Winter

I hate Winter.  I could deal with it a little better if it didn’t last 8 months of the year.  Here we get 8 months of Winter, 3 months of Summer, and 2 weeks each of Spring and Fall.  I love Summer, but also enjoy Spring and Fall.  Why does Winter have to be so freakin’ long?!   Unfortunately that means I’m pretty cranky 67% of the year!  Where is this Global Warning stuff I keep hearing about? 

Part of the fun of being a psych major is that as I learn about different disorders, I get to diagnose myself (and everyone I know ~ secretly.  They are one screwed up bunch of people, let me tell you).  Anyway, I tried to diagnose myself with Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.).  I don’t know why I do these things or what difference it would make, I’m facinated by all things psychological so that’s just how I roll.  I’m not sure I actually meet the criteria for a diagnosis but here’s what the Mayo Clinic has to say about it:

Like many people, you may develop cabin fever during the winter months. Or you may find yourself eating more or sleeping more when the temperature drops and darkness falls earlier. While those are common and normal reactions to the changing seasons, people with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) experience a much more serious reaction when summer shifts to fall and on to winter.

Seasonal affective disorder is a cyclic, seasonal condition. This means that signs and symptoms usually come back and go away at the same times every year. Usually, seasonal affective disorder symptoms appear during late fall or early winter and go away during the warmer, sunnier days of spring and summer.  Problems may start out mild and become more severe as the season progresses.

Fall and winter SAD (winter depression) Symptoms of winter-onset seasonal affective disorder include:

• Depression
• Hopelessness
• Anxiety
• Loss of energy
• Social withdrawal
• Oversleeping
• Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed
• Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates
• Weight gain
• Difficulty concentrating and processing information

What I can definitively conclude from my extensive research into this disorder and significant soul searching is that…I should MOVE!  I love everything about summer, even when it’s 95 degrees with 100% humidity and my hair is a big poofy disaster. 

I’ll take that any day over this crap.  Looking out my window, it’s bright and sunny.  I can even feel the sun on my back as I’m typing this.  It feels so good.  But outside…it’s 25 degrees!!!!  Actually, with the wind chill (for those of you not familiar with this, it makes it FEEL even colder than it is, and it’s pretty windy here in the Windy City…hence the nickname) it’s 17 degrees!!  That’s just unacceptable.  How are we supposed to live under these conditions?  The only way this would be acceptable is if we were allowed to hibernate until we got back up to a reasonable temperature…somewhere in the 50’s.  But no, we have to go on with our daily lives as if this is perfectly normal.  There is seriously a polar bear in my back yard right now.  Ok, actually…no, there isn’t, but there could be!

So, why don’t we move?  Hubby agrees with my assessment of Winter 100% so it’s not a matter of convincing him.  There are a few reasons.  Most importantly for him is that the Chicago Bears are…well, they’re in Chicago.  We also have lots of friends and family here, which is my biggest obstacle.  What if I hate living so far from my peeps?  We never seem to be able to agree on where to go either.  I want to live on the ocean.  He’s not a big fan of hurricanes.  I say we man-up and buy hurricane insurance for $40,000/month.  Hurricanes shmurricanes.  They are far less dangerous than polar bears!

Thanks for stopping by!

Related Reading:

Dave Barry Is from Mars and Venus

The Berenstain Bears' Moving Day (First Time Books(R))

We're Moving (First-Time Stories)

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