The Midwinter Blues
In 1958 Eddie Cochran sang ‘there ain’t no cure for the Summertime Blues’. His song became a rock ‘n’ roll anthem about what it’s like to be a teenager and has resonated with generations since.
At this time of year post Xmas and New Year many of us face a very different issue, dealing with the difficulty of life in midwinter when spring, let alone summer seems a very long way off. I call this The Midwinter Blues.
Why is it that so many of us find this time of year so difficult and encounter the midwinter blues? It is known that exposure to light and sunshine produces a chemical reaction in the brain which can make us feel good. That’s one of the reasons so many of us yearn for sun and sea at this time of year and the TV schedules feature programmes about summer holidays and search for the perfect beach. Some people suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) a type of depression which can be helped by exposure to daylight.
Some ancient cultures dealt with their own midwinter blues by holding midwinter celebrations or festivals and light was a feature of them. At Christmas time some of us cover the outside of our homes in lights. Our streets and shops are decked out with lights. In the Jewish culture there is Chanukah another midwinter festival taking place in December which is known as the Festival of Lights. Light, light and more light is what we hanker after.
Working in multi-cultural London, I find that some of the people who struggle most at this time of year are those from sunnier countries eg South Africa, Australia and South America who are just not used to living with the low light levels that we experience here at this northerly latitude at this time of year.
One of the consequences of the midwinter blues is that it can cloud all aspects of our lives so that everything seems bleak, grey and generally hopeless. If that’s how you’re feeling right now maybe I can help.
‘There ain’t no cure for the summertime blues’ sang Eddie in 1958 but maybe I can help you with your Midwinter Blues at the beginning of 2008.