December 22, 2020 • 23 mins
This is Amy’s ‘5th Thing’ (a bonus episode). ‘4 Things With Amy Brown’ comes out every Thursday, but on Tuesdays Amy shares emails from you guys and answers questions y’all have sent in. Today’s episode is a little different though. Chase joins Amy as they talk about S.A.D., also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder. They provide ideas and fun ways to make this holiday a little more enjoyable since it’s not the most normal of years we’ve all had. Amy and Chase also chat about great new hobbies to possibly try, books to read, documentaries to watch, and more!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Happy Tuesday, everybody. I am here with Chase and we
are recording a special fifth Thing Bonus episode. Normally I
am answering emails, not just answering, but sharing emails that
have been sent in. But this is a little bit
different of an episode because I'm just going to focus
on one topic and I brought Jason to just talk
(00:25):
back and forth with me, so I wasn't just rambling.
Say what up, Chase, what we will have our Tuesday quote?
Don't worry because I'm sure a lot of you rely
on the quotes that I pull from the internet to redo.
But I have gotten several notes from people just in
the last month or so. I've noticed a theme and
some of the emails of people just not quite feeling
(00:47):
themselves and they're feeling kind of down and not full
blown depression. And if you do feel like you have
that stirring inside of you, I would ask you to
please seek some real help from somebody it as an expert,
and maybe emailing to me is your first step of
recognizing that you don't feel right or something's off. And
this year has been heavy for a lot of people,
(01:10):
and we just entered winter time. So I came across
this article talking about seasonal depression, which if you haven't
heard of it, it's like also known as SAD, which
is seasonal effective disorder. And while I certainly haven't suffered
from it, and I don't know if a lot of
you have had any type of official diagnosis with it,
(01:33):
this has been a weird year. We are in the
winter months, we are still in a pandemic, so it
can be quite isolating and lonely and dark for a
lot of people. So I didn't want to just steer
clear of this topic because I don't personally have experience
with it. Uh So I was careful in doing my
research and how I wanted to talk about it. And
(01:55):
maybe you're listening, you're like, I don't have a seasonal
depression sort of Winter has just begun. This can last
pretty much from the end of fall through January or February,
and it is a weird time. Maybe you're not gonna
be able to be with family for the holidays because
of coronavirus. Maybe you're just gonna be cooped up inside.
I mean really, I feel like depending on where you
(02:15):
live in the country, this type of thing might affect
you differently. But the tips I'm going to share are
the ideas on a share that might help pull you
out of it again. I feel like I have to
preface that maybe you you need to seek professional help,
but if you feel stuck or in a rut, these
ideas could be helpful for you, even if you don't
think you're furthest from sad possible. You know, Chase it,
(02:36):
do you feel where you you're in Wichita, Kansas? Is
it cold and dark and there? You know? Actually today
has been a blessing because it's about sixty degrees. Because
I kind of battle this actually a little bit. I
did not know that. I didn't even tell to So
I didn't even tell Chase before he hopped on with me,
what in the world you're going to talk about? In fact,
(02:56):
right before he hit record, he's like, so, you don't
have any emails you want me to read? And I
was like, Nah, We're just gonna tackle a subject that
has come up, the difference that I've seen and not
sad specifically, but just people feeling not themselves. So tell
me about your experience. I know about it because I
know my mom dealt with it when I was younger.
More so, yeah, I realized that when winter comes around
(03:19):
and the sun kind of goes away, and especially being
able to be outdoors and growing up in the Midwest,
like when the green goes away, there's nothing on the
trees and it's just very bare, and I just realized
that it started to affect me kind of that sense
of life felt like it was taken, you know, like
from the earth, with everything just being brown and gray
(03:41):
and dark. Well, I'm gonna share the actual definition, and
it says, seasonal effective disorder is a type of depression
that's related to changes in seasons. SAD begins and ends
at about the same time every year. If you're like
most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall
and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and
making you feel moody. So in case you're wondering, like
(04:03):
I don't really know exactly what it is, that is
the definition that I pulled. And again I'm gonna use
the word that we learned early on this year, and
I don't feel like I've ever used the word unprecedented.
And now I feel like we're approaching a holiday season
like we've never had before, where normally there's an abundance
(04:24):
of people and family and friends, and and it's just
gonna look really different for a lot of people this year.
So this might be the first year you experience something
like this and you're not getting out and about because
you feel like you need to stay home and stay safe. Now,
I promised a quote, so I pulled one from Helen Keller,
which I think applies to when we go through rough seasons.
(04:46):
This is a good quote that kind of flows into
when we're faced with challenges. Helen Keller said, character cannot
be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of
trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired,
and success achieved. That's good, and she definitely knows about
(05:07):
trial and suffering. So again, character can't be developed in quietness.
