Why so SAD?

Daylight savings time has ended and I will have SAD.

That’s no typo.  I have diagnosed myself with seasonal affective disorder- SAD.  According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition, published by American Psychiatric Association, I actually do not meet criteria to be diagnosis with this recurrent form of a mood disorder but something goes amiss when the shadows get long and the leaves start to change.

My SADness starts to rear its ugly head as summer fades into fall.  But now that we have fallen back one hour, it will only get worse. I will say I don’t get depressed but just too aware of the fading day and the fact that sweet precious hours of light that are available, I spend inside working.  It makes me anxious.  I feel like I’m losing time, or missing out on… I don’t know, something.

I didn’t start noticing the SADness until I lived in the DMV area.  I would get out of class and the streetlights would be on.  Better yet, if I had a class that started at 4pm, the sun would be near its final appearance for the day.  I was SO not used to that (clearly I’m still not).  I have always live in the Eastern Time Zone.  But I grew up in Ohio.  Cincinnati to be exact.  And Cincinnati lies far west in the Eastern Time Zone, about a one hour drive from the Central Time Zone.  So 5pm in Cincinnati is lighter than 5pm in say DC or Philadelphia.  I couldn’t even imagine Boston or Portland, ME… ohhh it gives me palpitations.

Now that it is daggone dark when I walk home from the SEPTA station, I don’t want to leave once I get in the house.  It’s some Jedi mind trick.  Sure it’s lighter in the morning, but all I’m doing in the morning is going to work.  I conduct my extracurriculars after work.  I enjoy the ability to get home, go to the gym or run errands and it still be light out.  I feel more productive in the daylight.  For me dark = sleep.

What’s a girl to do?

SMH.  I’m so dramatic.