Feeling the effects of SAD
This one comes straight from the heart
This isn’t the easiest for me to write out.
But it comes from a time of prayer this evening (at the time of me writing this out).
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a thing that pops up during those dark and cold months.
For those of us in the midwest, it can hit a little bit harder. For those of us just a tad further north, it can hit even more.
There’s a whole science behind the lack of sunshine leading to decreased dopamine levels and vitamin D, and all kinds of other things.
Either way, the point is that it makes it hard for us to feel some of those “good” emotions.
It makes it easy to feel like coasting, hunkering down in blankets, and staying inside forever…
…it makes you feel, ya know, sad…
It can lead to depression, anxiety, and other not-fun feelings.
And, for me, winter is always a tough time for me.
And I really try and power through, I genuinely like to try and keep a high-level of productivity and staying active to offset SAD (and feeling sad).
But, the older I get, the more tired I get of fighting off my feelings and trying to push through.
So I spent some time in prayer tonight about all of it…and I felt like the Spirit is stirring something in me to take care of myself a little bit more.
And that means doing (or not doing) some things that I really don’t want to…
…and, maybe you see where this is going, but it means pulling back on Our Father Daily a little bit.
My email about the future of Our Father Daily recently was written with all intentions to power through, keep writing every single day, and create some powerful content Monday-Friday for all of 2024.
But, while I am excited about doing more with Our Father Daily, I am also struggling a bit with where my body is at.
…
So, here’s what I am saying:
I’m going to take a hiatus from the “daily” part of Our Father Daily.
I will still be writing when I feel like I can and when I want to, but I don’t want to keep forcing myself to do this when it is causing so much extra stress for me right now.
A really honest moment here: I really struggle with being frustrated with myself when I should want to do something and just don’t and can’t rouse myself to do it.
And that means I have spent sometimes 20 or 30 minutes of fighting with myself, getting frustrated with myself, and trying to push myself to write (anything…anything at all) and that leads to me loathing myself for not wanting to do the dang thing.
And I hope that, even in the way I wrote this out, you feel my frustration at myself.
So…I’m sorry that I’m not in a spot to keep up the pace right now and I hope you all will forgive me.
It’s not the end of Our Father Daily, not by a long shot. But it is time for me to start easing off the gas until I can get out in some sunshine again.
And, again, I won’t be gone completely…but I won’t be sending out content every single day either.
Please, let me know if you have any questions or concerns in the meantime (I am genuinely an open book).
Praying for you, my readers, but also throwing out there that prayers are also appreciated on my end as well.
My prayer for today
Our Father, forgive me for not resting well and not resting in you. Jesus, give me the patience and resolve to show myself grace and forgiveness when I need to take a break. Spirit, thank you for moving in my life, even when it isn’t in a direction I like. Amen.
Spiritual practice
I hope that this serves a spiritual lesson for you: take care of yourself, pray through the difficult decisions, and listen for the Spirit…even when you don’t like the answer. I have to live my faith and beliefs out in this space, even when it doesn’t make sense from a business perspective.
And, if you are feeling that SAD has got you feeling a certain way because of the dark, cold winter…take care of yourself, my friend. And pray. It’ll help, I promise you.