Who the heck gets depressed during spring?

The days are longer, which means more sunshine. The hills are turning green. Buds are showing on the trees and lilac bushes. Tulips are raising their heads. Baby animals frolic in the fields. How can anyone be depressed?

I’m not sure, but as a person who suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), it is happening to me. Those with SAD suffer from a persistent low mood, loss of interest in activities, increased sleepiness, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, irritability and depression.

For me personally, irritability, sleepiness and depression are the worst symptoms. Dealing with people seems to be more of a challenge this time of year. My poor office mates must listen to me singing, “People…I hate people” to the tune of “People who need people.” Oh, I sing it all year round, but it seems like they hear it more in spring. Much more.

I obsess about people who upset me with their phoniness or narcissistic behavior, those who do good things not for the sake of helping others but rather to make themselves look good. The obsession is not healthy, as I waste time putting them in their place in my mind. Anger floods in and sucks the happiness out of me.

It makes me sorrowful that I waste so much of my time and energy despising them. I should be concentrating on the people that do good for the sake of others. Yet, the anger and darkness creep in.

Office mates also hear, “I just want to stay home, pet cats, hang out with my mom, eat chocolate and drink wine with my husband.” Oh, how glorious that would be.

But then the phone rings, an email comes in, upcoming events loom and that thought of doing it full time fades away.

To those of you that suffer from SAD too, please hang in there and feel free to stop by…to talk, to cry, to hug. You are not alone even though it feels like it. The pain is real.