Getting Through the Dark

"I have always hated November. As soon as daylight saving time is withdrawn, darkness at 5 p.m. drains me. I start counting down to the winter solstice immediately. With the approach of December 21 prominent in my mind, I look forward to the celestial juncture when light will last a bit longer each day. This awareness gives me a quiet spark, a portion of zest that starts replenishing me. It's no fun feeling bleak."

"Knowing there's a name for this sensitivity- seasonal affective disorder-is at once a relief and an insult. OK, others have this same tendency in their neurobiology that has earned a place in psychiatry's diagnostic manual. But is it really a disorder to be so deeply affected by the insufficiency of winter light? Perhaps it is part of a heightened attunement to the natural world, an inability to be indifferent to the encroaching darkness that is winter."

November's shortening daylight produces a persistent sense of depletion and prompts counting down to the winter solstice for hope. Anticipation of lengthening days after December 21 provides a modest replenishment of energy. The label seasonal affective disorder identifies a biological sensitivity to diminished winter light that can feel both consoling and diminishing. Intermittent sunbreaks during dreary stretches can trigger collective relief and uplift individual mood. Bright, snow-amplified light in high-latitude settings can feel spectacular and arresting, producing moments of quiet wonder and temporary restoration before daily routines resume.

Read at Psychology Today