So you gotta kind of live through the hard moments
and just know that there will be strength and all
the other stuff on the other side of it. Well,
I'll just say real quickly, because I was journaling last
night actually, so again I didn't know we were going
to talk about this. I have to give myself a
(05:28):
lot of grace because as I start to feel kind
of down, I was trying to make note of like
the year, and it was like we dealt with a
lot more than just a pandemic, Like there was one
thing after the other kind of stacked in. When you
start to reflect that, I think subconsciously starts to weigh
on all of us from the divisiveness in the election
and you know, everything that happened earlier in the year
(05:51):
with the conversation surrounding race relations and just if you
look at it was so much more than one or
two things, and I think sometimes that starts to add up,
and it starts to weigh on us. And I guess
for me, it helped to journal that down and recognize
that and then give myself some grace in it, not
(06:11):
only the stuff that you mentioned, but then people's everyday
life crap that happens, whether there's any of that other
stuff going on, Like so, yeah, it's it's been rough.
So just try to be aware of how you're feeling.
And then I'm going to share with you some stuff
that I found which could help you if you are
(06:33):
feeling in a rut this winter. So one of the
first things that I found online as an idea was
to add a new ritual or hobby to your life,
whether you know, it's like learning to knit or pouring
over coffee. You know, have you ever done that crazy
coffee where it's pour over? It just seems too intense
for me, But if you're in a coffee, maybe that's
(06:54):
something you look into. I've been trying to paint for
a couple of months now, and I'm finally going to
paint this week. It is happening. I already have it
figured out, even talk to my therapist about it. It's
like a really big deal, like I'm going to paint.
I'm also doing puzzles now, which I've never been a
puzzle person. Why shouldn't say puzzles plural? I am working
(07:15):
on a puzzle and I haven't working on it for
a few weeks now. No judgment. I'm sure some people
would have had it done, but for my a d
self to sit down and actually work on a puzzle
is crazy. My sister gave it to me, and she
was even shocked to see after she left it, I
was continuing to work on it by myself, but there
has been something so fun and awesome about it, and
(07:38):
every time I get a piece, I'm so excited, and
it's like these little accomplishments that happen every time I
find a complicated piece that I've been looking for for
a while, and you know, don't knock it because I
would have previously knocked the whole puzzle thing. And now
I'm all in and I can't wait to put the
last piece in this one and then maybe even frame
(07:59):
it because it's a really cute Nashville one that my
sister got me from her coffee shop and I think
it would look cute framed. And then I'm gonna start
another puzzle because that has been really good for me. Now,
maybe it's not for you, but again, maybe to step
outside your comfort zone, you may surprise yourself like I did.
I think actually I had to be the puzzle thing
had to come in at the right moment in my
(08:20):
life for me to but to really be open to it.
But it came at the right time and it has
been very, very good for me. So find yourself a
hobby for a new little thing ritual you can participate in, Chase.
(08:43):
Do you have any hobbies you've started recently the past
couple of years, with the seasonal depression, I end up
swimming laps through the winter and the recently opened like modified,
and I can swim laps and so I'm swimming again,
and that's kind of not a hobby, but to me,
it's kind of a hobby. Enjoy that. I mean, no,
that's a hobby for sure. Swimmings a hobby, right, You're not.
(09:06):
You're not Michael Felt. It's hobby a job for him.
I'm pretty sure it's a hobby to you. Another suggestion
was to lean into the slowing down of winter, so
read more books, take baths, enjoy the hibernation of the season,
which again looks a little different this year because you're
having to probably hibernate anyways because of COVID. But for me,
(09:31):
I have been taking a bath almost every night the
last five nights, and it's been awesome. And sometimes I
read my book. The book that I'm reading right now
is maybe you should talk to someone. The therapist that
wrote a book about the people she gives therapy to.
I saw Katie Kuric talking about it, so I decided
to get it. And then she had to go see
(09:53):
a therapist because she had some stuff happened in her life.
And it's a memoir from a therapist. Basically is what
you need to know, so I recommend that we should
talk to someone. Well, sometimes i'm reading, but then also
during my bathtime if I don't feel like reading. I've
been putting on a Million Little Things on Hulu, which
is a show from ABC. I guess from a couple
of years ago. But I'm definitely late to the party.
Have you heard of it? Yeah, I've heard of it.
(10:14):
I've watched like one or two episodes, and it seems
like it's good. I'm invested. I know every character, I
know what's happening. Has been very good for me. And
if y'all don't know what it is, I'll read you
the little thing that I found on Wikipedia about it.
It's said in Boston, a tight knit circle of friends
is shocked after a member of the group commits suicide unexpectedly.
