Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!hriso!merkel
From: merkel@hriso.ATT.COM (Thomas Merkel)
Newsgroups: alt.recovery
Subject: Those winter blues
Summary: Seasonal Adjustment Disorder?
Message-ID: <1990Jan16.154431.8304@hriso.ATT.COM>
Date: 16 Jan 90 15:44:31 GMT
Reply-To: merkel@hriso.ATT.COM (Thomas Merkel)
Organization: AT&T HRISO, Morristown, NJ
Lines: 29

It is getting to be my least favorite time of year.  It seems
that every year in early January I start to slow down,  lose
energy and interest,  and generally go into a slump.  
This state of mind usually persists until the days start
getting warmer and spring is at hand.

I'm bringing this up as a general topic because it seems to
affect a small group of people strongly,  while other people
don't seem bothered by it at all.  I've heard mild to severe
winter depressions described as a Seasonal Adjustment Disorder,
an actual physical malady that can be helped by exposure to
strong light.  I don't go into a deep depression,  I'm not even
sure that what I feel can be described as a depression,  but
I have a lot of difficulty with feeling good in February.

This has been a recent topic of discussion in my circles,  and
I'm wondering how many others have noticed this,  and what you
do to cope with it.  Some people seem to think it is BS,
in the imagination,  or just a character defect.  Others have
had experiences similar to mine,  and end up fighting it each
winter,  just as I do.

I try to cope by staying active - physical activity,  a hobby,
keep up my meetings.  It has gotten easier to deal with,  but 
it still is there.  I'm dreaming of May flowers already!

-Tom
-- 
Tom Merkel att!hriso!merkel merkel@hriso.ATT.COM 201-898-3547 eschew obfuscation