| Something that I think gets overlooked in term of mental health this time of year is the ways in which the changing season affects economics. I fully admit - I have zero data to share here to back up my point, and I hope someone out there has studied this - but it seems to me that: -- There's a lot of seasonal work that depends on good weather: ag, construction, even real estate. Work slows or is physically harder in the cold and poor weather conditions, creating hardships. -- There's tremendous social pressure to spend money, not only on xmas gifts, but also on charitable giving. There are a lot of different kinds of emotions people go through either because they can't afford to give or to spend and/or because they go overboard. -- Because of the above issues, many people are trying to stretch their dollars this time of year. IE: got paid out for work they did through summer and fall, but now at a time everyone wants their dollars, they are trying to stretch them until the next round of work starts up after the new year (or even in the spring...) -- With all of the various holidays this time of year, there are a lot of family and social demands on people. You might have to see that family member you don't like - twice even between Thanksgiving and the December holidays. Creates a lot of emotional turmoil and/ or time commitments that people don't have or don't prefer to have. -- If you've been hard at work all year, there is a natural exhaustion that seems to come this time of year regardless. I guess what I'm saying is... yeah, get those SAD lights, take your vitamin D, but also be aware that for many people there's a lot more going on than just not enough sunlight. |