The friends realize that they need to finally start living
(10:37):
life as they cope with their loss, and the title
is a reference to the saying friendship isn't a big thing,
It's a million little things. And it's true. These friends,
they've been going through a lot of little things together
and it just touches on so much. And I don't
even think it's still on um I don't know if
(10:57):
I got canceled or what, but I'm watching it on
Hulu and I'm a fan. Maybe when you're in your bath,
you read a book, or you put something on your
computer or your phone, or you listen to a podcast,
or you just sit there in silence, because maybe that's
what you need to. And the hibernation of the season
two makes me think of this. I don't know, Wildlife
for Bear documentary that Stevenson was watching on Disney Plus
(11:19):
and bears hibernate, which we all know that, but they
hybernate for six months. I don't think I realized their
hibernation was that long. And when they're in hibernation, Chase,
they don't eat, they don't pee, they don't poop, they
don't do anything. I mean, I know they don't eat
their hibernating, but so it makes sense if they're not
eating or drinking, they don't have to urinate or do
(11:40):
the other stuff. But I was just oddly struck and
fascinated by that. And I'm sure I learned that in
school at some point when I learned that bears hibernate,
but I don't I guess I don't know what I
thought they did. I mean, I guess I just pictured
them cuddled up inside of a cave and they were hibernating,
like they didn't really go out, but they still their
body still did all the bodily functions. But their body
(12:01):
is totally shut down. But yet when they wake up
from hibernation, they still have preserved muscle, even though they
haven't moved for six months. Because I mean, my dad,
we have to make sure that he moves, like when
he was in the hospital for a while, like a
trophy would set in and he had to move where
the muscle would just be gone and he couldn't walk.
But yet bears can just lay around for six months
(12:21):
and then well they still have all this muscle and
um something their body does to keep that going. And
then also they weigh a thousand pounds. Well that's kind
of a given. You know, they're heavy, but their noses
can smell something twenty miles away. Really, yeah, twenty miles.
I couldn't watch this, he said. I couldn't tell you
(12:45):
the name if I tried, but I would just it's
on Disney Plus if you have it, it's it was
about bears and wolves. So that's all that's all I
can tell you. But it was fascinating, as you can tell.
I'm very into that and a million little things and
my book. Maybe you should talk to someone. Those are
my recommendations. Here. Another thing online that said to do
(13:07):
if you're finding yourself in some sort of seasonal oppression
is maybe grow a few herbs inside cilantro basil mint,
and that way you see green every day, and then
you can enjoy a pop of the green and freshness
when you're cooking or you're eating, and there's this whole
relationship to the plant and the food and you eat.
You know, I can see how that would be helpful.
(13:28):
And I looked on Amazon and there are tons of
indoor herb garden options. So if you just hop on
Amazon and maybe look up one that's in your price range,
then you might be able to order one and grow
a few herbs inside your kitchen. That's a good idea.
I like it. Also. Another thing recommended was by one
small thing that will delight you on the colder days,
whether it's a cozy sock or a tied ice sweatsuit.
(13:49):
And I got Stufshara like a new Serpa robe for Christmas,
and I think I'm gonna have to either get one
for myself or probably steal it from her because the
softest thing ever and I found it it Target. Oh,
which reminds me too. I got Target slippers that are
basically like ug knockoffs and they're my new favorite cozy,
(14:10):
comfy thing. So you don't have to go shop somewhere
crazy for it. Target or Walmart has like so many good,
sharpoo cozy type things for sure. Another thing was to
use a lightbox for thirty minutes a day, which I
have a jew light which is j O O v V,
and I haven't been using it probably as much as
I should, especially because it's getting dark now at four thirty.
(14:33):
But I think now that I'm reading this, I'm gonna
bust it out and just sit in front of my
jew light for twenty minutes or so. Another suggestion was
called a different far away friend or relative every week,
so you can make a list of people and not
get overwhelmed. But I have feelings pressure of making all
these phone calls. But yeah, maybe every few days you
(14:55):
hit up a different person that you can connect with,
or even better, probably faced time is better than calling
because that way you can actually see them. Is your
whole family out at the ranch now, My oldest brother
and his three kids and his wife just arrived, so
it's officially a full ranch for the holiday. So you'll
all be together. Yeah, just our immediate family, and I'll
(15:17):
preface my other brothers and their families all live in
the ranch, and my parents live on the ranch, so
we're safely inviting one other family, being my oldest brother,
into the mid Oh, you don't have to like justify
your I feel like there's no judgment here, like people
are going to be safe about it. But I know
(15:38):
you probably trust me. Backlash comes in all shapes and
forms at any given moments, so I get it wanting
to cover yourself there, but I guess you're My point
is you're on a ranch with like your whole family,
so you may have friends you want to reach out to.
But I bring that up to because Yellowstone is another
awesome show that if you have not watched, I've talked
(15:58):
about it on the podcast before. If you're looking for something,
maybe while you have a few days off of work,
binge that because it's so good and Chase's family ranch
is basically Yellowstone. It's hilarious. Every member of his family
can be a member. On the TV show, Kevin Costner
is the main guy, and Chase his dad back in
the day on a horse basically looks like Kevin Costner
(16:20):
on Dutton Ranch. But I will clarify that Chase's family
doesn't commit the crimes or the murders and stuff like
like the Yellow family. Another suggestion is to bundle up
and try to move your body outside at least once
a week, so you don't even have to put the
pressure on yourself to do it every day. But maybe
(16:40):
there are some places you could go do a winter
hike in your area. What would that look like? Just
make sure you're adequately warm and sometimes when it's cold.
