Annual Seasonal Affective Disorder Rant

Here we go, folks. It’s time for my annual Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) rant. Those who suffer from this unfortunate malady really, really hate winter. How we handle it, however, varies from person to person.

For those of you who don’t know, SAD is a depressive disorder directly related to the amount of daylight. As summer flows into autumn, and autumn into winter, the decreased amount of daylight has an adverse psychological affect on sufferers such as me.

Individuals handle the situation differently. The most severe sufferers should consult a physician and take proper medication. Moderate sufferers, such as me, can use other alternatives. One popular method is to sit under a specially designed light that mimics sunlight. My house is fortunate enough to have ample mercury vapor lighting in our backyard which helps a lot.

My SAD operates differently than most. The problem kicks in with the anticipation of less daylight rather than actually experiencing it, usually right around June 1st when I realize the longest day of the year is less than three weeks away. By the Fourth of July holiday, I am positively batty, making it my least favorite holiday in the year as I watch the Weather Channel and the ever earlier time for sunsets. The problem peaks in late October as the time change looms over the horizon.

Then something happens in my twisted mind, and my mood changes the day we “fall” back. I begin to anticipate the winter solstice, and the lengthening daylight. To that end, I watch the online sunset/sunrise time of the US Naval Observatory. As I write this, my mood is an upswing…much to my wife’s relief as the holiday season approaches…Ho! Ho! Ho!

Here’s the skinny. As you read this, the sunset time is 5 minutes away from its earliest sunset time of the year, which is 4:54 PM. That occurs on December 3, and continues at that time for 11 days. On December 14, the sunset begins to move later at 4:55 PM. By January 1, the sun sets at 5:04 PM. By my birthday, January 22 if you want to send me a card, the sun is setting at a marvelous 5:25 PM.

That is not to say the days are getting longer beginning December 3. The sunrise, which is irrelevant to me as I am usually still half asleep, continues to occur later until December 30, when it rises the latest at 7:48 AM. That continues until January 9, when it finally begins to rise earlier. From December 15 until December 30, the sunrise and the sunset move later in tandem so it seems that the days may be getting longer because of the later sunsets, but it fools you as the length of the days is being whacked in the AM. December 21, the winter solstice, is the center date of that tandem move.

So, to sum up: December 3…good! December 21…getting closer! December 30…the end is here! January 9…working the right way in both directions! January 22…spring is just around the corner, and all’s well with the world!

And yes, I have been told that my obsession is really weird!!!!!!