Welcome to a bonus episode of the Daily Article podcast.

Today's bonus episode is authored by Aaron Carey and narrated by Chris Elkins of the Denison

Forum.

Aaron Carey is a certified integrative nutrition health coach and mom to three children.

She's received training from the Institute for Integrative

Nutrition and the School of Applied Functional Medicine. As a survivor of mental illness,

she is passionate about advocating for mental health. She's the owner of Sparkling Wholen

Holness, host of the Sparkling Wholeness podcast, and works as the Integrative Health Coach at Living

Well Counseling and Wellness Center in Tyler, Texas. Her website is Sparklingholness.com. A link to her

website can be found in the episode notes of this podcast. The title of this bonus daily article

podcast episode is, Are You Sad? How to Fight Against the Winter Blues.

It's the most wonderful time of the year until it's not. For many Americans, the holiday season and its aftermath can be the launching pad for seasonal lows. While these months can be exciting

and merry for some, for others it's stressful or a reminder of loved ones who have passed. While some

people thrive in the hustle and the bustle, others are drowning and can't catch up. According to the

National Institute of Mental Health,

certain symptoms determined whether you are affected by the winter version of

sad, seasonal, effective disorder. They are oversleeping, overeating, with a particular craving

for carbohydrates, weight gain, social withdrawal, and other

symptoms of depression. These may be indicators that you could be suffering from sad. Even if

you don't have sad, which impacts nearly 10 million Americans every year, the dark evenings

and decrease in sun exposure alone can make things

seem bleaker. We have been designed with rhythms in place for us to honor. The sleep-wake cycle

...