Finally, cooler weather is coming! For those of you who have been sweating through your favorite shirts and feeling constantly dehydrated, this can seem like a blessing. However, for some people, its dreaded.
Six percent of Americans suffer from severe Seasonal Affective Disorder which causes depression in otherwise neurotypical people. Another 14 percent suffer from a lesser form of the same disorder, typically characterized by mood swings, rather than simply depression.
So, while you are enjoying your pumpkin spice latte and throwing on your hoodies, remember these people.
If you are affected by this disorder, realize you aren’t alone. Six percent and 14 percent are large percentages when you are talking about millions of people. There are simple things you can do to help yourself to get out of bed and face the grey skies.One thing that has helped me the most is taping inspirational quotes to my mirror and reading them aloud every morning. It helps prepare you for an uplifting day, despite the sun hiding. Here are some that I have collected over the years, I suggest you try it too!
1. “Nothing is impossible, even the word itself say ‘I’m possible!’’ –Audrey Hepburn
2. “With every new day comes new strength and new thoughts” –Eleanor Roosevelt
3. “A gloomy guest fits not a wedding feast” –Friedrich Schiller
4. “The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today” –H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
5. “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light” –Aristotle
6. “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” –St. Francis of Assisi
7. “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” –Robert Louis Stevenson
8. “What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
9. “Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.” –Mother Teresa
10. “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” –Maya Angelou
11. “Happiness is the natural flower of duty.” –Phillips Brooks
12. “A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.” –Jack Dempsey
13. “Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig.” –Marcus Aurelius
14. “The best way out is always through.” –Robert Frost
15. “Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself.” –Desiderius Erasmus
16. “Give light and people will find the way.” –Ella Baker
Photo credits: Eleanor Ritzman