Like my daughter, she's Haitian, she wants nothing to do
with the cold. In fact, speaking of bears and hibernation,
she has told me we went hiking a couple of
weeks ago and she said, Mom, just so you know,
this is gonna be my last hike into um, maybe March.
(17:01):
She's like, because I'm I'm going to hybridate like a
bear and I'll be in my room. And so yeah,
we kind of lost her to the hiking. But I
do feel as though, if she would bundle up and
get out there, it would make her feel better because
being outside and connecting with nature and moving your body helps.
Another suggestion is every day, play one song from the
(17:22):
best nineties Pop Songs playlist and dance around wildly until
it's over. I can see how that would be helpful. Lisa,
who I do Outway with. She's my co host on
our Outweigh podcast for disordered eating Just come on the
podcast before. She has her own podcast called The Truth
fus Life. She does morning dance parties on Instagram and
(17:42):
she tells people the time and then she does it,
I think, on Instagram live and she dances around and
leads people and just ridiculously moving their bodies in a
wild way because it's good for you. It's proven, So
I could see how that would be helpful. You know,
speaking of playlists or songs, this isn't the nine in D's,
but it's close and you can't really wildly dance to it.
(18:03):
But I have been listening to John Mayer so much lately.
His two thousand and one album called Room for Squares.
I mean, it has no such thing. Why, Georgia, your
body is a wonderland neon. Oh, it's so good. Let's
listen to no such thing. I'm gonna play a little
clip of it right here, just so that y'all can
get a little taste of it because it's so good. Which,
(18:24):
by the way, I played it first as year or
the other day, and she was looking at me like
I was playing her oldies music. She was like, what
is this. I've never I've never seen this on TikTok.
I don't like it. So uh, here is no such thing.
John Mayer, so bad, so good, boys and girls, Okay,
(19:05):
so chase. Another thing it says to do is to
pick a cookbook and then cook your way through every
recipe in it. And I guess a cookbook I would
recommend would be Laura Lee's. She's come on the podcast before.
On Instagram she's Laura Lee Balanced and her newest cookbook
is called Simply Laura Lee. But her first cookbook is
also good. They're on my Amazon Favorites page under books
(19:26):
if you want to go check those out Radio amy
dot com to find a link to that. Oh. In
our Gratitude Journal of four Things Gratitude Journal, in our
very first one, we included a recipe just like a
macha recipe. But then in our latest newest journal, Mary
and I both put in a family recipe. She did
a sweet one from her grandmother, her brownies, and I
(19:47):
made them this weekend and they are uh amazing, Like
I cannot tell y'all, I don't even like brownies, and
these I couldn't stop eating them. And then I put
enough savory like Mary did sweet, and I did a
savory family recipe my Alabama mac and cheese. You so
if you have our journal, you can flip to the
back and maybe cook your way through our journal, which
would probably be two recipes, but at least you would
(20:09):
feel accomplished with that because you're like, wow, I cooked
everything in this book. And lastly, the last little tip
I pulled was take a vitamin D supplement because if
you're not out the sun provides vitamin D. If you're
not in the sun a lot, you could maybe do that.
So that's what I got for today's episode. Really just
wanted to share that with you all again to make
(20:30):
sure you know that I see those emails. They came
in and while I can't speak to depression, I do
wouldn't know what it's like to feel down and I
do think it's it's true that it can happen in
the winter months. So pick one of these, or do
them all, or maybe do one of these each week
throughout the winter months, and that way you can stay
ahead of it. So, Chase, I hope you were taking notes.
(20:51):
Which one of these things that I talked about seems
most appealing to you. Well, I'm a terrible cook, so
I think that I'm probably going to try to learn
to mask to a few things in the kitchen. So
I might probably not go through an entire cookbook, but
attempt a few recipes. Oh well, that sounds good. You'll
have to share with us if you find a recipe
that's really good. I will say this before I go.
(21:14):
I think something that we will do sometimes to numb
our feelings is to hop on Instagram and start scrolling,
and then the next thing you know, you've looked at
everybody's stories and all their things, and that may send
you into some more sadness or feeling disconnected because some
people might have certain family things going on that you
(21:35):
don't get to have, especially this year. But even if
it's not winter, I think we can use social media
sometimes to distract from our real feelings and what's going on.
So I just want to also encourage you to not
get sucked in to Instagram and be intentional about taking
breaks from it this holiday season and for me today,
I guess you're gonna be listening to this on Tuesday,
(21:56):
and I made a calculated effort as of Some twenty two,
I'm not going to be on Instagram my personal account.
I have some drafts I've got ready for a squaw
that I'll be throwing up throughout just because I love
our spaw community and don't want to like totally disconnect,
but I won't be fully just on there as as
(22:18):
I normally, and especially on my personal account. I'm just
making a really calculated decision to shut it off. So
this Tuesday, December two will be me signing off for
a little bit, just to make sure that I don't
numb out and don't address certain feelings and things I
have going on because I just numb out on Instagram.
