Hi Zan, Hi Pa
Volume #9
January 25th, 2024
Dear Readers,
Since we’re currently together under the same roof (a rare occurrence now that we live thousands of miles apart), we decided to do something different for our next newsletter. On February 10th we’ll be sending out a recorded in-person conversation with a transcript, accessible to paid subscribers—stay tuned!
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HI, PA: As a cold front sweeps the nation and as we both head south to meet up in New Mexico (and hopefully escape the low temperatures), I’m wondering how climate and surroundings affect mental health. So let’s start with this question: what is it about winter that makes you so miserable?
Hi, ZAN: Funny, it was 18 degrees in Tulsa today as we made our way south. With the wind chill, it was 4. So much for warmth.
ZAN: Sounds balmy—here in Fort Collins it was -12 when I left the house today…
PA: ‘Miserable’ is a strong word, but it’s definitely my least favorite season. Partly due to psoriatic arthritis and back troubles, and partly due to age, I can’t do some of the things I used to enjoy doing in winter: hockey, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing. By nature, I like to be—almost have to be—physically active every day, and winter limits that activity to walking and going to the gym. I like to be outside, and winter limits my outside time, too. I could go on!
You don’t seem to mind winter as much as I do, correct?
ZAN: False! I’ve inherited your distaste for winter—maybe partly because we spent part of each winter somewhere warm when I was growing up, so I never had to live through the full season until more recently. As soon as the days start to get shorter and I have to wear a jacket when I go outside, I feel a sense of dread. In boarding school as a teen I had some of my lowest mental health moments ever during the winter—it was so cold and dark all I wanted to do was hibernate until summer.
Now that I live in Colorado where it’s sunny most of the time and we get the occasional 50-degree winter day, I can at least get through the season without completely losing my mind. I sign up for lots of indoor activities during the winter (pilates, yoga, Zumba, belly dancing) so I get some movement in, and that helps. How do you cope?
PA: The three D’s: Drink, drugs, and depression.
Kidding. I cope, to the extent I do cope, by working out at the gym and taking long walks with Mom. I like to get outside right before darkness falls, too. But now that we’re empty-nesters, we’re trying to slip away for as much of the cold months as finances allow.
I feel a little guilty about that–I want to be a tough New Englander, and have been for most of my seven decades. But then I remember that Native Americans went to warmer places for their winter camps, birds go south, bears hibernate. So I don’t feel as wimpy.
ZAN: I agree, we’re a migratory species, so it’s natural to move as the seasons change.
PA: I think your original question is a serious one, though, and worth exploring: how do climate and surroundings affect mental health?
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