Sunday musings from a SAD sufferer

Plus 10 things that have made me happy this week.

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A calming video taken on one of our favourite walks by the wind turbines.

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Good morning,

How are you? What do you have planned for your Sunday?

I read a post yesterday by

Jenovia

who writes

Jenovia’s Web

, and it really resonated with me.

For years I’ve really hated summer, like really loathed it. Summer heat makes me so unwell. The migraines are awful, and the symptoms sometimes mimic a stroke which can be incredibly scary. Aside from the migraines, my overall mood is always much, much lower during the summer, and it can feel like I’m slipping into a depressive episode.

Everyone who I’ve spoke to about this always said the same thing ‘how can you hate summer?’, but I really do. I honestly thought that I was the only person in the entire world who experienced this, that was until I read Jenovia’s post.

Turns out, she experiences the exact same thing that I do! It’s reverse SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), usually experienced in the winter, but a few of us experience the symptoms during summer. I’m not alone, and I’m not completely bonkers! It’s quite reassuring if I’m honest.

Knowing that reverse SAD is a real thing now makes complete sense. I now understand why the posts I’m writing lately are more negative than usual. I apologise for this, please bear with me, this episode won’t last long. As soon as the first autumn days come, I’ll be back to cheerier myself.

I’m so pleased I know about this now, it means that I can plan for it in advance, and be more gentle with myself next year. I feel better that I’m not alone, it’s taken a bit of pressure off for sure.

I’d love to know if you experience anything similar?

I want to bring a bit of positivity to your Sunday, and to make up for being such a grump lately, therefore I’d like to share a few things that have brought me joy or that I’m grateful for this week:

• It’s got to be the rain!
  Having had a few weeks of intense (for me, anyway) sun in the UK, the rain the last few days has been so welcome. It’s been much cooler, and I’ve noticed my mood improve on those days.

• Having snuggles with my nieces
  On Thursday, baby William and I met up with my two nieces and their babies. It was lovely to get out of the house for a while, and have some adult conversation. Plus I had newborn baby snuggles again, which was wonderful as William seems so big now compared to my newborn niece.

• Goodbye 2am feeds!
  Speaking of William, he’s dropped his 2am night feed and now sleeps from 8:30pm until 4am! I don’t quite know how it happened, or if it’ll continue for much longer, but I am here for more sleep. Which leads me onto…

• Those 4am feeds
  Where it feels like the whole world is asleep, and it’s just me and my baby. These times have become sacred to me, and I actually look forward to them. I know that sounds crazy, but I get about 30-60 minutes to read through my inbox posts on Substack, leave meaningful comments, and save any posts that I’d like to revisit later.

• Mealtimes at the dinner table
  Last night, the older two children and I sat at the table and ate our dinner together. We don’t do this as often as we used to since their baby brother made an appearance, so when we get the opportunity, I grab it with both hands. We talk about the most random things, as you can probably imagine with an 8 and 9 year old, and it is absolutely magical to spend that time together.

• Cuddles
  I love all types of cuddles. Cuddles from the dogs, from the older children, from baby William, and especially, unexpected cuddles from behind whilst cooking dinner or washing the dishes from my husband when he gets home from work.

• Cold showers
  I’m usually one for piping hot showers, you know the ones where you get out and your skin is red from the heat? Yeah, those are the best. But, lately I’ve spent the last few minutes of my showers gradually turning the temperature right down. Sometimes I last a few seconds, other times I can handle it for longer, but I have to tell you how refreshing it is. Give it a try this week and see how you feel afterwards, it’s invigorating!

• Nap time reading
  This week I made a point of having my book close by when I’m feeding the baby during the day. Usually, I get nap trapped and so it’s a good excuse to grab my book and read a few chapters whilst he sleeps. I know I should probably be doing something else, but those few chapters that I manage to get are just what my soul needs sometimes.

• Real belly laughs
  The sound of children laughing is always a mood booster, but even more so when it’s your own children. Yes, their giggles are wonderful too, but I’m talking about those full belly laughs where they can’t control themselves. The ones where tears are streaming, and they’re holding their bellies. Those laughs are everything. Also, baby William laughed properly yesterday too! It was the sweetest thing ever. When I think about it, there’s been a lot of laughs in our house this week, we must be doing something right.

• Support from strangers
  Yep, I’m talking about you, dear reader. Your support here on Substack has been overwhelming. This community is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. The kindest of you glorious humans is beyond mind blowing, and I’m so grateful for you. For every like, comment, share, subscribe, PAID subscribe, I’m honestly just so, so thankful for you being here with me on this journey. It means the entire world.

I already feel much lighter after writing this post. There’s lots of things that have brought me joy that I haven’t really noticed this week, until I sat down to write this post. I’m going to do more of that. I’m going to make time to think about the little things that fill my heart and soul, I’m sure this will help me through the summer days until I reach the comfort of autumn.

What about you? What things have brought you joy this week? What are you grateful for? Join me in the comments and lets spread some positivity.

Until next week,