This Is The Way

Not, like, fake compliments or randomly giving a scrounged up compliments to everyone you pass in the street, but -- say you see someone with an article of clothing you really really like. Cool accessories or a freat haircut or something. Tell them.

I told an old woman yesterday that I liked her blouse. It was this super pretty white-at-the-top-floral-at-the-bottom shirt which was really lovely. So i backtracked where I'd walked past her and I said "excuse me - i love your shirt." And this harried, stressed-looking 80-something year old brightened up immediately, and beamed, and then when she and I headed off in separate directions, she had a pep in her step.

This other time I told a woman that I liked her boots. She gave me a company name thats since become my favourite brand of shoes. I told someone else that her scarf was cute and she was like "do you like it? Here, you can have it," and she dropped her scarf in my hands and then got on her train and left. I once saw a woman who had clearly put effort into her outfit that day but was now looking harried and frazzled as she wrangled four children across the road, and I told her that her outfit was gorgeous and she lit up like a christmas tree. I told a gay man that I loved his whole look once and he turned into a smiling, blushing mess as his super delighted and proud boyfriend was like "yea, he DOES look gorgeous doesnt he?"

"You know how schizophrenics have a much lower life expectancy than the general population?" she said. We do. For a combination of various reasons that I won't get into here - that's not what this post is about - people diagnosed with schizophrenia die earlier than people without schizophrenia, statistically speaking. Apparently my mom knows this too. And she has read up on it. Why do we die. What can be done.

Most of the contributing factors are not something my mom has any shot at affecting or controlling. But one of them stood out to her. Not a major one admittedly, but still it was mentioned. A lot of us don't eat enough or don't eat varied enough. We generally don't get enough fruits and vegetables, because when you're severely mentally ill and also likely to be poor, that's just not a realistic priority for a lot of people.

Time to start taking vitamin d and using my light therapy lamp every morning for the next six months so I don't completely lose it before spring rolls around 🙃

Here's a few more reminders for the upcoming winter darkness:

- Vitamin d is fat soluble, meaning you need to consume it with fat for your body to absorb it properly. This is why a lot of vitamin d capsules contain Omega-3 and/or other oils. If you aren't eating or drinking something rich in fat when you take your vitamin d, take it with a spoonful of something like Omega-3 oil. In the Nordics it's popular to have a spoonful of fish oil in the mornings because fish oil is rich in Omega-3, which helps with SAD especially when taken alongside vitamin d.

- Check with a doctor or local healthcare provider what they think is an appropriate amount of vitamin d to take at your latitude. I just found out from my doctor last winter that I wasn't taking nearly enough vitamin d for how far north I am, and she told me to actually quadruple my dose. It sure made a difference and last winter was noticeably less miserable for me.

- When using a light therapy lamp, it's best to try to position it as close to eye level as possible, and ideally around 60cm / 2 feet away from your face.