Blog - staying in the moment

It's October and here in the UK autumn has landed with a sickening thud. We've gone from a week of bright sunny days to heavy rain and thick cloud. While the sun was shining many of us SADders could fool ourselves that winter and its effects were a long way off, this week the stark reality is clear.

On a personal level I find myself struggling to wake in the mornings, my brain is foggy, my concentration is poor and the slightest thing risks pushing me over the edge into panic. I note it is time to start up my light therapy and make sure I am taking my vitamins but also it is super important to stay in the moment.

I see SAD as a series of phases that starts around July and ends the following May and each phase brings a new challenge but all the way through keeping your attention on today is a definite theme. In October when many of us are starting to remember how SAD affects us it is easy to become lost to the fear that you are going to have months and months of nothing but misery before you will ever feel better and that can be overwhelming.

It is so important to remember that although today I might be feeling scattered and tired there will be days when I feel just fine. We forget that these days can happen and sink deeper into depression.

This is where we have to learn to be aware of our thoughts and what we are telling ourselves. When you start fearing the coming months bring your attention back to this moment and think solely about what you have to face right now. Yes, it is true I am tired but I only have to finish this blog and move onto the next thing, and I have enough energy for that. The moment after that will look after itself.

Don't let the fears of tomorrow or the coming months cripple you, stay in the moment and work out how you can make it feel better, and if you can't, know that you have a 100% survival rate so far.

Sending you all sunbeams xx