Thursday, April 10, 2014

Sunrise, sunset...

Anchorage, Alaska:
  • Sunrise: 6:53 AM
  • Sunset:  9:09 PM

...and the days keep getting longer. Sigh. I wonder, am I the only lupus patient who experiences reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)? So many people get depressed in the winter; there are sunlamps all over the place in the office.

  Summer represents the most depressing time of year for me. It is loaded with reminders that I'm not a normal person. I can't go outside and enjoy the sun. I can't do the high-impact sports that are so popular here in Alaska, but so brutal on the joints. I have to bathe in sunscreen. Any tan I get is from a nice spray-tan machine. While everyone else is out downhill biking, kayaking, etc., I'm likely to be at home in bed with a fever. Woo.

So, while the temperature right now rarely gets above 40F, everyone else is looking eagerly ahead to the coming months of sun. I'm dreading them.


  1. I can totally relate - I'm happy that spring is coming, but at the same time dreading the heat and sun of the impending summer. I actually get angry at the sun, cursing at it when it's relentlessly shining and just the thought of being out in it gives me a rash. I'm the crazy lady hiding in the house on those nice sunny days and vamping around the garden in the rain or darkness... just know you're not alone.

    1. Thanks, that's good to know. I get so sick of being the only person cooped up inside during the summer...hard to explain to people that you're not kidding when you say you're allergic to the sun!