You Might Write a Haiku
“Salty drops slide down
Now I know what ears are for
Buckets catching rain”
Haïkus are Japanese-based poems, constructed on the 5-7-5 syllable pattern. They are poignant, reflective, deceptively complex, and can sum up a whole world of emotion in a single picture that would normally take a thousand words to express.
The point about the buckets, I guess, is that the sensation of tears in your ears forces you to stand up, give your literal and metaphorical head a shake, and move on.
This can be difficult to do during tumultuous transitional times, in the aftermath of fraught family gatherings, or when we've simply been pushing too hard, too long.
But our struggle to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off can be exacerbated in the northern spheres by the seasonal dimming of light. Days are short, sunlight is wan, and winter is coming (as the saying goes). The lack of sunlight can be a major factor in our diminished ability to concentrate and work.
In fact, Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, can cast a shadow over even the brightest of ambitions. As the days grow shorter and sunlight slips away, some of us feel a deep, unshakeable shift. SAD is more than just “winter blues” - it’s a form of depression that can impair thinking, decision-making, and emotional stability, especially in those whose work demands clarity and leadership.
As mood dips and motivation dwindles, tasks that were once second nature start to feel overwhelming. The mental fog can dull focus, make decisions harder, and drain the energy needed to guide a team.
If you've never experienced mental fog and/or emotional fatigue, congratulations. Here's what it’s like for the rest of us:
forgetting an important word or the ending of a sentence
becoming irrecoverably drained after intense meetings
suffering from incessant, hard-to-trace headaches that are not relieved by caffeine, sugar, sleep, or exercise
being overly sensitive to thoughtlessness, especially our own inner critic
feeling like doing normal chores are Herculean efforts
wanting to lie down as soon as the sun sinks but not being able to sleep properly at any point
the list is relentless
Importantly, seasonal depression isn’t just a personal hurdle that a solitary individual faces; it’s something that can reverberate throughout the workplace, subtly affecting those around us.
When you’re responsible for leading others, this can feel like an almost unbearable weight. And it’s crucial to remember that these feelings are part of a condition, not a character flaw. But it can be cripplingly isolating.
Strategies like light therapy, increased outdoor activities, and open communication with your team or support network can all make a difference. In moments of clarity, consider creating a personal plan to manage the symptoms - perhaps adjusting your workload, setting aside time for self-care, or even taking steps to boost morale within the team during tougher months.
Particularly when sleep is impaired, it is even more important to have a regular lights-out time that is free from internet distractions and blue light.
Few people get enough exercise in winter. It can be really hard to motivate yourself when you're going to work in the dark, coming home in the dark, and working under fluorescent lights or without a window all day. I've quit jobs for this reason alone.
Nutrition, one of my areas of special interest, is also a critical point to pay attention to. One can almost always find healing answers here.
So stop eating late - anything after 6pm just makes your body keep working and impairs its ability to shut down for the night. Stay away from sugars and starches as they'll spike the glucose in your body for hours afterwards, essentially telling your body that there's work coming up to be done - and Voilà: You're restless.
What a lot of people don't know is that pale skin is essentially a mutation to help adapt to northern climes. Even so, the winter sun isn't sufficient to help us create vitamin D in our bodies. There are huge implications from this lack of vitamin D: high blood pressure, low back pain, insulin resistance, viral and bacterial infection susceptibility, autoimmune conditions, fatigue and lethargy. If you're older, and/ or if your skin is darker, you're going to need even more Vitamin D. A lot more.
For leaders, SAD can be especially challenging. As mood dips and motivation dwindles, tasks that were once second nature start to feel overwhelming. But leaders aren't “supposed” to express vulnerability, because people so often confuse it with weakness.
It's time to acknowledge that even the strongest of us can struggle. By honestly evaluating how we’re feeling - observing symptoms like brain fog, confusion, emotional sensitivity, or a lack of motivation - we can begin to take steps to manage them rather than hide them. Being upfront with ourselves is the first step to regaining control.
My point is that there's a whole lot we CAN do to become healthier and better able to deal with stress in the coming winter months.
Be gentle with yourself when facing difficult decisions or managing setbacks, and give yourself permission to pause when you need it. Your team and colleagues will respect the honesty of your approach, and they may even find inspiration in your resilience. Awareness is the first step to handling SAD’s impact on leadership.
I don't believe that represssing feelings - or reprimanding ourselves for having them - is a viable strategy.
In fact, tears contain protein-based hormones including the neurotransmitter leucine enkephalin, which is a natural painkiller that is released when the body is under stress. Makes sense.
Tears serve many purposes, and your eyes produce them all the time. In fact, you make 15 to 30 gallons of tears each year.
In 2008, photographer Rose-Lynn Fisher collected, examined and photographed more than 100 tears from both herself and a handful of other volunteers, including a newborn baby. Fisher says: “A scientific study was not the point of my exploration, nor my field of endeavor. To the contrary, my original question set me on a quest, and led me to consider tears at an intangible level, to reflect on the poetry of life, and the unexpected ways we gain deeper knowing. And what tears mean to our evolving awareness about being human, cultivating empathy, compassion.”
When you lie on your back and cry, your tears will drop into your ears. It might feel so ridiculous you start laughing. It might be so annoying that you get up. Whatever happens, you're bound to change your mental focus - at least for a while.
You might write a haiku.
About the Author
Anna is an organizational psychologist and executive coach, with a special interest in all things technology. We’re part of the team at Garleff Coaching and Consulting Group. If this article has struck a chord, please let us know.
Anna Garleff Cell: +1 587 224 3793 / anna@garleffcoaching.com
www.garleffcoaching.com
