SAD

Whoever tells you that London weather is not crap is lying. It is crap. 2 years here and I'm still not used to it. Yes there are sunny days and even weeks and it makes you appreciate those days that much more, but when you're a Buffalo gal who has been spoiled by North Carolina weather, going back to cold and dreary is hard.

No, it is not always raining in London like they show on the movies (actually when I first moved here I was surprised to find that it rains a lot less than I thought it would, and when it rains it's usually light rain, not a big downpour). But yes it is usually pretty gray and gloomy. It just makes me want to curl up in bed all day long. I can handle the cold, I don't like it but I can deal with it when dressed appropriately, but the dark gloominess is a major bummer and has caused me to come down with a serious case of SAD.


Don't get me for plagiarism, but I totally stole this from my friend Megan's blog ( http://gingeradventuresabroad.blogspot.com/ ) but only because I knew she wouldn't mind, and because I totally feel ya girl. The Mayo Clinic defines SAD as the following -

Seasonal affective disorder is a cyclic, seasonal condition. This means that signs and symptoms come back and go away at the same time every year. Usually, seasonal affective disorder symptoms appear during late fall or early winter and go away during the sunnier days of spring and summer. Some people have the opposite pattern and become depressed with the onset of spring or summer. In either case, problems may start out mild and become more severe as the season progresses.

Fall and winter seasonal affective disorder (winter depression) Winter-onset seasonal affective disorder symptoms 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.

Spring and summer seasonal affective disorder (summer depression) Summer-onset seasonal affective disorder symptoms include: Anxiety, Trouble sleeping (insomnia), Irritability, Agitation, Weight loss, Poor appetite, Increased sex drive.

Today is day 2 of bright sunshine in London and it's totally lifted my mood. I can't wait for some of the symptoms of Spring / Summer depression to kick in! Let's hope this sunshine is here to stay! (Especially when you're here to visit Megan!)