Weddingbee boards

Anyone suffer mild depression after the holidays end?  It seems like every January I just feel so BLAH.  I look so foward to the holidays that after they are over I feel like I am missing something.  I live in So Cal and I know it's not weather related- it's going to be 79 degrees today- but I just feel off.  What do you do combat this? 

I feel the same! Our solution was to book a B&B this weekend and get away from the city. We'll explore a few vineyards and pretend we're on vacation. We try to do something special once a month to beat the monotony.

I get the winter blues here in Texas too.  it got to 80 degrees and sunny yesterday- it's certainly not the weather.  Frankly, during the winter months I wish it were cold and rainy because then I wouldn't have to feel bad about not wanting to get much done. I get it a bit in the late summer too, but I think that's related to me being out of school for the summer and not having much of a "purpose."

I spend most of January and February each year feeling "off."  Anxious, nervous, antsy but tired at the same time.  Mentally foggy, unable to remember things as much as normal, certainly not creative or productive.  Over the 10 or so years I've dealt with it, I've learned that the following helps:

• SOCIALIZE.  For serious- even if I don't want to talk to another soul because I don't feel like I have anything interesting, I force myself to be involved in a situation for at least a couple of hours each week that requires me to listen, react, think and "do."  I find that it forces me out of my own head, and funk.

• Exercise. This is probably my most important one.  And the hardest to do when I'm feeling low, but most of my daily anxiety spells can be calmed with a trip to the gym.  Lifting something heavy repeatedly has a way of making you forget whatever icky feeling you have.  I'm also a big fan of intense yoga (power, hot, bikram) I find it very cleansing, and I always feel accomplished afterwards.  Being active also helps me appreciate the things my body is capable of- so even if my mind is mush, my body is strong.  

• Goals.  This one's tricky, because sometimes it can remind me of all the Sh* I'm not getting done.  But I find that if I can just get a load of laundry nice and clean-smelling, and maybe cook something a little different for dinner, then I feel a little more normal.

• Remember it goes away.  

If all else fails- shopping totally helps.  But I'm broke, so I have to rely on the others :)

OH!  I forgot to mention my lamp!  Probably 'cause the bulb is burned out and i haven't used it in a while.  When I did, I put it on a timer and had it turn on an hour before time to wake up. It did WONDERS for my mood, and I woke up refreshed. 

I got mine from a sleep doctor because I was sleeping through 7, SEVEN separate alarm clocks in the morning, but the link to the company is below (mine is the Sunlight Jr.) and then I bought a timer from Target.  

It looks like it's around $260, so I included a link to google shopping, key words "SAD lamp," and found much cheaper options- as low as $65.  Basically, you're looking for anything around 10,000 lux (lux is the measurement of brightness output, as opposed to brightness percieved).

By the way, it worked like a charm- up and at 'em at the first alarm chime.

http://www.sunbox.com/products/lighttherapyproducts.html

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=sad+light&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8#q=sad+lamp&hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=shop&ei=CNQcT5r8JYj00gGdhq3oCw&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=6&ved=0CGgQ_AUoBQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&fp=34ed170d34d1e3c7&biw=1278&bih=589