My Dark Day came early this year.
What is a "Dark Day," you ask? It's the day of the year (usually around mid-Fall) when I consciously recognize that the days are getting shorter. Said a different way, it's getting darker earlier, and I suddenly actively noticed. And there is a counterpart to the Dark Day, called the Light Day, which is the day (usually mid-Spring) when I consciously recognize that the days are getting longer, the sun is out later in the evening. These days are often near the equinoxes, but not always. And there's no way to predict exactly when they'll happen - they're often influenced by weather, recent mood status, stress levels, and a whole list of other things.
They're kind of like personal "holidays" (for lack of any better term). And I "celebrate" (acknowledge?) them with an evening of self compassion - in whatever form that needs to take. I do whatever I feel like doing, within reason - there's no irrational spending sprees or harmful behaviors. But if I feel like hanging out with people, I do. If I feel like bingeing Netflix and eating cake for dinner, I do. If I feel like calling someone, I do. If I feel like going to bed early, I do. Sometimes the evening involves crying, sometimes it involves laughter, sometimes it involves little emotion at all. The point is to allow myself a day to exist free of self judgment. Especially on my Dark Day, since I know there's plenty of self-judgment on the way as the days get shorter and the SAD kicks in.
I've noticed many people I know with Seasonal Affective Disorder tend to have a similar way of acknowledging the beginning and end of the depression side of the yearly mood cycle. What are some of your traditions/rituals for acknowledging the shift toward the dark side of the year?
