Is it the weather?
This is a time of year when I have to remind myself more often that the sadness—or just plain sluggishness—a lot of people are feeling is just the weather. After all, this Sunday marks the end of daylight-savings time, and it’s already pretty dark by 6:00 p.m.! Add to that the upcoming holidays, which can be a real challenge for some people, particularly if you’ve suffered a major loss this year.
If you’re feeling down—for any reason—my first instinct is to help you work through it and feel better. Most often, that’s your goal too. But even if it’s just the weather, I might also work with you to build your tolerance and strengthen your attitude about the occasional low moods you experience.
Sometimes it’s a mistake to work so hard to overcome these moods, or medicate them away. If it’s a seasonal-affect thing, one good solution is to find sunshine and find it fast: is now a good time to pop down to Vegas for a long weekend? But another good solution is to walk with the feelings a bit. Take a long autumn walk (even if it’s raining!) and give yourself some time to simply move your body, breathe, and experience this blue moment in your life.
I had a couple of blue days last week. I still don’t really know why. I could lay out the probable reasons, which could be work stress, divided energies, or an unwise decision not to go to the health club often enough last week. But I’m a person, not a machine. Sometimes I’ll feel happy for no understandable reason, and that works for low moods too. Is it some past loss I’ve suffered, resurfacing now, in the dying of the year? Is it just the darkening skies of late October? I don’t know, but I doubt it. I decided it was best to simply experience it. I framed it as a touch of melancholy, a natural, human thing. I also talked about it with a person I trust, and that was helpful.
This week I feel better, and next week is unwritten, unknown. If you’re feeling a little melancholy, that’s perfectly fine. You might be just fine. Let’s talk about it, if you’d like, but first, think about a long walk under the fall trees and gray clouds.
