*Note: Yes, that's the right number of la's in the title*

It's that  time of year again.  Time to build up the courage to tell your in-laws that no, you don't like their casserole at Thanksgiving (unless you're my in-laws and reading this, because obviously I love your casserole and don't throw it out when you're not looking).  Time to dig out that sweater that your aunt made for you in '93 that she still somehow expects you to fit into/like to wear (if either were ever true to begin with).  Time to eat until you're about to blow and then buy that year-long gym membership to work it off, which you swear you will do starting next week because this week is just so busy/cold/ [insert excuse here].  Oh, and time to spend a ton of money you don't have in order to impress and compete with people you don't talk to from January to November.   And eggnog.  Lots of eggnog.

With all of this comes an incredible amount of stress, so now it's more important than ever to recognize it and relieve it.  And yes, I'm pretty sure there's a sale on it somewhere.

Yesterday I left my office at around 6:00 PM, and it was already getting dark.   I'm very glad to have windows in my office to get that natural light in, but man, stepping outside into that darkness when it had been just part of the afternoon a month ago is quite a change.  This lack of daylight can feel like a downer because, well, it is.

We're biologically tuned to be awake and searching for food during our daytime hours and to sleep during the nighttime ones.  Unfortunately, our work schedules and school bus arrival times don't really care about that.  A lack of sunlight can lead to a lot of negative feelings, including the Winter Blues, and today we're gonna talk about how to recognize it and what to do about it, whether it's you or a loved one.