(22:40):
So I just want to encourage you all to do
the same, and then I'll be back. And I don't
know the official return date, but for sure one Okay, Well,
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, talk to you as soon
Thank you Chase for joining me today, but I'm glad
to be here at
Happy Tuesday, everybody. I am here with Chase and we
are recording a special fifth Thing Bonus episode. Normally I
am answering emails, not just answering, but sharing emails that
have been sent in. But this is a little bit
different of an episode because I'm just going to focus
on one topic and I brought Jason to just talk
(00:25):
back and forth with me, so I wasn't just rambling.
Say what up, Chase, what we will have our Tuesday quote?
Don't worry because I'm sure a lot of you rely
on the quotes that I pull from the internet to redo.
But I have gotten several notes from people just in
the last month or so. I've noticed a theme and
some of the emails of people just not quite feeling
(00:47):
themselves and they're feeling kind of down and not full
blown depression. And if you do feel like you have
that stirring inside of you, I would ask you to
please seek some real help from somebody it as an expert,
and maybe emailing to me is your first step of
recognizing that you don't feel right or something's off. And
this year has been heavy for a lot of people,
(01:10):
and we just entered winter time. So I came across
this article talking about seasonal depression, which if you haven't
heard of it, it's like also known as SAD, which
is seasonal effective disorder. And while I certainly haven't suffered
from it, and I don't know if a lot of
you have had any type of official diagnosis with it,
(01:33):
this has been a weird year. We are in the
winter months, we are still in a pandemic, so it
can be quite isolating and lonely and dark for a
lot of people. So I didn't want to just steer
clear of this topic because I don't personally have experience
with it. Uh So I was careful in doing my
research and how I wanted to talk about it. And
(01:55):
maybe you're listening, you're like, I don't have a seasonal
depression sort of Winter has just begun. This can last
pretty much from the end of fall through January or February,
and it is a weird time. Maybe you're not gonna
be able to be with family for the holidays because
of coronavirus. Maybe you're just gonna be cooped up inside.
I mean really, I feel like depending on where you
(02:15):
live in the country, this type of thing might affect
you differently. But the tips I'm going to share are
the ideas on a share that might help pull you
out of it again. I feel like I have to
preface that maybe you you need to seek professional help,
but if you feel stuck or in a rut, these
ideas could be helpful for you, even if you don't
think you're furthest from sad possible. You know, Chase it,
(02:36):
do you feel where you you're in Wichita, Kansas? Is
it cold and dark and there? You know? Actually today
has been a blessing because it's about sixty degrees. Because
I kind of battle this actually a little bit. I
did not know that. I didn't even tell to So
I didn't even tell Chase before he hopped on with me,
what in the world you're going to talk about? In fact,
(02:56):
right before he hit record, he's like, so, you don't
have any emails you want me to read? And I
was like, Nah, We're just gonna tackle a subject that
has come up, the difference that I've seen and not
sad specifically, but just people feeling not themselves. So tell
me about your experience. I know about it because I
know my mom dealt with it when I was younger.
More so, yeah, I realized that when winter comes around
(03:19):
and the sun kind of goes away, and especially being
able to be outdoors and growing up in the Midwest,
like when the green goes away, there's nothing on the
trees and it's just very bare, and I just realized
that it started to affect me kind of that sense
of life felt like it was taken, you know, like
from the earth, with everything just being brown and gray
(03:41):
and dark. Well, I'm gonna share the actual definition, and
it says, seasonal effective disorder is a type of depression
that's related to changes in seasons. SAD begins and ends
at about the same time every year. If you're like
most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall
and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and
making you feel moody. So in case you're wondering, like
(04:03):
I don't really know exactly what it is, that is
the definition that I pulled. And again I'm gonna use
the word that we learned early on this year, and
I don't feel like I've ever used the word unprecedented.
And now I feel like we're approaching a holiday season
like we've never had before, where normally there's an abundance
(04:24):
of people and family and friends, and and it's just
gonna look really different for a lot of people this year.
So this might be the first year you experience something
like this and you're not getting out and about because
you feel like you need to stay home and stay safe. Now,
I promised a quote, so I pulled one from Helen Keller,
which I think applies to when we go through rough seasons.
(04:46):
This is a good quote that kind of flows into
when we're faced with challenges. Helen Keller said, character cannot
be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of
trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired,
and success achieved. That's good, and she definitely knows about
(05:07):
trial and suffering. So again, character can't be developed in quietness.
So you gotta kind of live through the hard moments
and just know that there will be strength and all
the other stuff on the other side of it. Well,
I'll just say real quickly, because I was journaling last
night actually, so again I didn't know we were going
to talk about this. I have to give myself a
(05:28):
lot of grace because as I start to feel kind
of down, I was trying to make note of like
the year, and it was like we dealt with a
lot more than just a pandemic, Like there was one
thing after the other kind of stacked in. When you
start to reflect that, I think subconsciously starts to weigh
on all of us from the divisiveness in the election
and you know, everything that happened earlier in the year
(05:51):
with the conversation surrounding race relations and just if you
look at it was so much more than one or
two things, and I think sometimes that starts to add up,
and it starts to weigh on us. And I guess
for me, it helped to journal that down and recognize
that and then give myself some grace in it, not
(06:11):
only the stuff that you mentioned, but then people's everyday
life crap that happens, whether there's any of that other
stuff going on, Like so, yeah, it's it's been rough.
