Oh Difficult December . . .

[fidgiegirl]

December is always just the worst month.

The days are so short.

I am so tired and cranky, and worse this month because I've been off my probiotics all month, though I started up again today.

I feel all evening that I just sit and wait for bedtime.

I feel like while I'm doing this that there are a bunch of things I'm supposed to be doing and feeling guilty that I'm not.

Oh solstice, you cannot come fast enough . . . at least it's been relatively warm.

I'm ready for December to be over. :(

[Tiam]

I think I like December least also. I don't really like decorating for Christmas anymore either. I'm a scrooge!!!

[Mrs-M]

The most difficult month for me is January. Seems winter has just begun and spring is so far away... (SAD, cabin-fever, winter-blues, I feel it all by January). And, to make things even worse, I find the older I'm getting, the worse it's getting.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Yes I find it a difficult month too. I also always seem to get sick in Dec, long harsh colds and flus that stay around awhile :(. I don't like the darkness. I don't like the tendency toward increased traffic (always this time of year, like clockwork). I don't like that I avoid the stores (due to not liking crowds). Oh stores, how I miss you. :) I know that sounds major shopaholic, but hey I may have gone sept, oct, nov buying nearly nothing but when I realize I am deliberately doing so just to avoid crowds, I hate that I feel I have to deliberately do so (but I DO HATE crowds!)

[goldensmom]

The most difficult month for me is January. Seems winter has just begun and spring is so far away... (SAD, cabin-fever, winter-blues, I feel it all by January). And, to make things even worse, I find the older I'm getting, the worse it's getting.


Me too, Mrs. M., plus February. December is good but January and February have become one long, bleak month for me. I was just commenting recently on how I didn’t used to the be this way but the older I get the less I like the cold and long, dark evenings. I want sunshine every day until 10PM.

[mtnlaurel]

We used to live at a really high elevation in the mountains for several years -- started snowing in Sept, stopped in early May if we were lucky.
And then we discovered the value in a Sunny Location trip mid-winter. Nothing extravagant just a sunny, somewhat warmer, locale to break up the never-ending winter.... it did wonders for my state of mind and I am still grateful for those trips today! It was so amazing for us we changed our budget to fit them in for the last few years we were there.

[herbgeek]

I'm with you on this Fidgiegirl. I've had this combination of restlessness and malaise all month. Feel like I /should/ be doing something, but no motivation to start anything. I finished up the Christmas presents I was making the other week, and now I have no active projects I'm working on, or books I'm reading or anything. Just feeling bored and antsy.

[CathyA]

Sometimes I wonder if christmas was placed in the middle of winter in olden times, in order to cheer people up. Now I think it just stresses everyone.
My low points seem to be Oct-Nov. Things start looking up for me in January.
Fidgiegirl....are you getting enough sun?

[fidgiegirl]

Oh friends, just your commiseration makes me feel better. I can't precisely say I'm HAPPY to hear that all of you are bummed out, too, because that would be weird! But you know what I mean . . . I'm not alone.

@CathyA - I most certainly do not get enough sun. But I did just take my first Vitamin D not 15 minutes ago. Here's hopin' . . . .

[Rosemary]

Yes, Christmas was placed where it is to cheer people up: because it was placed where it is to take advantage of the traditions that already existed at that time of year, honoring the return of the sun (Saturnalia and others).

For me, it's January that really gets me down. Taking down the holiday decorations - not fun. Bone-chilling cold that lasts for days, then a brief reprieve until it comes again, maybe with snow to shovel in-between warming fingers to prevent frostbite - seems hard to remember that the Earth was ever green, and will be again. Standing out at the bus stop in the morning in the dark, cold, cold, cold.

Oh yeah, are we supposed to be cheering ourselves in this thread? Let me try again.

Long, uninterrupted hours in which to focus on the interior of my house, which is neglected all summer and in the holiday season. Time to dig into all those closets and drawers (because, let's face it, it is simply too cold to go out unless necessary). Time to catch up with distant friends by email or phone. Time to work on that bag of ongoing craft projects. Savory soups simmering on the stovetop, warming, humidifying, and scenting the house with ginger or thyme. Yes, that sounds so much better!

[pinkytoe]

I am asuming that previous posters live in really cold climates. Living down here in Hades, I love the winter months (except for the holiday stuff). When February comes, I know that our very short spring is right around the corner and then six months of relentless heat to follow. I LOVE winter!! I like the getaway idea though just to break the monotony of any season.

