About 6.5 years ago I moved down to Florida for a few reasons. One of the main ones was that I wanted to get out of the midwest with it's lack of sunlight during the winter and get somewhere sunny and warm. My two choices were Phoenix or Sarasota; Phoenix because I had been there already a few times and loved it and Sarasota because I had already spent a summer down there and knew Brandon, who would become my first roommate out of college.
When you struggle with depression, you really need all the help you can get. So I decided it was time to chase after some sun. That's exactly what I got from moving to Florida. Now I just have to be careful that I don't get too much of it and that I wear a good amount of sunscreen whenever I'm out in it. It seems like I get sunburned very easily; I always have, now I'm just more aware of it with all the campaigns against skin cancer I've seen, particularly in Australia. Even with the sun though, I managed to get into a spell of depression sometime ago, before I left on my trip. Now I have to make a concious effort to get sunlight on a regular, ideally daily basis.
There are several things that can help with depression, sunlight is just one of them. I read a book titled "The Depression Cure" last year and it had some great advice. There were 6 main things that it said to do to fight depression. They were to get some sunlight everyday (if you don't have access to the sun than get a light box) exercise cardiovascularly 3 times a week, disrupt negative thinking, take fish oil, have a strong social support network, and make sure you're getting the right amount of sleep, not too much and not too little. Keeping track of all 6 can be difficult until you make them into habits. I usually do pretty well on all of them except the sunlight exposure and exercise ones. I forget sometimes to get out in the sun and sometimes I just can't because of working so I plan on trying to get my insurance to pay for a light box in the fall. Also, I go through stages with the exercise thing it seems like. Sometimes I'm all about it and other times I couldn't care less even though I need to do it. Lately I've been stuck in the latter category.
The sun can also be seen as a spiritual thing. Some people worship the sun. For others, including myself, it can be symbolic of how Christ illuminates the world and whatever He shines on is brought out of darkness and into light. In Him there is no darkness at all. The sun reminds us that we need to shed light in the dark places of this world, whether they be in our workplaces or on the other side of town.
I moved down to Sarasota 6.5 years ago, and if I ever move again, it will have to be somewhere sunny and warm. I can't get enough of the sun; and I especially can't imagine moving back to cold weather and gray skies at this point in my life. I just spent Easter weekend up near Chicago with my family on my mom's side. I love them all like crazy, but I was reminded of why I don't live up there anymore. It was the middle of April and I had to wear a winter coat because of the cold. Granted, most people were wearing fall-type jackets and seemed fine but when you've been used to mid 80's weather when you drop down to mid 40's it can be quite a shock to your system.
When I go away on vacations, I always come back to other people's vacation destination. I love living here. So, to my fellow Floridians, here's to living in sunny and warm Florida!
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Well on that note, I'm going to get dressed, head outside on this gorgeous sunny day, and go for a run. I took a few days off from running because I made the terrible mistake of eating before I ran the other night, and had awful heartburn or acid reflux or something. I probably overdosed on Tums. But that has passed finally, so I'm ready to hit the track. Maybe you'll do the same today??? :) Hope you have a great weekend!
Ok, so I don't know what happened but I had this really long post typed, and somehow it only saved the last paragraph. Grrr....
But anyway, I'll try to re-capture what I originally said.
Living in Florida was great! The heat and humidity were a bit unbearable at times, but overall the sunshine and warmth was a huge plus! I spent a lot of time outdoors when I lived there, probably because I had a pool and a dog to walk. Even during my internship, I spent a lot of time outside because of all the activities we did with the youth, like camp, which I'm sure you remember. Living in Tennessee during the winter is miserable, it gets dark so early and the cold is really bitter. That's why spring and summer are so welcomed and long overdue. I think people should spend more time outside in general I know it greatly helps those who struggle with depression, mostly I've learned that from listening to you and watching how it's positively affected your mood. It's neat to think about how something so natural can really help us physically. Makes a pretty good argument for creation care if you ask me. And it can help everyone too. You're onto something when you said Christ is like the sun, illuminating the world, which is not really a new concept, but you reminded me to think about how Christ like the sun, warding off darkness. And if we spent more time outside, and more time with Christ, how much better would we be at getting rid of the darkness in our lives? And in helping others get rid of it? I'm sure that what you face has to feel like an uphill battle at times. But I admire your efforts to stay healthy. If you get into an exercise slump, which I know all too well, pray about it, which I'm sure you do, and (I know this sounds cliche) you can do it! Keep working toward that triathlon, you'll be really happy at having accomplished that, and I have no doubt you'll be able to do it, just have to not procrastinate on getting ready for it! :)
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