Depending upon where you currently reside, there is a pretty
good chance that right now your days are shorter, colder, and grayer. It can be very difficult to make yourself
choose to be in a good mood when you are in desperate need of some
sunshine. I personally find the short
gray days very hard to take for extended periods of time. Occasionally, a cold, rainy, dismal day can
be a nice and cozy change of pace if you’re in the mood to cuddle up with a good
book and a hot cup of tea, (the key word being ‘occasionally’). But when you hit a long patch of unrelenting
dreary days and you’re just not feeling it, then it is time to make your own
sunshine.
Following are a few ideas on what you can do to make or get
some sun back in your winter days. Some
are simple and inexpensive, some are a little more extreme and can cost as much
as you are willing to spend:
Ø
Organize some of your favorite summer songs on
your IPod/CD player, lock yourself in your house alone, crank up the music and
dance! Dance with abandonment, like a
wild person, just feel it and have fun
Ø
Buy some full spectrum lighting bulbs and pop
them into a few or as many lamps as you like
Ø
Hop in car or book a flight and spend a couple
of days somewhere warm, sunny, and coastal
Ø
Go to a local tanning bed (use your goggles and
only spend a moderate amount of time in a bed, do your research)
Ø
Put on something bright and cheerful (especially
if it’s your day off – how about flip-flops and an old Hawaiian shirt? Your favorite
bikini? ;-)
Ø
Remember the smell of your favorite suntan
lotion or oil? Coppertone? Hawaiian Tropic? Get a bottle of that and put some on
after a shower, close your eyes and enjoy the smell
Ø
Turn on every light in the house (but don’t
leave them on forever!) or if you are in a position to do so, open every
curtain in the house, open a window
Ø
Put on some happy tunes and take the dog for a
walk or go for a walk yourself but be sure to put on a pair of your brightest
orange or rosy sunglasses to give the appearance of sunshine ;)
Ø
Go buy a big, bright, beautiful sunny flower or
a bouquet of cut flowers and enjoy their beauty and fragrance
Ø
Find a local or nearby greenhouse and go spend
an hour or two, take pictures, loose yourself in the moment
Ø
If you want to do something a little more
extreme and are in a position to do so, pick a room in the house to go all out
on…paint and go crazy, bright sunny whites and yellows, paint a scene on a wall….ocean,
blue skies and bright sun, or light bright greens, throw some sand on the
floor, put tract lighting in and make it full spectrum bulbs, set up your
favorite beach lounge chair, oil up, put on the sunglasses and find some nice
beach and ocean sounds music to listen to on your IPod or CD player. Be sure to pick some quiet
time and close the door, do NOT take your cell phone or computer in that room,
it is not allowed! Throw down a blanket
and have yourself a picnic, then stretch out in your lounge and enjoy your ‘sunbathing’. Maybe next time invite a friend or a date for
a picnic lunch and a day ‘at the beach’.
Have some fun with it and use your imagination. You can always paint over the walls and vacuum
the sand later. ENJOY!
Please feel free to share some of your ideas, I would love to hear how you make your days brighter.
Note: A large
quantity of people do suffer from something known as Seasonal Affective
Disorder, (SAD). This is a very real
disorder and can range from a simple pain in the rear to being quite
serious. I am attaching a link from the
U.S. National Library of Medicine NIH National
Institutes of Health with more information on the subject. If you think this sounds like something from
which you are suffering, please make an appointment with your Doctor. The two of you can discuss the best available
treatment options for you specifically.
No comments:
Post a Comment