“A woman should wear fragrance wherever she expects to be kissed”-Coco Chanel
Laura Reynolds looks at some of the cheapest beauty products available
Before I set off on this week's rant, I have to admit something-I'm a complete hypochondriac. Normally this isn't a big deal, I just avoid watching medical dramas and keep some Lemsip constantly handy.
But a couple of days ago, everything changed. It all started as I was idly leafing through the latest edition of Vision instead of writing an essay and came across a very small passing reference to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). On Googling, it turned out that it's a mood disorder which makes you depressed in the winter, and thanks to Wikipedia, I'm now absolutely convinced not only that I have it, but that anyone who doesn't have at least a slight manifestation of this apparent "disorder" is probably some kind of super-robot masquerading as a person.
I appreciate that this sounds a little bit crazy. But look at the symptoms! Difficulty waking up in the morning (anyone who read last week's article definitely knows that's something I'm constantly battling), a lack of energy, craving carbohydrates, difficulty concentrating on completing tasks (which is why I was reading Vision in the first place! Suddenly it all makes sense!), and finally, feelings of depression and hopelessness. Whilst I'm not going to pretend that I have actual clinical depression throughout the winter months, I think that feeling down in the bad weather and longing for summer to arrive is probably something that almost everyone feels, and for me, this all seems to culminate in the month of February.
Having struggled through November and December with the promise of Christmas, having completed January in the hope that it'll all be over soon, here we are in late February. The summer months seem like a long distant, half-remembered dream. Apparently spring is around the corner, but with all the rain and those crazy winds that were everywhere a few weeks ago this seems to be a promise that we should view with suspicion. At first it seemed kind of exciting when the sun went down at 4pm, and sipping on hot chocolate while wrapped in a blanket watching chick flicks as the snow piled up outside really was quite cosy and enjoyable, but really, I think it's starting to get ridiculous. Roll on summer, please.
Because who isn't sick of having to wear a coat and scarf everywhere they go? Who isn't desperate to feel some sun on their pasty winter skin? Who else can't wait to be able to lazily meander around in the good weather, instead of having to charge everywhere briskly to avoid pneumonia setting in? If, like me, you feel like you've been cooped up indoors for far too long, support my proposal for the world. Let's stop calling Seasonal Affective Disorder a disorder, accept that most people experience the winter blues, and just in case the Great British Summer fails to live up to the hype, let's all start saving up for that trip to Majorca.
As someone whose sister suffered from this disorder for over 4 years, I think it's fair to say your article is taking the piss. If you had seen and lived with the repercussions of a family member with SAD, you would not have said all the stuff you just did. "Let's stop calling it a disorder" - what are you on? You obviously have no idea how offensive your comments could and would be to someone who has been formally diagnosed with SAD.
"Most people experience the winter blues". Just to clarify: SAD is NOT just the winter blues. Try living with severe depression, a phobia of leaving the house, taking numerous pills a day, and spending hours under a sun lamp. And that is just the start of it. SAD is not just a cop-out for people who don't want to get out of bed, it's a real disorder that has huge consequences for the sufferer.
And since when is Wikipedia a reliable source of medical information?
Next time you decide to write another article, I would do your research properly.
Do the nomadic herdsmen of northern Siberia and the Kamchatka Penisular get SAD? They see bugger all sunlight and have it proper cold for well over half the year. Must be rife up there. Plus their life is crap... If they don't get it, I'll wager SAD in Europeans etc is just some other type of depression or malingering.
You are SAD? That doesn't make sense, it's like saying you are the flu.
#2....not even a little bit how it works, unsurprisingly. Some groups are protected from conditions and diseases by various genetic factors. The fact that they don't get is not proof that it does not exist in European counties, that's just poor logic. The same environmental conditions can provoke different reactions in different individuals.
#3 I'd quite like to say 'I am the flu' sounds more dramatic!
Puns are more important than being grammatically accurate.
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