SAD

I am becoming a believer in SAD - also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder! A girlfriend at work told me she thinks she developed it when they moved here and I'm totally blaming my winter blues on it. :) I googled it this weekend and here's the definition -

Seasonal affective disorder (also called SAD) is a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year. If you're like most people with seasonal affective disorder, your symptoms start in the fall and may continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. Seasonal affective disorder is a cyclic, seasonal condition. This means that signs and symptoms come back and go away at the same time every year. Usually, seasonal affective disorder symptoms appear during late fall or early winter and go away during the sunnier days of spring and summer.

And here are the symptoms. I've commented on the ones that have affected me -

• Depression - I am not a depressed person but I've been throwing pity parties a little more often lately.
  
• Hopelessness
• Anxiety
• Loss of energy - My workout routine is a little harder to stick with right now.
  
• Social withdrawal - We try to make plans to keep from becoming hermits, but it takes a little more work during the winter. :)
  
• Oversleeping - Two nights last week I fell asleep on the couch watching TV after work and my bed has been so warm and comfy in the mornings, it's hard to drag myself out of bed.
  
• Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed - I enjoy running but that does NOT sound as fun on a treadmill and I'm not a huge fan of running in such cold temps - not to mention, it's dark before/after work which doesn't feel as safe for me to be running alone.
  
• Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates - Dinners like baked potatoes, bowls of white rice, grilled cheese sandwiches, cereal, etc - CARBS CARBS CARBS!
  
• Weight gain - Obviously all the carbs...and you remember my losing battle to the batch of brownies a few blog posts ago?? yeah, packing on an lb or two! :)
  
• Difficulty concentrating and processing information

As I'm typing this, big, beautiful snow flakes are falling down. I LOVE watching the snow fall, but it makes me lazy. I don't want to run errands when it's cold and snowing. I can tell the evenings are getting a little longer each day which is encouraging! I know I'll be wearing dresses {without tights} and sandals again sometime soon, enjoying happy hours/dinners on the sidewalk patios and rooftops. But, for now, I'll lounge on the couch in my sweats and try to keep myself from feeling SAD. haha! :)