So just try to be aware of how you're feeling.
And then I'm going to share with you some stuff
that I found which could help you if you are
(06:33):
feeling in a rut this winter. So one of the
first things that I found online as an idea was
to add a new ritual or hobby to your life,
whether you know, it's like learning to knit or pouring
over coffee. You know, have you ever done that crazy
coffee where it's pour over? It just seems too intense
for me, But if you're in a coffee, maybe that's
(06:54):
something you look into. I've been trying to paint for
a couple of months now, and I'm finally going to
paint this week. It is happening. I already have it
figured out, even talk to my therapist about it. It's
like a really big deal, like I'm going to paint.
I'm also doing puzzles now, which I've never been a
puzzle person. Why shouldn't say puzzles plural? I am working
(07:15):
on a puzzle and I haven't working on it for
a few weeks now. No judgment. I'm sure some people
would have had it done, but for my a d
self to sit down and actually work on a puzzle
is crazy. My sister gave it to me, and she
was even shocked to see after she left it, I
was continuing to work on it by myself, but there
has been something so fun and awesome about it, and
(07:38):
every time I get a piece, I'm so excited, and
it's like these little accomplishments that happen every time I
find a complicated piece that I've been looking for for
a while, and you know, don't knock it because I
would have previously knocked the whole puzzle thing. And now
I'm all in and I can't wait to put the
last piece in this one and then maybe even frame
(07:59):
it because it's a really cute Nashville one that my
sister got me from her coffee shop and I think
it would look cute framed. And then I'm gonna start
another puzzle because that has been really good for me. Now,
maybe it's not for you, but again, maybe to step
outside your comfort zone, you may surprise yourself like I did.
I think actually I had to be the puzzle thing
had to come in at the right moment in my
(08:20):
life for me to but to really be open to it.
But it came at the right time and it has
been very, very good for me. So find yourself a
hobby for a new little thing ritual you can participate in, Chase.
(08:43):
Do you have any hobbies you've started recently the past
couple of years, with the seasonal depression, I end up
swimming laps through the winter and the recently opened like modified,
and I can swim laps and so I'm swimming again,
and that's kind of not a hobby, but to me,
it's kind of a hobby. Enjoy that. I mean, no,
that's a hobby for sure. Swimmings a hobby, right, You're not.
(09:06):
You're not Michael Felt. It's hobby a job for him.
I'm pretty sure it's a hobby to you. Another suggestion
was to lean into the slowing down of winter, so
read more books, take baths, enjoy the hibernation of the season,
which again looks a little different this year because you're
having to probably hibernate anyways because of COVID. But for me,
(09:31):
I have been taking a bath almost every night the
last five nights, and it's been awesome. And sometimes I
read my book. The book that I'm reading right now
is maybe you should talk to someone. The therapist that
wrote a book about the people she gives therapy to.
I saw Katie Kuric talking about it, so I decided
to get it. And then she had to go see
(09:53):
a therapist because she had some stuff happened in her life.
And it's a memoir from a therapist. Basically is what
you need to know, so I recommend that we should
talk to someone. Well, sometimes i'm reading, but then also
during my bathtime if I don't feel like reading. I've
been putting on a Million Little Things on Hulu, which
is a show from ABC. I guess from a couple
of years ago. But I'm definitely late to the party.
Have you heard of it? Yeah, I've heard of it.
(10:14):
I've watched like one or two episodes, and it seems
like it's good. I'm invested. I know every character, I
know what's happening. Has been very good for me. And
if y'all don't know what it is, I'll read you
the little thing that I found on Wikipedia about it.
It's said in Boston, a tight knit circle of friends
is shocked after a member of the group commits suicide unexpectedly.
The friends realize that they need to finally start living
(10:37):
life as they cope with their loss, and the title
is a reference to the saying friendship isn't a big thing,
It's a million little things. And it's true. These friends,
they've been going through a lot of little things together
and it just touches on so much. And I don't
even think it's still on um I don't know if
(10:57):
I got canceled or what, but I'm watching it on
Hulu and I'm a fan. Maybe when you're in your bath,
you read a book, or you put something on your
computer or your phone, or you listen to a podcast,
or you just sit there in silence, because maybe that's
what you need to. And the hibernation of the season
two makes me think of this. I don't know, Wildlife
for Bear documentary that Stevenson was watching on Disney Plus
(11:19):
and bears hibernate, which we all know that, but they
hybernate for six months. I don't think I realized their
hibernation was that long. And when they're in hibernation, Chase,
they don't eat, they don't pee, they don't poop, they
don't do anything. I mean, I know they don't eat
their hibernating, but so it makes sense if they're not
eating or drinking, they don't have to urinate or do
(11:40):
the other stuff. But I was just oddly struck and
fascinated by that. And I'm sure I learned that in
school at some point when I learned that bears hibernate,
but I don't I guess I don't know what I
thought they did. I mean, I guess I just pictured
them cuddled up inside of a cave and they were hibernating,
like they didn't really go out, but they still their
body still did all the bodily functions. But their body
(12:01):
is totally shut down. But yet when they wake up
from hibernation, they still have preserved muscle, even though they
haven't moved for six months. Because I mean, my dad,
we have to make sure that he moves, like when
he was in the hospital for a while, like a
trophy would set in and he had to move where
the muscle would just be gone and he couldn't walk.
