Canadutch
Well winter is slowly creeping in here in the Netherlands. The leaves are falling, the days are becoming shorter and the sun’s appearances are getting more few and far between.
Any day now noon time will start looking like this photo, which was taken out my livingroom window at 11am on a December morning a few years ago.
I’m nervous. I’m yet to have a winter here in NL where I didn’t slip into a funk due to the dreary weather. Over the past few years my winter months were plagued with depression. Partly because of the weather but also because of homesickness and the mounting disappointment that came along with Project Baby.
I think this winter will be different though. For the first time in years trying to have a baby isn’t a part of our lives. That alone will make a big difference in how I feel over the coming months. During the last few years I haven’t been on any medication to help me with the depression because of trying to get pregnant..this year I am taking medication again. Hopefully that will help level me out as well.
I’ve also been trying to get into old hobbies again, crafting and doing things like quilting. I’ve joined a great group for expat women in Holland which has gotten me out and made me more social.
I’m also going to finally invest in one of those sun lamps. Not the type like in a tanning bed, but one that imitates the sun’s light. You sit in front of it and it’s supposed to lighten your mood and ease the winter depression. I find it hard to believe that sitting in front of a lamp can bring about the same feeling as the sun, but I’m willing to try it. When the sun comes out here in the spring I literally can feel myself recharging. I know that probably sounds completely bizarre but when I feel the sun on my face something inside me changes and it feels wonderful.
If a lamp can give me that feeling, I’ll like… hump it.
Days are growing shorter here, too, the leaves are disappearing from the trees and I’m already missing the sun. I’ve been considering one of those sunlight-imitating lamps, but they are terribly expensive. Hope it works for you.
I quite like winter.. the cosy nights in and the Christmas lights glowing. I don’t like ice on the roads though, and it always worries me about driving to work especially as I’ll have to drive down country lanes this year!
I joined the Expat women in Holland too, though I’m still waiting for an email to tell me it’s started. I wonder if it’s the same one. Hmmmm
Mandy
I also found winter difficult in Amsterdam… so dreary and icy- ugh. But I read somewhere that candlelight is the same light as sunlight and it affects your mood in a positive way. Then I noticed that the Dutch (and other northern Europeans) use candles all the time, and not just for romance. Try lighting lots of those tea lights around 3 in the afternoon. It might help!
LOL @ humping that lamp! You go girl! I’ve heard of those lamps before & maybe provide something equivelant to vitamin D? I’ve thought of getting one for the winter months, so I can certainly see how you’d need one living where the days are so short.
I just finished “An Innocent Man”, what a great book!
We live in semi-total darkness during winter here. The sun is gone and will re-appear sometime in March.
I swear by sun lamps! Actually, you can just buy the lightbulbs and replace in your normal lamps. I know Philips makes great ones, because my life depends on them. If you want a different kind, you can also get those lights for growing plants in greenhouses. They’re even better. Buying a purpose made sun-lamp is a bit expensive and wasteful. IMO.
hang in there!
Ciao!
M.
I’ve read about people using sun lamps in the Seattle area… they are supposed to help! It is another way to fight Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Good luck with the baby project! And yes those sun lights really help with seasonal depression. It has something to do with some-kinda light hitting some part of the eye that creates some sorta of chemical reaction in the brain that makes u happy. Why do u think ppl in Florida are so happy lol.
I like the winter better than the summer, and I love the snow. But I will definately miss the sun, its lovely to try and get used to such short days. Good luck with the lamp, let us know if it works for you.
I know what you mean.
It is proven that lack of daylight highly effects people.
The best I ever felt in winters was when I drove a transport truck, and was a driving instructor.
Nothin but a piece of glass between me and the sun.
Even when I worked midnights I got to relax in the passenger seat in daylight. I soaked up the rays and had happy days.
I find myself feeling like hybernating these days. I don’t feel down, just way not energetic! I am gonna try walks outdoors in the day.
Yeah, I’m a winter lover too, but BikeHunk suffers from that winter blues ailment, SAD, and we’re discussing getting him a lamp as well. I hope it helps him, and you!!!
I’m one of those weird people who love winter.
I’ve heard of people wearing lampshades, but not humping the lamp itself. What has that terrorist taught you?!?
I love every season. Spring time with its darling buds, summer with it’s dazzling sunshine, autumn with is colourful nature and winter with it’s dark evenings and cold mornings.
Going for a walk on a winter afternoon, getting home in the early dusk, lighting the fireplace and enjoying a hot drink… bliss.
I hope your lamp does the job.