Always look on bright side of life

While we’ve been wrapped up in the medical details of Covid-19, there was probably not much attention paid to the phenomenon known as SAD (seasonal affective disorder).

This is a real psychological condition, which links depression to changes in the seasons. Specifically, the winter months can make some people listless, experience difficulty concentrating and even provoke feelings of worthlessness. All these are classic signs of depression and 2020 has added to the mental stress with the pandemic’s deadly impact, as well as the pressure from destroyed livelihoods due to lockdowns.

SAD does seem to get better as winter disappears and spring and summer roll in. Today is 1 September, unofficially the start of spring in our part of the world. Unofficially because, currently, it seems we are still caught in the icy grip of winter’s dying kicks.

Hopefully, the lightening and lengthening days will lighten the national – and individual – mood … and remind us that, just as winter finally gives way to warmth, so, too, will the dark times of the pandemic be replaced by bright warm summer.

Today is the start of a period of renewal by nature … so maybe it’s an opportunity for you to toss aside the gloom, along with the cold weather jackets.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.