Health and Wellness
SAD
If you are experiencing symptoms of depression during this time of the year, the long winter months, know that you are not alone. During this period many people have trouble, and there is even a name for this type of thing. It is called seasonal affect disorder, or SAD (pretty fitting, no?) for short. When you’ve got SAD, you’re likely to feel sad. But it’s not just a basic sadness. The sadness can be unprompted by other things and events occurring in your life. You might not understand why suddenly you are feeling this way and having these thoughts. Well, what’s going on is that your body is having a hard time adjusting to the lack of sunlight that it is so used to getting during the summer and springtime. The sunlight makes us happy, putting us in a better mood and lifting our spirits. Conversely, when we have a lack of sun we feel sad and depressed. We might have a lack of appetite or eat too much. We might have trouble falling asleep, or the very opposite problem of having trouble getting out of bed. You might experience mood swings. Your condition might also impact your daily level of functioning. It’s especially concerning if someone you know is suffering from SAD and is having trouble making it to work, taking care of family responsibilities, caring for themselves, etc.
So, can anything be done about SAD? Well, the good thing about it is that it is usually temporary. Oftentimes it will slowly disappear as the winter fades and the spring begins. However, you probably don’t want to wait that long to start getting better. So, there are a few things you can try to speed up the recovery process. Firstly, you can get a special lamp which you can sit in front of for a specific amount of time each day. This light mimics natural sunlight, tricking your body into thinking that it’s no longer winter. The truth is, this is one of the most recommended treatment options for SAD patients and it really does help. But there are other tools to use in unison with this. First, do not underestimate the power of friendship. Having someone to lean on and support you in your time of need can go a long way. So rather than isolating yourself during this difficult period, reach out to people who will be there for you when the rain starts to pour. Also consider talk therapy. Having a designated place to get out some of your feelings can make all the difference while you’re trying to feel better. And don’t forget to care for yourself. While it’s easy to forget about showering or eating when you’re in a depression, doing this is counterproductive to your overall health. So give yourself that extra push to really care about yourself, even when it’s hardest to do.
If this didn’t make you too sad try some of our other articles.
agreed upon between me and my roommate that we would finish all 100 nuggets in one sitting. Our other roommate said our mission was impossible and that I am no Tom Cruise. I said just watch us. We are unstoppable. He said that if we ate all 100 nuggets we would explode. I said no way. He said way. I said that, if Vince and I could eat all 100 nuggets, we get to rename his annoying cat. He said okay since he had no faith that what we could do was possible. Rolling up to the take-out window and ordering 100 nuggets will, in fact, make the employees quite upset. It took a while for them to prepare the nugs, but also set us up with every sauce they had. From there, we went back to our apartment. We set out all the nuggets on the table and devised a plan of attack to demolish the nuggets one by one. I started the first phase. I knew that it takes your stomach about 20 minutes before it understands that it is full, so I wolfed down around 25 nuggets in about 15 minutes before having to tap out and let Vince take over. He was able to take down about 20 nugs before doubling over.
encouragement. Sometimes I think this day was the reason she broke up with me and I find it understandable. When the dust settled, and the nuggets consumed, Vince and I ate around 83 nuggets before Vince had to tap out. I was borderline about throw up, so I had to stop too. We had lost. Was it all for nothing? We decided to just start calling the cat a different name anyway since the cat does not really respond to any name, so why should it matter? I now refer to the cat as Ricardo, or Rick the Dick, and it makes my roommate very angry, which gives me joy. The moral of this story is that you should never give and never surrender, even when the odds are stacked against in such a monumental way. Believing you can do something can lead to success and even if you fall short of your goal you can look back and be proud that you have attempted something very few men of valor have dared to try. Life is a ladder that goes on forever and you will never see if it ends if you do not start climbing.
( but if you know of one please tell me, ready and willing member right here!) I am just your typical health nut who enjoys sharing my I learned with others. I truly believe that eating healthy and making the right dietary choices can have a significant impact on your life and help to remedy problems prescription medicine will never solve. You remember what coach used to say “a good defense is good offense” and this is true for your body as well. 
