Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Where is the Sun?

It's only December and I'm already loathing another four months until the sun reappears. It's not something I talk about a lot--because I don't want it to be the defining characteristic of my personality--but I take medication for an illness called Cyclothemia (a variation of bi-polar disease where emotional ups and downs occur over shorter spans of time. People with bi-polar generally have swings that last days or weeks. Mine are slightly less dramatic than someone with bi-polar and fluctuate above and below a normal emotional range on a daily basis). As you may or may not know, many psychological illnesses come in groups, which makes psychology more of an art than a science when it comes to figuring out what is wrong with you. Part of what's "wrong" with me is that I need the sun. I can excercise and eat properly and minimize my alchohol intake all I want, but when the sun disappears for days or weeks at a time things get pretty dismal in Jeffy-land (a nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there). That being said, I know there are plenty of others out there that suffer from depression or bi-polar or some other variation of being a weirdo that have a tough time during the winter months. If you're one of those people and need some help I'm opening this blog post for folks to comment on their experience with what ever ails you upstairs and how you deal with it. My best advice is to learn about what you're eating and be more disiplined with your diet, lay off the depressants or use in moderation, and get outside or to a gym (both if you can) as often as possible. Good luck this winter! Happy holidays!