Gray Plus Gray Equals Gray
In the Northern Hemisphere we’ve gained about 1 minute per day of sunlight since the winter solstice, the official start of winter, on Dec. 21.
Have you noticed?
I haven’t. Other than a couple of afternoons when it still seemed to be a bit lighter when I left work, January has been almost a continual sheet of gray with occasional breaks of sunshine. Today it’s raining and gray. Gray and more gray.
I have to confess I’m been struggling with January. The carb cravings have been high and I’ve given into the urge for pasta-only dinners several times. It’s just so easy to throw the tortellini in the water and go check email when I get home. Or a small pizza. Or some chocolate at work. Then the gray cloud around my head just settles down lower.
I have all these great ideas but it’s harder to organize them and take action.
Damn. I Have the Winter Blues
All that tells me that I need more light therapy and I need more protein.
I had an interview with a reporter from Jayplay, a student-produced lifestyle magazine at the University of Kansas, the other day. I tried to explain that dealing with SAD in winter is like walking a narrow balance beam.
If I don’t get my light therapy every day at the same time I can fall off. If I don’t eat enough protein and too many carbs instead, I’m over the side. If I stray from a regular sleep schedule I slip off. In the summer, I can do whatever I want, when I want and I feel no effect – it’s like dancing on a sparkling beach.
So know that winter isn’t always easy for me, either. It isn’t always easy to do what I know works.
My SAD Solution
Which is why I’m developing the LightBox, an online winter blues coaching program and community that will help teach you how to beat SAD and the winter blues holistically, without medication, and create a supporting community to catch you – and me – and boost us back up when we slip down into the gray zone.
Winter doesn’t have to be this hard.
In the LightBox you’ll get guidance on determining your level of seasonal depression, help on choosing and buying a light therapy light, usable help on adjusting your meals, strategies for squeezing in some exercise and shifting your attitudes and moods about winter. Oh, and did I mention a community of people who get SAD and the winter blues and are ready to support you.
Interested?
I’ll be opening the community and launching the LightBox coaching program soon, so if you’re interested in becoming a charter member, drop me your email to get on the early notification list. No obligation required and it goes without saying that I won’t share your email or spam you.
I’m limiting the number of LightBox charter members who will get a really low price in exchange for their feedback in developing the program and community. That way we can have more personal interaction as they work through the program with me. This will be a very interactive group.
So, let me know if you’re interested. Early bird gets the worm – even under the snow.
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