This week, the rain fell and with it my desire to write. What is it about gloomy weather that makes a person want to curl up on the sofa and ignore the world?
According to the experts it's called Seasonal Affective Disorder. It is a depression that hits when winter rears its head and gobbles up all the sun. daylight, and feel good times of summer. I know about this depression because my daughter suffered from it. For her, gloomy, dark, and dreary days meant low energy, irritation, and exhaustion--mental and physical. For her, light therapy seemed to work the best. No, she didn't buy special lamps, she just turned on the lamps. I mean she opened her curtains, turned on all the lights, and resisted the temptation to head back to bed. One other thing she did was seek out friends and family and spend time at her daughter's school. It didn't work all the time, but it did seem to help.
My case is different. I don't get sad, depressed, or irritated. Instead, I get the "I have to read a good book" syndrome, or the "I need inspiration and it's not coming from me" syndrome.
Under normal circumstances, I love the rain. I love walking in it. I love watching the drops as they slide across my window. And, I love splashing in mud puddles with the grandkids. But when the rain comes with dark, thick clouds and cold, harsh wind that takes your breath away, I loose all creativity. My mind becomes mush and all the ideas I had the day before are deep in the quagmire of brain slush. So needless to say, I have written very little this week. And, I might add, only what my encouraging writers group demands of me--three sentences a day. So, this is me, asking you "What do you do to get the creative juices flowing when it rains?"
According to the experts it's called Seasonal Affective Disorder. It is a depression that hits when winter rears its head and gobbles up all the sun. daylight, and feel good times of summer. I know about this depression because my daughter suffered from it. For her, gloomy, dark, and dreary days meant low energy, irritation, and exhaustion--mental and physical. For her, light therapy seemed to work the best. No, she didn't buy special lamps, she just turned on the lamps. I mean she opened her curtains, turned on all the lights, and resisted the temptation to head back to bed. One other thing she did was seek out friends and family and spend time at her daughter's school. It didn't work all the time, but it did seem to help.
My case is different. I don't get sad, depressed, or irritated. Instead, I get the "I have to read a good book" syndrome, or the "I need inspiration and it's not coming from me" syndrome.
Under normal circumstances, I love the rain. I love walking in it. I love watching the drops as they slide across my window. And, I love splashing in mud puddles with the grandkids. But when the rain comes with dark, thick clouds and cold, harsh wind that takes your breath away, I loose all creativity. My mind becomes mush and all the ideas I had the day before are deep in the quagmire of brain slush. So needless to say, I have written very little this week. And, I might add, only what my encouraging writers group demands of me--three sentences a day. So, this is me, asking you "What do you do to get the creative juices flowing when it rains?"
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