dive back into just yet. Since my depressed feelings are mild, I also decided against the light for Seasonal Affective Disorder (they are available on Amazon). I thought the lights were too expensive while I could still cope on my own, but I might try one in the future. On Amazon, the lights are available for $60 to $150.
     So, instead, I am trying out the same extra coping efforts that I try out when my anxiety skyrockets the week before my period. I'm trying not to give in to the cravings for all the junk food, and instead I'm currently trying to clean up my diet (which isn't hard considering I like fruits, veggies, and all the other healthy things). I'm also trying to exercise more. Instead of three times a week or whenever I feel like it, I plan on doing my regular three-day workout and adding in going for a walk on the other two days of the week, so I'm doing something active five times a week. I'm also trying not to binge watch Netflix and Hulu, but I will let myself watch a few episodes of whatever show I'm into after dinner. (I'm working on the binge watching...)
     I'll end with this: The wintertime blues can hit anyone. If you have the money, I highly recommend trying out one of the Seasonal Affective Disorder lights for your bedroom because my therapist said they were quite effective. Exercise also helps, and it can be something as simple as going for a walk or a bicycle ride for twenty minutes. I even walk inside my house with a timer and my iPod when I don't want to go outside.