Winter Blues Blues Blues

“Tough Times Don’t Last, Tough People Do.”

First a few disclaimers as this post covers some heavy topics.

** Disclaimer** I am by no means a medical professional, and if you feel like you need to seek professional help, do so.

**Disclaimer** Having any type of mental illness or disability is absolutely NOT a weakness.

For us East Coasters in the thick of winter, it now gets dark at about 4:55 PM. While most of us cannot be like Countess Luanne and escape to Palm Beach/West Palm in the winters, we’re stuck dealing with it. Friends in warm-weather locations…yes, I realize that 40-60 degrees is cold for you as well! (My grandfather Pappy who lives in Florida during the winter told me just the other day they had their heat on because it was 50 degrees!!!!!!)

Even in LA, weather is a thing. Apparently “June Gloom” exists out there, and I was reminded of this in every Uber I took when I visited in June.

Moving on…a couple of “Fun Facts”:

• Arizona no longer participates in Daylight Savings, like the rest of the United States.
• Daylight Savings was enacted during World War I in order to conserve fuel needed to produce electric power.
• OKAY enough of this history lesson.

LONG STORY SHORT, we no longer have use for Daylight Savings, thank you ARIZONA for being the only one to recognize it. Instead, what happens is that as the temperatures drop, we also have the pleasure of watching from our windows the sun setting at approximately 4:55 PM.

Once this sets, our bodies start to think our day is winding down, when in fact most of us have hours more of work, exercise, cooking, etc, etc. That can feel very depressing. Many of us barely get to see the sunlight at all, and just bare the cold temperatures with our sleeping schedule out of WACK adding to the already gloomy feeling.

The other thing that goes on during this time is over-stimulation with all of the holidays (and yes I count #birthofmerey as one of those!). We have company holiday parties, gift and cookie exchanges, present expectations, family obligations, etc, etc. I literally feel like a 2-month-old golden retriever puppy who was gifted to a family of children under 5, with how over-stimulated I can get, and I’m still recovering from my birthday! (Yep, that’s right, I dropped it again!)

Societal Norms

Let’s make something clear, and I think this is what can cause A LOT of stress. Comparing your life to others, or comparing your family to other families, and thinking they are “normal.”

First of all, “Comparison is the Thief of Joy.”

Second, THERE IS NO NORMAL, because everyone is created differently and that is what makes the WORLD GO ‘ROUND. Normal is BORING anyway. What you see on social media is what people WANT you to see, remember that always. Society tries to tell us how we should be feeling and what we should be doing, and that just cannot account for the roughly 8 BILLION people worldwide.

While I personally think Christmas is one of the most magical times–especially being so close to New York City–this time of year can be A-LOT for A-LOT of people and that’s OKAY.

It’s okay to find the holidays and this time of year stressful, despite what your SOCIAL MEDIA or Hallmark channels are showing you. While I do love it, I also get OVERWHELMED.

I saw an article recently on Facebook poking fun at “millennials” as polls showed they do not want to do “white elephant” gift exchanges anymore. In all honesty, I understand this, and have heard this voiced by many people, NOT JUST MILLENNIALS. If your office is still implementing this, and HEY if this is something that is a major trigger for you for whatever reason, I would suggest talking with your manager or HR to see if maybe you don’t need to be involved.

As a side note, while I am ALL for stepping out of your comfort zone and challenging yourself, if you feel that this may lead to a toxic work environment, we do not want that!

Think Michael Scott, “The Office” IPOD White Elephant gift exchange. UGH, I hope I didn’t cause any anxiety, my point is it’s okay to take yourself out of something you find TOXIC. Also, if your boss is like Michael Scott, it’s time to move on.

Just know, that no matter how alone you may feel, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. It’s okay to NOT BE OKAY. It’s okay to feel stressed during the HOLIDAYS.

Winter blues are REAL and if you need HELP, ASK for it, you are BRAVE.

Some things I have found that help me…

-Keeping to a routine. So even though it gets dark early, I prefer to work out at night, therefore I will continue with this even if I’m working out in the pitch black.

-Also, while many of us want to hibernate in the winter, I try to make an effort to keep up with a normal social life. The reasoning is that when we have feelings of anxiety or depression, often we want to seclude ourselves. What I have found personally is that being around people helps me work through these tough times best!

-Again, I am not a medical professional, I just wanted to take the time to let everyone know you’re never alone and asking for HELP when needed is BRAVE as HELL.

“The best way out is always through.”
-Robert Frost

“If you’re going through Hell Keep going.”

Vibes,
XO