[Mrs. Hermit]

Nice try, Rosemary! And it does indeed sound better! I'm thinking of trying a full spectrum bulb in one of our lamps this winter. I will have to be careful which lamp, though. I am chronically low on Vit D (absorption issue) which causes a lot of pain. I thought a spectrum bulb might help.

[leslieann]

I agree, nice try, Rosemary! I don't hate December; it usually passes by in a blur, and January is usually pretty busy too. Probably because I taught in universities for most of my career...busy, busy times of year. But now I don't teach and maybe things will change.

March has always been the looonnngggeesssttt month for me. Long, dreary, cold, dank, often still very icy and miserable..Can't ski or snowshoe, usually, and I am waiting, waiting for spring that doesn't really come here until May. Ugh. I'll post looking for support when March comes.

In the meantime, the good news about December is that it is almost over, along with the craziness that the holidays have become. The solstice is nearly here; tomorrow will be the longest night (if I have my cosmic info correct) with the actual solstice event occurring early Thursday. So light those candles, drink that ale and eat those latkes.....or whatever it is you do to celebrate!

[bekkilyn]

December is only the beginning of the misery, so it doesn't really get bad for me until January and February, and then I am just tired all the time and have no energy or motivation for anything, and the cold just puts me in a tension that also saps energy. I don't feel depressed, but it's just such a herculean effort to get through anything during these months. December is only bad because of all the holiday consumer crap and the fact that I have to fight through traffic and crowds just to do my normal errands, such as grocery shopping, so my temper ends up really short too.

[KayLR]

I think I like December least also. I don't really like decorating for Christmas anymore either. I'm a scrooge!!!

I've crept into this way of being, too, the last few years. Since DH & I moved to a smaller dwelling and have been working on simplifying/downsizing, I have been less and less interested in decorating for Christmas or any other holiday. It just seems like more clutter. Even our Christmas tree is on the front porch.

Now, I've nothing against Christmas...I am a Christian and do observe Jesus' birth, but I just don't really get into it like most people do. I used to....just don't anymore. The thing is, I feel kinda Scrooge-like too. It's a weird feeling. If you don't indulge in these practices, you really do feel like you don't fit.

[CathyA]

I know this is absolutely impossible, but I would love to see how people acted/felt after they went to bed when the sun goes down and get up when it rises. Our bodies are also supposed to slow down in winter. No wonder we're tired.........just look at all the things we do that are totally against nature's plan for us.

[HappyHiker]

If you've not tried it, it might help S.A.D. to supplement right now with 2000 mg/day Vitamin D. Recommended by my doctor (your mileage may vary, I tested below normal for Vitamin D) and it's helping...I've more energy and optimism.

[Aqua Blue]

If you've not tried it, it might help S.A.D. to supplement right now with 2000 mg/day Vitamin D. Recommended by my doctor (your mileage may vary, I tested below normal for Vitamin D) and it's helping...I've more energy and optimism.

I have been doing that for a about a year now and it has been helping me too. It isn't totally a fix, but it is better. I find January and Feb pretty bleak too. Some of it, on reflection, is I keep to house at 65 in the daytime and 55 at night, I miss feeling warm all winter.

[leslieann]

I take vitamin D3 and I use a light, starting in October, which helps me manage my moods much better during the darkest days. I really do want to hibernate, CathyA, and hit the sack when the sun goes down which is before five pm here and now. And I do sleep later in these months; I have been sleeping until nearly seven which is an hour before the sun rises. I used to live by the clock a lot more.

I also admit that I certainly do NOT go to bed at five but I am quite slow in the evenings. I have been trying to get myself to get out to the gym but it ain't working. So I am scheduling workout time into the daylight as much as I can. However, in six months I'll be wired, wanting to sleep very little, wildly creative and energetic as the sun seems to barely set by ten pm. But I guess I couldn't possibly sustain that level of energy all year. so, yeah, I guess I am a hibernating animal living a non-hibernating life.

[fidgiegirl]

I have been doing that for a about a year now and it has been helping me too. It isn't totally a fix, but it is better. I find January and Feb pretty bleak too. Some of it, on reflection, is I keep to house at 65 in the daytime and 55 at night, I miss feeling warm all winter.

I can see that! I don't know if even if I were to become the most hardcore of frugalistas, I need the heat at 68 at least! Maybe a fuzz lower at night, but never below, say, 63.

[HappyHiker]

Back in California, during the winters, I'd get really cold. Our home had large single pane windows and the temps would get into the 40's and it would be damp and rainy. Felt as though a wind blew through the house. My core got cold all the way through and I couldn't ever get warm. Finally I learned to take a really hot bath, soak until par-boiled, then put on heavy seats...that did the trick where nothing else would. Once my core got warmed up, I stayed nice and toasty. The other trick was very thick woolen socks.

