Tips and tricks for getting through the "gloomy times" (Vancouver: insurance, home)

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by sean98125

Get through it the way our ancestors did. There's a reason that every culture with dark winters has a bright festival of lights in the darkest time of year. Get together with your friends as often as possible, around a snapping and crackling wood fire, with a glass or mug of some warming beverage and a dinner so hearty that it will heat your belly for days. Sing, dance, light that fire against the darkness and revel in the time that you've been given. Turn inside for warmth and light.

There is a rhythm to life that we overlook these days. I think part of the sense of "gloominess" that people feel this time of year is because they are not embracing that rhythm. This is supposed to be the season to rest and make ourselves ready for the work coming in the warm months ahead. We can't do that today due to the shift from a life based on the seasons to a life based on the demands of production and consumption, but our bodies know that this season is a time to celebrate.

The weather isn't gloomy - it simply is what it is.

Well said!! Exactly true!! Facts are simply facts, neither "good" nor "bad", nurturing nor damaging -- how we choose to feel about the facts is how we make our lives happy or unhappy.

[LordBalfor]

mishigas73 -

As a long-time resident who's grown sick of the gloominess myself (to the point that even though retirement is decade or so away, I've already bought retirement property in Arizona) I have to say that the one little trick I do is to break down the winter into small chunks that are a bit easier to get through. It's really mostly a psychological trick more than anything, but it DOES help me get through the dark, gray months but it does seem to help me a lot.

December generally seems to fly by because of the Holidays so it's never really a problem for me - but January is another matter entirely, it's the very worst month of the year in my opinion - the dregs of winter. So, I split the month in half and look forward to the middle of the month (which happens to fall on my birthday) and then I can think to myself "well, the worst month is half over already".

The next thing I do is to not consider February to be a true winter month - yes I know, it's still cold, gray and wet most of the time - but down in the lowlands (I live near Sea-Tac) February starts to show real signs of spring. For one thing the crocus start blooming in the 2nd half of the month and the days begin to warm a bit (when we get sunny days it can be quite nice - though the nights are chilly then), also the days begin to noticably lengthen - so that by the end of the month it is still daylight (twighlight at 6 PM). The biggest joy I get in February though is the fact that around the middle of the month the Indian Plum bushes - which are often found in the understory of lowland woods - get their leaves and suddenly the areas beneath the trees are bright, lush green. Having lived in both the Midwest and East Coast - where true winter lasts much longer - I really enjoy the fact that true winter (when there are no leaves yet) begins to vanish during this month. Now I'm not quite sure that I consider February to be a spring month yet - but I don't really consider it to be a true winter month either - but rather something in between.

Come March 1st, as far as I'm concerned in the Seattle area it is definitely Spring (no matter WHAT the calendar says). The daffs in my garden are either already blooming or very near to doing so. In truth the weather is still pretty yucky but visually spring has arrived - and this far earlier than places are similar latitudes elsewhere.

So, the upshot is, there are both good points and bad points to the weather here. The good news is that (at least in the lowlands) true winter is really pretty short - and it will seem even shorter if you break it into the small easier-to-deal-with pieces I mention. The bad news is that warm sunny weather is very, very slow to arrive. While our springs come early, they are slow to gather strength and summer comes late. Stll, at this time of year it's the vanishing of winter that I look forward to - the arrival of warm sunny weather admittedly has to wait.

So look around you and notice the fact that the daff's are probably already a good 6 inches tall, that the crocus are getting ready to bloom, that the forsythia bushes - with their bright yellow blooms - are very near ready to pop and that the Indian Plum bushes of the small patches of woods scattered all over are about to turn green. Though warm, sunny weather is still quite a ways off, true winter is nearly over around here in the lowlands - and will be gone LONG before many other parts of the country. In truth, Seattle has a very, very short winter season and by the end of this month that will have become abundantly clear if you simply notice what the vegitation is doing.

Ken

[E Roy Slade]

gyms spread mrsa disease so thats out for me

[cdelena]

Originally Posted by E Roy Slade

gyms spread mrsa disease so thats out for me

That sure sounds like an unfounded rumor. I have gone to gyms for over twenty years and never even heard someone getting a disease from going to the gym. (Maybe athletes foot in a shower, or the flu from a sneeze, but easily avoided) How did you conclude that MRSA is spread in a gym?

[urbandeco]

or move to sunnier climes like Florida. Hey, I walk to the beach everyday..sunny, warm...outdoor cafes booming. yeah baby!

[earls]

I think one thing that always works when you are feeling 'down' because of the gloom of the day etc. is to consider helping someone perhaps at a senior center, or Salvation Army, or a elderly neighbor or just a neighbor bring them something some cookies for example then by doing some of these things you forget you are feeling gloomy and you go away better and with the knowledge that the person you went to help has actually helped you more!

[gentlearts]

Well, I'm in Ohio, and I'm feeling the same way. If you can afford a week somewhere hot and sunny, it will get you through til spring.
All I know is, you're living in one of the most beautiful states in the country, so maybe you just need to concentrate on whatever it is that makes WA such a popular state to live. Like maybe the moisture is good for your complexion, or you get to wear cute raincoats?

[E Roy Slade]

ive read if you dont get 30 minutes of sun a day maybe on 40% of body you get cancer and if you get too much sun you get skin cancer

so i guess id build a greenhouse

but it has to be direct sun but its too cold or is it?

if there are clouds 80 % of the rays still get through

dont be a wimp, just get out and walk!!
the windyer the day the more i want out it almost seems

there will always be people who refuse to walk and say they will and then it stops raining and theyre still sitting on their couch eating donuts

[samsmom]

Oh, I miss sunny FL......used to walk the beach everyday....I lived close enough to just walk from my house. Been out here for 4 months now....love the area but hate the cold rain.....brrrrrr! However, I still go out for long walks everyday (my furry friends count on me for that and I can't let them down). Having a dog or two (or three) will surely get you out on those gloomy days. If nothing else, the fresh air will put you in a good frame of mind. I find that as long as I get outside everyday, I'm still smiling and my waggers are too.

[noplacelikeWA]

It's NOT the rain, it's NOT the cold, it's the gray skies and short days!

I have SAD and when I lived in the NW my doctors (medical and psychological) prescribed the following...

1) 15minutes of outdoor light EVERY day, go for a walk or go for a drive, just get outside!

2) Tanning salons are not just for tanning... go once or twice a week just for 10 to 15minutes. (You'll be surprised how good this feels and works.)

3) Take a mid winter break, if you can't go to AZ or FL go somewhere closer... there are other parts of WA that aren't so gray either like the Tri-Cities, Spokane, and Anacortes for example.

4) Set up a room in your house that is the light room... windows are good but don't be afraid to turn on a bunch of 100watt bulbs for couple of hours each day, the cost is worth it.

5) Get regular exercise it will keep your serotonin levels up and the dopamine your body produces is the best natural antidote to depression.

6) And when all else fails....a low dose antidepressant can go a long way to get you through 6months of overcast.



I moved to TX 22months ago and I wish I could say I'm cured but SAD doesn't work like that. After 20+yrs in the NW and the gray skies now I am struggling to adjust to 75+degree sunny weather shocking my system in the middle of winter.

Then again maybe it's all just in my head...