Feeling S.A.D

This time of year always seems to give me the winter "blahs", or some would say the winter blues. I'm really NOT a fan of winter; the cold, the shortened days. Did I mention the cold?! I find myself with very little energy to do anything, I'm moody, I crave junk food, and dragging my butt out of bed on these dark mornings is a chore in itself. Not typical behaviour for a self described morning person who practically jumps out of bed on sunny summer mornings. But there may be a logical explanation to it, besides my dislike of winter in itself. Just Google "sad" and the first entry is for "seasonal affective disorder". A quick read of the description makes me wonder if this is what I have. The one thing that I disagree (?) with is the phrase: "SAD is not a unique mood disorder, but is "a specifier of major depression"." I'm not sure if it suggests that someone who experiences SAD will/may have a major depression, or will have suffered a major depression in the past. (I have never suffered from a major depressive episode, nor have I been medically diagnosed as suffering from SAD.) But I digress. Where was I? Oh yeah, I hate winter! We've been very lucky so far, as it was mid January before we received any major amount of snowfall. But boy, when it hit, it hit hard. My daughter was practically doing cartwheels! Of course, she has been waiting for the local ski hill to open so she can go snowboarding. I was just slightly less enthusiastic about it all. My thoughts found me lusting for sunshine and grass, not snow and ice. Maybe there is something I can do to combat some of my winter blahs. Now that there is finally enough snow for snow activities, I should really consider dusting off my snowshoes, or maybe even my old cross-country skis.(Hmmm, just WHERE are they?) It seems that lack of sunshine may be attributed to symptoms of SAD. So, instead of moaning and whining about my winter hate, I could get out and soak up some of that sunshine when it is available, and see if it helps improve my mood. Of course that would mean actually dragging my butt off the couch, getting dressed (not staying in my cozy PJ's) and bundling up for the cold. Wow, it seems like such an effort! But it could be one that pays off.