Day two of Blogtober… is in progress, y’all! As long as I try very diligently, I might, I just might… make it through each and every day, posting one thing each day this month. Granted, it’s only day two. However, confidence is key and a little bit of over confidence is what’s going to get me through this challenge.

I feel like the year might as well be over now that it is October 2.

Why might I say that?

Because

a) it’s dark by 5pm versus summer’s 9-10pm sundown time

b) all you can see in stores is fake Santa’s, see credit card commercials for engagement rings on tv, and food being stuffed down our throat from Labor Day onwards.

c) drivers on the road are even more dumb than normal

d) we live in a consumer driven culture; it is supposed to be in our nature to give during this time of year, but in return, we take, take, take, take. It’s almost like the more money you spend during the holidays. the more desperate we get to receive a lot of things in return.

I’m sure there are more reasons to despise the SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) time of year; get it? Sad? and this is a mental health blog? Get it? Damn I’m funny lol.

I digress. I like to go into this time of year with a game plan because you can sneeze and next thing you know it is January 5th and it’s time to take down the Christmas decor. But before we sneeze, I’ll let you know some of my tried and true tricks to get through the SAD season with minimal sadness.

• 1. Make plans ahead of time: I think Kyle and I decided that this year for thanksgiving and Christmas, we are staying home. This is only our second married holiday season together but now that we have our home remodel finished, I am hoping to stay put this year, rather than traveling to my parents’ home and seeing his dad and step-mom, as well as extended family. Now that we are sure we will be home. that saves on travel costs so maybe we splurge and get a nice cut of meat for dinner or get one another a nice gift for our anniversary and for the holidays.
• 2. Buy gifts EARLY: This seems to be everyone’s goals, yet you see and hear people storming the local malls and stores for gifts on December 23rd and paying massive amounts of delivery fees to get their sh!t before Christmas Day. But I think y’all should start planning ideas of what to get whomever in your life back in September. October and early November, you purchase said gifts and wrap them on Black Friday and/or the first week of December and boom! You can enjoy the holidays.
• 3. Keep on a regular schedule: Because the days are shorter and it gets darker much earlier now, it’s best to keep a diligent schedule of when you wake up and when you go to bed because huge swings in bedtime and wakeup routine shifts can really add on to depression symptoms, especially if you’re susceptible to already being depressed due to changes of seasons.
• 4. Do ONE chore every morning when you wake up: Usually for me, this means making my bed once I am done doom scrolling on my phone for the morning. Making my bed, personally? I don’t see the point. But the way it affects my whole day moving forward, I swear. It makes doing other chores, especially the ones I dislike such as doing the dishes, much easier to perform. On the days that I don’t make my bed, I am more likely to slack on other house chores and measures of productivity.
• 5. Take a moment to READ: Even if it is just one page of a book in one whole entire day, you are better off than not reading at all. Any break we can get from active screen time is great in my humble opinion. Reading is an active way to take our mind off of our worldly troubles without the eye strain after working all day and being on the computer.
• 6. Do cozy fall things: carve pumpkins, knit, go through a corn field maze, go to a haunted house, snuggle and read, do what makes you happy. Right now my husband and I are snuggled up in front of the fire.

That’s all I have for now. I’m sure more definitive fall plans will come into play soon; especially when I finally find employment.

Much love,

Dani