I ask myself frequently why I live in Oregon when I thrive in the sun. Then I realize it’s my parents’ fault for putting us here in this rainy state. In class, I constantly find myself daydreaming about what it would be like to live in a place like California or Arizona, while watching the rain drizzling from the sky through the watery window. During this I imagine the sun glowing on my face instead of the shade of the clouds darkening the room. I dream of what a glorious life it would be with the sky always blue.
Living in Oregon comes with getting a regular greeting of depressing clouds and cold rain during the year. This most definitely does not help my mood. When the weather is gloomy my energy is drained, and I feel like being super lazy. This reaction to weather is probably best described as seasonal depression. This phenomenon is when the shorter days and bad weather cause a lack of certain brain chemicals (like serotonin) that cause depression. It’s kinda wild when you think about it, like really? A little rain and the sun setting at four can make the chemicals in my brain change? That is pretty crazy.
But seasonal depression is no joke. My immediate reaction to seeing dark clouds is to make some chocolate chip cookies and curl up on the couch to watch a movie. In my mind, it’s not appropriate to keep going about my day when the weather is dreary. The darkness is the weather’s way of telling me my day is done. These feelings from the weather are from brain chemicals disrupting my normal rhythms. In turn, this makes it hard to adjust to the differences when it’s light out. This is what causes depression symptoms like excessive tiredness, lack of focus and irritability.
Treatment for seasonal depression includes a few different options. Tactics to mitigate this beast can include talk therapy and medications, which are pretty normal treatment options for depression. But light therapy can also be used for this certain type of depression. Light therapy is getting a battery or electricity operated light box that is over 10000 lux, which is similar to the light waves that the sun gives off. When you sit in front of the light box, it helps influence the increase in production of serotonin. This helps because seasonal depression is connected to the lack of sunlight in the winter months.
Something I find interesting is that complete darkness doesn’t make me tired. I am a night owl at heart and can be up till four in the morning any day. But ask me to wake up early and then I will feel sick the rest of the day. My point is that I only feel affected by seasonal depression when it’s gray and dark outside. It’s still day but the dark stormy clouds make the light dimmer. That is the type of weather that makes me long for a peek of the blue sky. The clouds make me feel suffocated. It’s truly awful.
Sun is the biggest blessing ever known to man. First of all, it makes me so productive. It also makes me want to connect with nature and do things like go for a walk or bike ride. Sun also makes me the prettiest person ever. The sun is known to clear acne but it does so much more. Sometimes it will give me a nice tan or just glow in general. It most definitely makes me feel more confident in myself as well.
When it’s summer and the days are super long and full of light, it’s just so joyful. It feels like there are more than 24 hours in the day. This type of day gives me so much energy and happiness. The sheer fact of the sun and blue sky brightens my day 10000x more than anything else in the world.
Although having seasons in Oregon is cool since we get a taste of everything, it’s also really annoying. I just want the sun. I want longer days. Life with beaming sunlight and blue sky everyday would make me the happiest person alive. You better believe you won’t catch me in Oregon as soon as I can get out of here.
