Trine Blogs: Do you get the SADs?

Trine blogsDo you get the SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)? Or the “winter blues”? I do. Every year. I get lethargic, lazy, tired, and a little very moody. Things that don’t normally bother me suddenly get under my skin and make me want to beat teachers, roommates, friends, family, and other people in my vicinity with a wet noodle (I don’t actually want to hurt anyone, just express my annoyance with their habits and behaviours. My hope is that they will mend their ways, or stay out of mine, until spring).

It usually shows up earlier than it has this time around – I wonder if it’s because I’m more south than usual, or if I’ve been so focused on school and assignments that I just didn’t notice. After our deadlines last week, all I want to do is sleep, eat and watch meaningless TV shows on my computer. Actually, I’d prefer if the rest of the world would leave me alone, perhaps provide a steady supply of soup, tea and chocolate, and I could go into hibernation until Christmas. Get out of bed to enjoy the traditional merrymaking, decorating, eating and gift exchanging; watch others blow things up on New Year’s Eve, and then go back to bed until February. No one likes January; January is more depressing than November. It’s dark and there’s always exams. And there’s not even any holidays to look forward to.

On the bright side… I got my statistics exam results back. I was on the phone with my boyfriend when I checked Blackboard, and he offered to stay on the line while I checked. Thankfully he didn’t have to console me over the phone (which is always kind of awkward) because I got an 8! I am thrilled beyond measure; I didn’t actually think I’d do that well. It means I’ve passed the course, and I don’t have to touch it again if I don’t want to. (I could practically hear the collective groans and facepalming by all the people I’ve bothered with my strung-out nerves since I started that course when I read the results. Thanks for not beating me with a wet noodle.)

Now. I’m going to get back to eating my “healthy” biscuits. I’ve started buying those little dried-fruit-packed ones that come in individual wrappers. In my head they’re better than chocolate chunk cookies (mmmh, cookies…), especially if I’m going to keep eating as many as I am right now. I swear, if I had a penny for every pastry, chocolate bar, yoghurt drink, [insert comfort food of choice here] I’ve been scarfing down lately, well… I’d be better able to afford this binge I appear to be on. Like the SAD, it happens every year around this time – I like to think of it as building up fat reserves before winter strikes when I’ll be forced to spend 3 months under my blankets. It’s very necessary, you know. Wouldn’t want to catch a chill or anything.

(Seriously, though. SAD is a powerful thing. There are ways to deal with it. If you have it bad, talk to your doctor. No reason to be depressed for a chunk of the year just because it’s a little darker – or in the case of Denmark, 6 months of perpetual greyness and horrible weather. It can be helped. Just sayin’.)

Trine Larsen (23) from Denmark studies Management of Cultural Diversity at Tilburg University and blogs for Univers.

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