Minds

This article originally appeared on The Good Men P

You don’t need to be diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder to experience the negative effects of the colder, darker days. Every year, it’s like we’re all shocked about just how early it can get dark, wondering where the sun went as if we’ve never gone through winter before. To ease into this time of year and not get wiped out by the crueler side of Mother Nature, here are a few tactics to try.

Things as simple as a missed call from an unknown number or someone knocking on your door put me into straight up fight or flight. I really do hide from people who come to my door. Real talk, I have gotten on my hands and knees below a window so they wouldn’t see me. I’ve even hidden in the closet. I know. Whacko.

As a former therapist who used to see a lot of children, I understand why parents and teachers want to get a child’s ADHD under control. It’s like a GIF personified, and you can’t look away even when you want to. Whether it’s your own ADHD, your child’s, your spouse’s, or even your close friend’s, it’s easy to only see the negatives without knowing there are loads of benefits. Yes, it’s good to have ADHD. Here’s why.

The first time I was inspired to injure myself was when I was thirteen. I had just read Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls, an advice book my mother had hidden on the shelf between some garish ceramic dancing girls, books on cocker spaniels, and her and my father’s decaying wedding cake topper. In the book, a well-meaning psychologist told stories about teenage girls acting out, and self-injury was just one of many ways. I wasn’t the type to climb out the window on a rope made of bed sheets, so self-harm made a lot of sense.

I promise you, people living with depression are acutely aware that things probably aren’t as bad as they could be.

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Everyone messes up, so you can bank on future opportunities to apologize. When the time comes for owning up to your own mistakes, these tips will help ensure you make the most of making amends.