[Simplicity]

I too struggle with the short days of November trough March or so, December being the worst.

Try to get outside in the sun/daylight as much as you can each day (hard for those of us who work from sun-up to sun-down, I know). My doctor recommended one of those lightboxes for SAD, but they are expensive. I should really check to see if it would be covered under my health insurance. I think you just use it for 20 minutes a day or so. Might be worth looking into.

[puglogic]

Roughly mid-December to mid-February are the worst for me. Strings of subzero days, my body doesn't feel like exercising (no! I need those calories as fat! don't make me burn them! :) ) darkness, darkness.

My defensive weapons this year are vitamin D, good sleep, lots of guided meditations on mp3, my journal, and as much GENTLE exercise as I can talk myself into.

I'm even going to break down and turn up the thermostat a little. I hate being cold.

[Jemima]

I don't like the short days or the mobs of shoppers either, but I'm usually relieved when winter comes because it kills the ragweed pollen. Due to the unusually warm weather this year, however, it still seems to be around.

Just getting outside for ten or fifteen minutes really seems to help me, and I have also started taking Vitamin D. I'm concentrating on getting the house really, really decluttered and planning next year's garden.

Since this is my first winter of being retired, I'll likely enjoy the snow immensely, just thinking that I *don't* have to drive in it. :D

[JaneV2.0]

"Since this is my first winter of being retired, I'll likely enjoy the snow immensely, just thinking that I *don't* have to drive in it. "

I was so looking forward to this part of retirement. It's hardly snowed since. Damn global warming...

[happy with less]

This November and December my moods have been so much different than previous years. Since Sept til mid Dec I have started work at 4 pm and work til 12:30 am, and at work I am positioned under 2 large florescent lights. Light has made a HUGE difference in mood.... I sleep until 10 am, I'm awake during the natural day lighting, and working under light during the dark. That being said, I am happy to know that each day from here til June will be a little longer, even if by a minute or so per day. :)

[ApatheticNoMore]

Is it even depression and sadness? Or just a clearer perception of the dark side of things.

where's a yin yang smiley?

* of course if for you it is full blown clinical depression then um disregard this musing

[fidgiegirl]

It's the solstice!!! It's the solstice!!!! YIIIPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Also, I've been on Vitamin D for only 3 days, and what a difference already. OMG! Even if imagined, I'll take it!

[rosarugosa]

I definitely prefer the warmer months, but winter is OK too. I don't like the cold and the dark, so it's time to cocoon and turn my focus inward. I honestly don't understand why anyone who can afford it doesn't heat his/her home to a comfortable level, but everyone has to make his/her own choices about these things. I agree that it's a nice time to tackle indoor projects. As much as I find xmas generally annoying, I like my quirky little decorations, and I love all the amaryllis bulbs starting to pop around the house. I would highly recommend amaryliis as a huge winter mood-booster! DH just made the annual 5-gallon bucket of eggnog, and that is quite a mood-booster as well! :)
Since we do our climatic stoicism on the other end of the spectrum (no air conditioning), winter also means the return of good eating in our house. DH loves to bake and cook, and the house is frequently full of yummy smells in the colder weather. Candles are nice, and we get a lot use from our cheesy little electric "woodstove." Cozy ambiance is what it's all about!
Fidgie, I think now that you have your wonderful new home, you will enjoy nesting more, and you can add touches that make you happier to be indoors during the winter. This is a great time for you to think about that sort of thing!

[razz]

I used to find February hard and had to visit a greenhouse to get s feeling of life around me. Lately since I have had to walk the dog twice a day, I don't find the winter quite so long or hard to take.

My favourite greenhouse/garden centre is closed to the public effective tomorrow although they are still starting plants in the back but I must find a new green space to get my sunshine and greenery fix in February.

[fidgiegirl]

Ooh razz, that's right! I enjoy going to our local conservatory in winter. Thanks for the reminder.

[mara61]

I didn't read all the responses, but wanted to mention that my husband used to really have a hard time in the winter months but when he started exercising a few days a week it has made a world of difference. No winter is not his favorite time of year, but it's certainly better for him. Just a thought...

[puglogic]

Definitely helps me as well. Today, to escape the nonstop negativity of my visiting in-laws, I went to the rec center and spent about two hours walking on the treadmill, stationary cycling, lifting weights, sitting in the hot tub.......$3.75 worth of peaceful bliss. Priceless to me, though.