But yet bears can just lay around for six months
(12:21):
and then well they still have all this muscle and
um something their body does to keep that going. And
then also they weigh a thousand pounds. Well that's kind
of a given. You know, they're heavy, but their noses
can smell something twenty miles away. Really, yeah, twenty miles.
I couldn't watch this, he said. I couldn't tell you
(12:45):
the name if I tried, but I would just it's
on Disney Plus if you have it, it's it was
about bears and wolves. So that's all that's all I
can tell you. But it was fascinating, as you can tell.
I'm very into that and a million little things and
my book. Maybe you should talk to someone. Those are
my recommendations. Here. Another thing online that said to do
(13:07):
if you're finding yourself in some sort of seasonal oppression
is maybe grow a few herbs inside cilantro basil mint,
and that way you see green every day, and then
you can enjoy a pop of the green and freshness
when you're cooking or you're eating, and there's this whole
relationship to the plant and the food and you eat.
You know, I can see how that would be helpful.
(13:28):
And I looked on Amazon and there are tons of
indoor herb garden options. So if you just hop on
Amazon and maybe look up one that's in your price range,
then you might be able to order one and grow
a few herbs inside your kitchen. That's a good idea.
I like it. Also. Another thing recommended was by one
small thing that will delight you on the colder days,
whether it's a cozy sock or a tied ice sweatsuit.
(13:49):
And I got Stufshara like a new Serpa robe for Christmas,
and I think I'm gonna have to either get one
for myself or probably steal it from her because the
softest thing ever and I found it it Target. Oh,
which reminds me too. I got Target slippers that are
basically like ug knockoffs and they're my new favorite cozy,
(14:10):
comfy thing. So you don't have to go shop somewhere
crazy for it. Target or Walmart has like so many good,
sharpoo cozy type things for sure. Another thing was to
use a lightbox for thirty minutes a day, which I
have a jew light which is j O O v V,
and I haven't been using it probably as much as
I should, especially because it's getting dark now at four thirty.
(14:33):
But I think now that I'm reading this, I'm gonna
bust it out and just sit in front of my
jew light for twenty minutes or so. Another suggestion was
called a different far away friend or relative every week,
so you can make a list of people and not
get overwhelmed. But I have feelings pressure of making all
these phone calls. But yeah, maybe every few days you
(14:55):
hit up a different person that you can connect with,
or even better, probably faced time is better than calling
because that way you can actually see them. Is your
whole family out at the ranch now, My oldest brother
and his three kids and his wife just arrived, so
it's officially a full ranch for the holiday. So you'll
all be together. Yeah, just our immediate family, and I'll
(15:17):
preface my other brothers and their families all live in
the ranch, and my parents live on the ranch, so
we're safely inviting one other family, being my oldest brother,
into the mid Oh, you don't have to like justify
your I feel like there's no judgment here, like people
are going to be safe about it. But I know
(15:38):
you probably trust me. Backlash comes in all shapes and
forms at any given moments, so I get it wanting
to cover yourself there, but I guess you're My point
is you're on a ranch with like your whole family,
so you may have friends you want to reach out to.
But I bring that up to because Yellowstone is another
awesome show that if you have not watched, I've talked
(15:58):
about it on the podcast before. If you're looking for something,
maybe while you have a few days off of work,
binge that because it's so good and Chase's family ranch
is basically Yellowstone. It's hilarious. Every member of his family
can be a member. On the TV show, Kevin Costner
is the main guy, and Chase his dad back in
the day on a horse basically looks like Kevin Costner
(16:20):
on Dutton Ranch. But I will clarify that Chase's family
doesn't commit the crimes or the murders and stuff like
like the Yellow family. Another suggestion is to bundle up
and try to move your body outside at least once
a week, so you don't even have to put the
pressure on yourself to do it every day. But maybe
(16:40):
there are some places you could go do a winter
hike in your area. What would that look like? Just
make sure you're adequately warm and sometimes when it's cold.
Like my daughter, she's Haitian, she wants nothing to do
with the cold. In fact, speaking of bears and hibernation,
she has told me we went hiking a couple of
weeks ago and she said, Mom, just so you know,
this is gonna be my last hike into um, maybe March.
