Sunless days are not kind to me. I need sun in my face every day. Looked at buying a sun lamp but thought maybe lengthening days would help. Yes, if every day wasn't cloudy.
I take Lucky out for his midnight ablutions. Takes toy, drops toy and pees, checks neighbours cat who sleeps in a nest in our outbuilding, takes a dump, picks up toy, goes back to the house to bed. Then I lie awake for hours fighting battles from yesterday, 10 years ago, 30 years ago, 50 years ago with people long since dead. Nothing important.
My oldest is a professional counsellor so she gets dumped on too often. Since I am a relative she can't charge me. she gave me a couple of meditation apps I will try out. Insight Timer and calm.com
I walked Lucky today. First time since he dumped me on my face a week ago. Temp was -2C and streets were mostly free of ice. Had a near miss but stayed upright. Getting out helped both his mood and mine.
In the meantime, listening to this young lady, now 13, is a mood lifter. Enjoy.
I like grey days, but I can identify with your sleep schedule. I can't corral the monkeys in my mind either so obscure thoughts keep me awake. I try to meditate and sometimes that helps - but not often. I think we just have to accept that it is part of aging. You need to get yourself a pair of ice cleats for your boots.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to keep working on the meditation and hope it helps.
DeleteI bought ice grips that are supposed to help but my boots are to big and they don't fit on them . Not a lot of choice here
I hope your spirits lift soon, my friend. Karolina is blessed with the talent and beauty of youth alright!
ReplyDeleteThank you. Sunny and cold today so I can walk Lucky again. She does have incredible talent for one so young and cannot be still fo a moment
DeleteI hear you. I don't need sun (and avoid it) but I do need light. And my sleep schedule is shot and is doing my mood no favours. It is just after 11.30 here and I have been up since 2.30. Thanks Jazz (who has been back to sleep several times).
ReplyDeleteAnything you can find to keep the black dog at bay is a win. Keep at it.
Thanks, EC. Today is better. Sorry your sleep patterns ate all screwed up too
DeleteI think the black dog hounds us all. When it keeps me awake at night, I mentally recite multiplication tables or count backwards from 500 by 3s. As I think each number, I concentrate on seeing it in my mind: A black number or a blue number or a yellow number (yellow is particularly hard to visualize for me for some reason), and I concentrate on its form. Does it have serifs? What is its shape? Vertical or italic? I concentrate on each number until I can see it clearly, then switch to visualizing the next. It's absorbing enough to force my mind away from other thoughts, but boring enough to put me to sleep. (Usually.) If that doesn't work, I get up for half an hour or so and just sit quietly in the living room in the dark. That seems to provide a 'reset', and I can go back to bed and fall asleep.
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time during the darkest months of the year, too. We've installed bright (very bright!) LED panels in our kitchen, so I sit near those for most of the day, and it helps. I also take a cup of tea outside at least once a day (wrapped in a blanket and with one of those microwaveable hot packs on my feet). Even if there isn't any sun, I still feel brighter by the time I come in. That might be safer than trying to trek on those icy streets - take care! Hope the black dog gives you a break.
Thank you for the ideas. Sorry to hear you have that problem too. Sitting in the dark for a half hour is doable. My math is so bad I cant count to 500 forwards by 1s. I try to get outside for a while every day. But the dog does need to be walked more than he is getting. Spring is coming. Tanya has planted petunia seeds and her seed order came last week.
DeleteI hate gray days...I have to have sun. I can go few days, but after that give me sun.
ReplyDeleteAt least Texas has sun. This winter here is like Seattle or Vancouver
Deleteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek
DeleteI need to be outdoor a lease once a day. It good for us.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on and stay safe
I agree. Outside at least once a day is important
Delete"Then I lie awake for hours fighting battles from yesterday, 10 years ago, 30 years ago, 50 years ago with people long since dead."
ReplyDeleteGreat sentence in that it's aesthetically worded and accurate to many people's experience.
Oregon's Willamette Valley is infamous for gray, drizzly days that start in fall and last through spring. They get me down. I have a sun lamp, but I worry about its effect on my eyes, so I've never used it. I also have growlights in my bedroom. I keep them burning all night, and perhaps they help SAD. In any event, I do worse without them than with them. This winter hasn't been that bad.
Mood-wise, I generally hang in there through Christmas, but January through March are tough. Daffodils start blooming in late January, and, them being my favorite flower, they help a little as do the longer days. Still, I struggle to the point that I've been absolutely desperate at times. I have no desire for therapy (I've known too many shrinks to ever trust one) or antidepressants (I've tried too many of those and found them all but useless). I memorize poetry, and when I can't sleep, I recite it in my head. One I've been saying goes, "The day is cold and dark and dreary. It rains, and the wind is never weary. The vine still clings to the mouldering wall, but with every gust, the dead leaves fall. And the day is dark and dreary..." (Longfellow). I also like one by Rosetti: "When I am dead, my Dearest, sing no sad songs for me. Plant thou no roses at my head nor shady cypress tree. Be the green grass above me with showers and dew drops wet, And if thou wilt, remember. And if thou wilt, forget..." These are not happy poems (I know a number of those also), but they help me avoid "fighting battles from yesterday, 10 years ago, 30 years ago, 50 years ago with people long since dead."
I like the idea of reciting poetry, especially like the ones you suggest. I have done songs which I sing in my head but have stopped for some reason. I need to listen to more music. Hang in there fellow traveler. Our spring flowers will be blooming in March.
ReplyDeleteThis is the 1st time looking at your blog. I see you moved to Ukraine in your bio. Hope everything goes right in Ukraine against the despicable Russians
ReplyDeleteThankyou. Me too
DeleteThe Hammacher-Schlemmerer website sells lightbulbs designed by NASA to artificially trigger and regulate sleep cycles of astronauts. The S.A.D lamps also work great for those suffering with Seasonal affective Disorder during winter months. The ongoing uncertainty of the Ukrainian-Russian situation would be tough for anyone to not stress about! Hope you and your family stay safe!
ReplyDeleteThank you. SAD lamps are available in Ukraine and I intend to get one for next winter. Yes, it is stressful here and thank you for your good wishes.
DeleteI thought I'd already commented and I keep thinking about you every time the News comes on. Are you evacuating? Be Safe and Well, I'm hoping the best for you and all of Ukraine and it's people.
ReplyDeleteThank you. We are making a plan today.
DeleteIs a--hopefully--temporary relocation to Canada a possibility?
DeleteNope. Turkey or Bulgaria
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