Growing up I was completely unaware of sad .. and yet like clockwork.. whenever December or November rolled around.. I would lose interest in everything and essentially become a zombie... until January or February — to the frustration of my teachers and parents. All I wanted to do was eat and sleep. It persisted into university when one year it became unbearable and my professor suggested I look into SAD.

I still have the problem, but knowing what it is, I can better manage/prepare myself for it. Consequently I don’t get depressed anymore... just tired, more moody and lethargic. I suspect the depression used to come as a result of feeling like a failure and not being able to meet other people’s expectations. Even though I still very much have the symptoms, I know it’s temporary and just adapt.

I wonder if Inuit people have merely evolved or naturally adapted to the seasonal changes unique to their area? It’s a grim way of looking at it, but I can see how people severely affected by SAD could be removed from the local gene pool (suicide, social ostracism, etc). Or maybe it’s something only immigrant population suffer from.. since their bodies are adapted to their ancestral regions and are more susceptible to darkness? This article doesn’t really prove anything.