Disorderly affective seasons

I’m feeling the approach of wintery melancholia. Maybe it’s the recurring persistence of Bloomington’s “always winter, never snow.”

Maybe it’s the solace I find under a pile of blankets or the fact that I can see my breath inside my own house. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve fallen asleep the last two nights watching “Black Swan.”

Whatever the triggers may be, Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD as some know it, is a condition that some, myself included  never find a way to avoid. SAD is a specific depressive episode that occurs during a specific time of the year, most perilously in the wintertime. 

What’s more confounding about these episodes is that people can suffer from SAD even if they don’t suffer from depression. Though it’s easy to associate the two, they’re not always in cohorts, and roughly 1,500 students are at risk of the nippy blues at IU.

What’s infuriating to me is that one of the most common remedies for SAD is light box therapy, which involves sitting in front of a bright light for an allotted time every day to cast your SAD away.

Not all of us can afford a clinically diagnosis nor the 30 to 45 minutes each morning to stare into a lamp light. I am not a doctor, but I would like to share a few new and improved remedies for when your batteries run low.

The first is good food — specifically, cooking and preparing your own good, healthy food. When you’re down, it’s important to feel self-sufficient, so stew a pot of chili or roast some acorn squashes.

You’d be surprised by how easy soup is to make but not by the comfort of inner warmth. The second is getting out of the house. SAD creeps in when you’ve decided to stay in bed for the day and be socially withdrawn.

Go about this counterintuitively and head steadfast into icy weather, braving the cold to get to a coffee shop. Bundling up for the library or simply taking a walk can get your heart pumping and cast your lethargy away.

The third is dancing. This one is pretty self-explanatory and possibly more helpful than the first two, depending on who you are. I’ve found dancing, whether in a crowd or alone in the privacy of your own room, has had remarkable effects on my mood. Crank up tunes that bring you comfort. Try out Florence + The Machine’s “Shake It Out,” or explore the hilarity that is Destiny’s Child’s “8 Days of Christmas.”

Letting go of your inhibitions, wherever you may be, makes you feel liberated and less worrisome. I truly believe you uncover layers of yourself when you dance.

If all else fails, I prescribe this with the deepest sincerity and complete seriousness in helping your personal SADness: Go see “The Muppets.”

­— ftirado@indiana.edu