Don't be S.A.D. RESQ71

AT this time of the year we all say it...."Oh this weather is DEPRESSING!" But did you know there is an actual syndrome to prove it?

It's called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or S.A.D. for short. Symptoms include:

1. sleep problems- oversleeping but not refreshed, needing a nap in the afternoon, cannot get out of bed

2. overeating- craving carbs and gaining weight

3. depression, despair, misery, guilt, anxiety- normal tasks become difficult

4. family/social problems- avoiding company, irritability, loss of libido

5. lethargy- too tired to cope, everything in effort

6. physical symptoms- often joint pain and/or stomach problems, lower resistance to infections

The problem comes from lack of bright light in winter. Researchers have proved that bright light makes a difference to the brain chemistry, but why some people suffer and others don't is still unclear.

The treatment is obviously...BRIGHT light! You need at least a 2500lux (lux is the technical measure of brightness) which is roughly 5 times brighter than a well lit office. Also, LED lights, lightboxes and sunlight simulator lamps are useful.

**Ok, now these are severe cases of people and if you feel you have any of the above symptoms, I strongly encourage you to seek professional help.

So how do WE handle this lack of bright light and the winter blues???

I'm so glad you asked.....You have a challenge! LOL This week's challenge is to beat the S.A.D. in your life and make a project with something that makes YOU happy! You can use a picture of your kids, hubby or dog, make a Valentine for a friend, use a beach scene to remind you of summer vacation, or make a celebration card to remind you of the things in life that are important! Anything that makes YOU happy works here!

Here is my HAPPY card...my Happy BIRTHDAY card!:

What makes me happy about this card is the vellum strip and the background...the vellum strip because I NEVER use vellum and I did this for a Papertrey challenge and I Love how it came out...and the background because instead of pulling out a separate BG stamp, I used the cake square instead! Cool, huh?

Don't forget to use the keyword RESQ71 if you are uploading to an online gallery, or use the inlinx below:

Thanks for stopping by and SMILE!