On seasonal affective disorder, what the symptoms of SAD are, and how it may impact moms with postpartum depression …

It has taken me a while to get this post to all of you.  Each time that I have tried to sit down and put thought and experience onto paper, I have felt stumped by lacking creativity.  Perhaps it is the transition back from the holidays, I have wondered.  Or the demands of a developing tw0-and-a-half-year-old.  Or a busy practice and paperwork on my desk.  Or the driving desire to get out of my office and release some steam outside only to be reminded that it is wet and gray and too cold out there for my running preference.

Or, as Katherine reminded me, it might just be that it is the middle of winter.

Winter.  It can be a tough time for all of us.  The days get shorter and colder, the weather often chaotic, the roads sometimes dangerous, the gas bills go up.  Fresh fruits and vegetables can be harder to find and usually become more expensive in these long months.  Runny noses abound and the flu seems to be around every corner.  The air gets drier, our skin cracks, and we often are not drinking enough water.  Children tend to go stir crazy when the playtime outdoors is limited.  And, if we do attempt to get those little ones outside, the efforts at managing struggling kiddos into appropriate layers can feel for naught when red-cheeked toddlers decide that they are cold and wet after only a few minutes of play.

Winter tends to be a time when our neighbors are rarely seen, when communities are harder to access, and when we find ourselves spending more time at home.  We tend to loose our patience more.  We tend to have a harder time concentrating.  We often have less energy.  We feel less creative.  We might, even, suffer from a bit of Seasonal Affective Disorder. [Read more...]