Standing Among Doubts
By: Ylaysia Taylor
I ask myself constantly,
“Whose dumb idea was it to name a depressive behavioral disorder that has the initials S.A.D.??”
Seasonal Affective Disorder
an unfriendly friend that decides to show her face when the leaves drop and the water freezes
With a scientific lens, you could say it is a human version of fellow animals hibernating in the winter. To store energy, our mind and body process a lil slower to make sure we have enough to last us til the sun comes back.
The sunsets are earlier. We desire to be cozy earlier. It’s natural.
but what about the s a d n e s s that comes with our frenemy, S.A.D., hm?
on a psychological, human level, how can we understand this habitual depression to a point that we are detached from it and viewing it as a visitor rather than a part of us?
For some of us, the winter triggers ~strange~ feelings around holidays, families, relationships, etc.
For some of us, the lack of sun triggers our serotonin to decrease in our body which can lead to moody nights with sad playlists and binging our comfort Netflix shows like The Office (R.I.P.) and Grey’s Anatomy instead of doing that art project we’ve been planning for a minute.
For most of us right now, we are recovering from a year where we got hit with a flipping pepperoni, pan pizza, panoramic, paparazzi, Pandemic that is still happening. Lives were taken and affected and the end & beginning of a year are always periods of reflection.
please acknowledge that our body holds a lot of our traumas and this past year we went through a lot of sh*t collectively. be gentle with yourself.
If you fancy, try meditating. Headspace is a great app to try out if you’re interested and also has more advanced levels if you already have incorporated meditation into your life. I don’t think you have to meditate regularly to feel its benefits. Personally, it helps me in moments where I feel especially overwhelmed, but meditating daily has helped people find their calm/center easily in day-to-day moments.
Do things you love. Speak to your loved ones often. Say I love you. Focus on you. Feel what you’re feeling so you can let that sh*t go.
Whether you deal with S.A.D. or all year depression, sometimes it can be too much for one person to handle. Coronavirus has made it hard to be with everyone we desire to be around, but if you don’t have anyone or can’t reach out to anyone via facetime/zoom, here are some sources:
iPrevail has a great online peer counseling service
SAMHSA’s National Hotline (helps with treatment referrals for substance and mental disorders)
1-800-662-4357
National Suicide Prevention:
800-273-8255
I’ll talk to you soon, stay safe
-ylaysia
P.S. let’s rename it. Standing Among Doubts
Staff Writer - Ylaysia Taylor (@ylaysia)