Things over which we have NO control...
Weather. How others treat us and feel about us. Others' actions in general. Weather. Weather. Weather...
It is no secret that this has been a tough winter. It started early - snow had to be cleared from the fields at state high school soccer last fall, which is the end of October. Football teams played their play-off games in near-blizzard conditions. It's been rough! And it is still going strong. March starts tomorrow, and the forecast calls for about another two to three weeks of sub-zero lows, and barely above zeros highs. I would be foolish if I tried to pretend it isn't getting to me. It's getting to just about everyone.
How do we survive? "Winter Blues" is a real thing. And it's here. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is legit and is horrible. And I won't speak to that because this is not a scholarly therapy article. What I will say about that is if you are feeling as though your depression is more than just "blues," if it won't go away, if you find little joy in anything, and you are exhausted all the time, please speak to someone! Your doctor is a great place to start, and they can make referrals to mental health providers.
What I am more specifically speaking to are just the blues. You are still happy for the most part, but things are getting harder. It's harder to get out of bed. It's harder to get dressed because you are so sick of your winter clothes! If you're me, you are rotating between a pair of tan jeans, a pair of black jeans, leggings (doubled up of course), and then your regular jeans on Fridays because seriously... you cannot walk outside in anything that's actually nice! There are not enough sweaters in the world, people!
But this too, as in all things we cannot control, shall pass! When we have no control over a situation, the only thing we CAN control is how we react to it! And that is across the board. As a school counselor, one huge area of distress for students is usually how others are treating them - either to their faces, behind their backs... And unless it's a true bullying situation, there is not a lot that can be done. We can't help if someone else doesn't like us. We can't help if someone else starts a rumor because they're mad, they're jealous, they're just a horrible person... We can't help it if we get 20 more inches of snow! It just is what it is! We CAN help our reaction.
We maintain. We keep going. We seek those who build us up and cut out the people who bring us down. We find joy in the little things. We find safety in numbers, or if we prefer, we find safety in our quiet place. Breathe deeply. Ignore the laundry for a while. Snuggle your dog/cat/kid/significant other, or all at once if you can! You find what makes YOU happy and stop doing what you think makes others happy. And, if it warms up above zero, maybe put on some warm clothes and go jump in a snowbank. Close your eyes and pretend you're jumping into a lake... because Lord knows if these temperatures keep up, the lakes are going to feel like snow, well into July!
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