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Combatting the Blues

Craig Bohanan

Blog #7 of 92

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September 10th, 2014 - 01:23 PM

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Combatting the Blues

Tuesday was a slow day in Uber Asheville, but rather than sit around waiting for the phone to ring I took the opportunity to bone up on Seasonal Affective Disorder. It’s not a bad one as disorders go — which is to say that it is, after all, seasonal. So it comes and goes, like mosquitoes. What did surprise me was learning that there is a summer version of SAD. And the summer symptoms are pretty much the reverse of its more popular winter cousin: weight loss instead of weight gain; insomnia rather than oversleeping; agitation not lethargy. So, very different indeed — but none of these are choices you’d happily make. And as a result a serious industry has emerged to address and combat the disorder.

What you probably don’t know (and might perhaps choose not to) is that a 2007 study ranked New Hampshire highest on the country’s SAD scale with an estimated 9.7% of the population affected. I would have guessed Alaska. Perhaps Alaska was just too far away to be included. Or maybe Alaskans are simply a breed apart. Yesterday I did provide a ride for a man who had just driven down from Anchorage. 4500 miles. He described his premature excitement of crossing into the US, with 2000 miles still to go. And the near giddiness experienced as he entered Iowa. Probably not a man subject to Seasonal Affective Disorder.

As for me, I’m keeping my eye on the winter. I plan to get plenty of sunlight bundled up on my back deck. And since snowfall is minor in the Blue Ridge there will be no excuse for not exercising. But really, when you get down to it, there’s not a demon here or in New Hampshire that could withstand a regular dose of this spot in Asheville’s River Arts District.

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