Yes, it’s another one of those posts by a blogger apologising for their absence… I’ve barely posted since November, and when I have, it’s been quick videos or cartoons that have interested me.
So where have I been? What has stopped me from venting all over my blog as usual? Well, it took me a long time to add up all the symptoms and work out just what was going wrong, but finally I admitted to myself that I had Seasonal Affective Disorder, commonly known as SAD.
When I read the list of symptoms, I couldn’t believe just how many of them I had:
• Social withdrawal
• Decreased activity
• Sadness
• Anxiety
• Decreased libido
• Poor quality of sleep (including sleeping a lot)
• Irritability
• Increased weight and appetite
• Craving for sugary/starchy foods
• Low energy levels
• Difficulty concentrating
• Depressive episodes can be mild to moderate in severity. Suicidal thoughts are an infrequent symptom.
I was lucky enough that I didn’t reach the level of suicidal thoughts, but I was most certainly depressed. I normally have a rough time during the winter, but for some reason this was the worst ever. I finally broke down to George one night - he had a fair idea that something had been wrong for a while - but it felt good to get it off my chest.
The front-line treatment for SAD is light therapy (photo therapy), so I had a hunt around and found brighterday.ie where I ordered an Innosol Rondo light. I’ve been working from home for the first hour each morning with it turned on and it really has made a difference. I’m feeling better about life, ready to go out and interact with other people again.
Now hopefully, I’m back and you should see some more posts - I’ve been plotting some things in the background and they’re nearly ready to go public.
