Sad Days

We’re in the middle of the winter season which means a few things, first that we’ve dealt with the cold and want spring, and that we may be experiencing some sad days. Seasonal Affective Disorder is essentially the winter blues, when you aren’t getting enough light and you go into a seasonal depression. We are now in that time of year.

The other sad day in this time of year is Single Awareness Day, otherwise known as valentines day to happy couples. It’s hard being single, and the alternative is a hard process to get through. But just like short days, it’s no reason to be sad. Get some light and keep yourself busy, you can still be happy without a significant other.

I am one of those lucky ones that gets to deal with this. I’m no stranger to depression, when it’s there it’s hard to want to do anything to get out of it. But, regardless of the hopeless feelings, you can do something about it. SAD is when you are suffering from lack of light, there are two big solutions to this. One is to make sure that you sleep at night and are awake during the day. The other, is getting as much light as you can.

I love my sleep, even when I’m not depressed, and I’m a natural night owl, so I understand that a normal sleep routine can be difficult. My advice for this, is to plan exciting things for the day. If you keep yourself busy enough, you won’t have time to take extensive naps. Make appointments with people so you can’t bail out because you feel tired. Go to work, do things with friends, come up with projects to do. Plan your day so it’s full of things to do.

Now the light, even if it’s gloomy outside, the sun is still there, and getting that light is important. Bundle up and spend some time outside. When you’re inside, use extra lamps and keep rooms lit so that you can benefit from that as well. Take extra vitamin D, and find ways to lighten your day, even if it’s your ridiculously bright and happy friend or sibling, or quoting a comedian.

Sad days happen, but they don’t have to take over your life. You can turn the day around and make the most of it. According to Neil Gaiman you can actually really benefit from a sad day. In his keynote address in 2012, he talked about how bad things will happen, but you can use it to make good art. You can also watch the video. Actually, the video might even cheer you up on a sad day.

Know that you are still in control of your life, sad days come and you can flip them on their heads. You might even whip out your creativity and make some pretty incredible things out of a sad day. There’s really no reason to be sad when you can do something about it, and you always can.