I don’t know about you but as soon as the time changes in the fall I experience what I call the winter slugs. I think I must be related to the bear family as all I want to do is hole at home and eat fatty, sugary foods and watch trashy TV shows or read escapist novels. My energy level plummets and I find myself getting grumpy and unmotivated to do what even a month before I was eager and energized to do.
Many years ago, I diagnosed myself as having Seasonal Affective Disorder and read up on how to prevent it or at least modify its affects. SAD as it is called, is caused by lack of direct sunlight in the proper amounts. Not everyone is afflicted but for those that are, it can be a real bummer. If you suffer from this syndrome then you will begin to notice a decrease in energy when the time changes and the days get shorter and there are more cloudy and overcast days. So I have a light source that I use every morning from early November until May – I sit with it directed at me while I write in my journal. I do a four mile walk everyday unless it’s raining or snowing, I keep all my window curtains open to the outside sunshine, I have my writing desk in front of a big window and I limit negative influences as much as humanly possible. I do this last because one of the affects of this syndrome is that once your energy gets low this creates a kind of blue mood and since negative thinking can increase any depressive feelings you might have, it’s important to make sure you don’t allow yourself to wallow in negative thoughts or allow negative people to come into your space, if at all possible.
Those are the basic ways to stem the tide of the winter slugs, but they only do so much and one day you wake up and that little creepy monster has his big sluggy paw right up against your eyes and everything looks dark and gloomy. It’s time to go for the weird stuff, the offbeat stuff, the, I never thought of that stuff. So here goes, below are five things that work for me:
Wear an outlandish hat – Make sure it is wild in some way – the color, the decorations on it or its design. Now wear it to work or wherever you happen to be going the day the big slug shows up. When people ask you about it tell them it’s a kind of ju ju against the winter slugs. If no one asks you, then ask them how they like your hat and in this way you can tell them why you are wearing it.
Many years ago, I diagnosed myself as having Seasonal Affective Disorder and read up on how to prevent it or at least modify its affects. SAD as it is called, is caused by lack of direct sunlight in the proper amounts. Not everyone is afflicted but for those that are, it can be a real bummer. If you suffer from this syndrome then you will begin to notice a decrease in energy when the time changes and the days get shorter and there are more cloudy and overcast days. So I have a light source that I use every morning from early November until May – I sit with it directed at me while I write in my journal. I do a four mile walk everyday unless it’s raining or snowing, I keep all my window curtains open to the outside sunshine, I have my writing desk in front of a big window and I limit negative influences as much as humanly possible. I do this last because one of the affects of this syndrome is that once your energy gets low this creates a kind of blue mood and since negative thinking can increase any depressive feelings you might have, it’s important to make sure you don’t allow yourself to wallow in negative thoughts or allow negative people to come into your space, if at all possible.
Those are the basic ways to stem the tide of the winter slugs, but they only do so much and one day you wake up and that little creepy monster has his big sluggy paw right up against your eyes and everything looks dark and gloomy. It’s time to go for the weird stuff, the offbeat stuff, the, I never thought of that stuff. So here goes, below are five things that work for me:
Wear an outlandish hat – Make sure it is wild in some way – the color, the decorations on it or its design. Now wear it to work or wherever you happen to be going the day the big slug shows up. When people ask you about it tell them it’s a kind of ju ju against the winter slugs. If no one asks you, then ask them how they like your hat and in this way you can tell them why you are wearing it.
Have a Saturday Night Fever Party - Rent Saturday Night Fever or the sound tract to it and invite all your friends over. Tell then to wear something from the 70's. If no one is available for this then have the party on your own. If you’re a woman put on a flouncy cocktail dress, and if you’re a man find your self something lounge lizardy to wear; now dance to every disco tune in that movie by yourself - it will lighen your mood and be good exercise at the same time.
Become a Kid Again - Go to a park with slides and rides – swing on the swings, slide down the slide and ride on the rides. Stay at least an hour so you can get your blood pumping by being a kid again – go alone or take a friend – a kid if you have one handy.
Take or Create a Show Tunes Dance Troup - Either take a class or create one yourself where you learn some jazz and modern dance routines. Then twice a year give a performance. Go to the Goodwill or the ARC store and buy some funky clothes to wear for your routines. Rent a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie and copy thier routines.
Eat Some Weird Food - Go to Whole Foods or a Chinese or Japanese market that sells weird and unusual food and buy something you’ve never had before and that looks like something you really don’t think you want to eat but buy it anyway and cook it and eat it. Invite some friends over for a Weird Food potluck. Tell everyone to wear something outlandish too.
Although these things may not cure your winter slugs, they will, in most cases get you out and about and in a different frame of mind and who knows maybe one of them will be so much fun, you’ll start doing it on a regular basis just for the fun of it.
Blessings, Lorraine
Although these things may not cure your winter slugs, they will, in most cases get you out and about and in a different frame of mind and who knows maybe one of them will be so much fun, you’ll start doing it on a regular basis just for the fun of it.
Blessings, Lorraine
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