Up here in Wisconsin, sometimes referred to as "the tundra", (even though we have grass and four seasons) it's cloudy most of the winter. Along with the daily snow showers, life can get pretty depressing. Here are some tips to curb the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as SAD or winter depression.
Seasonal mood variations are believed to be associated with light. For those of us who live in the far north, the amount of daylight in the wintertime is restricted to a very short amount of time. For our area, we have daylight from 7:25 in the morning until 4:15 at night on December 21. To compound that, we seem to have clouds for weeks on end in the wintertime. Many days we have no sun at all, and the snow just piles up to reach the mailboxes.
In contrast, on June 21, the sun rises at 5:08 in the morning and doesn't set until 8:40 at night. That usually means continual sunshine, with few to no clouds at all, but beautiful flowers.
So what do we do up here in the tundra? Before we moved to this area, we were warned by residents that we needed to find a winter activity, or we'd go crazy with the lack of sun. We thought they were nuts just living here, but when you need a job to survive, you have to be willing to move to the ends of the earth. And here we are.
Listed below are some ways we cope with the lack of sun.
Wear shorts and short sleeves inside the house. Yes, it's very odd, but it does work. Crank the heat up to about seventy degrees and flip on the lights with 100-watt bulbs.
Play music from the tropics all day long. It sticks in the back of your head, and makes you believe that there is life after winter.
Find a hobby that's all-consuming. You won't realize there's no sun if you're doing a project or a hobby that takes all your time.
Buy a sun lamp for seasonally affected disorder. This one didn't work for me, because I convinced myself I didn't have SAD, even though the first winter here was depressing. But I'm sure it's something that does help, even for the heat alone.
Play in the snow. Convince yourself that winter is your friend and it's only around for a short while. So enjoy it while you can, even if the wind chill is a balmy -35 (welcome to Wisconsin!).
Find a winter sport you enjoy. Some people around here like to ski. I consider that an instant death sport, but that's me. Some people like to skate, and others like to go ice fishing (that's neat to see). For others, it's watching the Packers play, either at Lambeau field or on TV.
Take pictures of the snow to enjoy in the summertime. I know this seems odd, but the snow can be beautiful when it first falls. If you like drama, you could also take pictures of people sliding in the snow or the amazing snowmen and creatures that people make. Or, you could post your pictures on the web for those less fortunate to see what snow is really like.
Grow bulbs inside that will remind you spring is coming. This one is fun, and will give you a great scent in your house if you choose a hyacinth. It gives you something to look forward to, just like spring, waiting for the bulb to sprout leaves.
Visit a tanning salon. I haven't tried this one yet, because I have freckles and am fair-skinned, but I've heard this helps tremendously. Not only does it give you the light you need, but you get head start on that tan before summer.
Take a vacation mid-winter in the south where it's warm. This is my favorite thing. If you can, schedule a vacation in about January or February in the furthest southern region you can go. Actually, any vacation would help, because it breaks up the doldrums of day-to-day living.
Good luck with the winter. I dread it less and less every year, because I'm saving up for a hula skirt and Hawaiian music to take away the winter blues. I'd like to include a trip to Hawaii, but that's going to have to wait. I need to know how to hula first, and winter's the best time to do it. No one wants to stand outside in the snow and stare at me through the windows, so aloha to wintertime!