(17:01):
She's like, because I'm I'm going to hybridate like a
bear and I'll be in my room. And so yeah,
we kind of lost her to the hiking. But I
do feel as though, if she would bundle up and
get out there, it would make her feel better because
being outside and connecting with nature and moving your body helps.
Another suggestion is every day, play one song from the
(17:22):
best nineties Pop Songs playlist and dance around wildly until
it's over. I can see how that would be helpful. Lisa,
who I do Outway with. She's my co host on
our Outweigh podcast for disordered eating Just come on the
podcast before. She has her own podcast called The Truth
fus Life. She does morning dance parties on Instagram and
(17:42):
she tells people the time and then she does it,
I think, on Instagram live and she dances around and
leads people and just ridiculously moving their bodies in a
wild way because it's good for you. It's proven, So
I could see how that would be helpful. You know,
speaking of playlists or songs, this isn't the nine in D's,
but it's close and you can't really wildly dance to it.
(18:03):
But I have been listening to John Mayer so much lately.
His two thousand and one album called Room for Squares.
I mean, it has no such thing. Why, Georgia, your
body is a wonderland neon. Oh, it's so good. Let's
listen to no such thing. I'm gonna play a little
clip of it right here, just so that y'all can
get a little taste of it because it's so good. Which,
(18:24):
by the way, I played it first as year or
the other day, and she was looking at me like
I was playing her oldies music. She was like, what
is this. I've never I've never seen this on TikTok.
I don't like it. So uh, here is no such thing.
John Mayer, so bad, so good, boys and girls, Okay,
(19:05):
so chase. Another thing it says to do is to
pick a cookbook and then cook your way through every
recipe in it. And I guess a cookbook I would
recommend would be Laura Lee's. She's come on the podcast before.
On Instagram she's Laura Lee Balanced and her newest cookbook
is called Simply Laura Lee. But her first cookbook is
also good. They're on my Amazon Favorites page under books
(19:26):
if you want to go check those out Radio amy
dot com to find a link to that. Oh. In
our Gratitude Journal of four Things Gratitude Journal, in our
very first one, we included a recipe just like a
macha recipe. But then in our latest newest journal, Mary
and I both put in a family recipe. She did
a sweet one from her grandmother, her brownies, and I
(19:47):
made them this weekend and they are uh amazing, Like
I cannot tell y'all, I don't even like brownies, and
these I couldn't stop eating them. And then I put
enough savory like Mary did sweet, and I did a
savory family recipe my Alabama mac and cheese. You so
if you have our journal, you can flip to the
back and maybe cook your way through our journal, which
would probably be two recipes, but at least you would
(20:09):
feel accomplished with that because you're like, wow, I cooked
everything in this book. And lastly, the last little tip
I pulled was take a vitamin D supplement because if
you're not out the sun provides vitamin D. If you're
not in the sun a lot, you could maybe do that.
So that's what I got for today's episode. Really just
wanted to share that with you all again to make
(20:30):
sure you know that I see those emails. They came
in and while I can't speak to depression, I do
wouldn't know what it's like to feel down and I
do think it's it's true that it can happen in
the winter months. So pick one of these, or do
them all, or maybe do one of these each week
throughout the winter months, and that way you can stay
ahead of it. So, Chase, I hope you were taking notes.
(20:51):
Which one of these things that I talked about seems
most appealing to you. Well, I'm a terrible cook, so
I think that I'm probably going to try to learn
to mask to a few things in the kitchen. So
I might probably not go through an entire cookbook, but
attempt a few recipes. Oh well, that sounds good. You'll
have to share with us if you find a recipe
that's really good. I will say this before I go.
(21:14):
I think something that we will do sometimes to numb
our feelings is to hop on Instagram and start scrolling,
and then the next thing you know, you've looked at
everybody's stories and all their things, and that may send
you into some more sadness or feeling disconnected because some
people might have certain family things going on that you
(21:35):
don't get to have, especially this year. But even if
it's not winter, I think we can use social media
sometimes to distract from our real feelings and what's going on.
So I just want to also encourage you to not
get sucked in to Instagram and be intentional about taking
breaks from it this holiday season and for me today,
I guess you're gonna be listening to this on Tuesday,
(21:56):
and I made a calculated effort as of Some twenty two,
I'm not going to be on Instagram my personal account.
I have some drafts I've got ready for a squaw
that I'll be throwing up throughout just because I love
our spaw community and don't want to like totally disconnect,
but I won't be fully just on there as as
(22:18):
I normally, and especially on my personal account. I'm just
making a really calculated decision to shut it off. So
this Tuesday, December two will be me signing off for
a little bit, just to make sure that I don't
numb out and don't address certain feelings and things I
have going on because I just numb out on Instagram.
(22:40):
So I just want to encourage you all to do
the same, and then I'll be back. And I don't
know the official return date, but for sure one Okay, Well,
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, talk to you as soon
Thank you Chase for joining me today, but I'm glad
to be here at
Feeling Things with Amy & Kat News
Host
Amy Brown
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