“Back at the hotel in Columbia, MO. After laughing at dinner like I haven't laughed in a long time! De regreso en el hotel en Columbia, MO, Despues de reirme en la cena como no lo habia hecho en mucho tiempo!”
That was my FB status after going out to dinner with Erik (my program director), his wife, and a couple friends during my interview process at MU. After that dinner my decision was made: I would do my fellowship at MU. It seamed like a fun group of people to work with. The scenery was beautiful and I clearly remember Erik saying the winters where mild, “Snow never sticks.” You can imagine my surprise during the historic snowstorm this month. I didn’t leave my apartment for 3 days!! I felt deceived! Could not seeing the sun for 3 days really reduce my chances of being happy?
In a personal view article in the BMJ it mentions “Research has shown that people are happier, more energetic, and less likely to be sick in the longer and brighter days of summer, whereas their mood tends to decline—and anxious and depressive states to intensify—during the shorter and duller days of winter.” 1 They didn’t reference these studies though.
I found one study done in nurses working at Akdeniz University Hospital in Antalya, Turkey where “exposure to daylight at least 3 h a day was found to cause less stress and higher satisfaction at work.” 2 Can these results apply to me? Is a study done in Turkey useful for people that live in the sates?
To complicate things even more. A study in the Netherlands found NO association between mean daily temperature, duration of sunshine and duration of rainfall to major depression and sad mood in the general population. 3
Bottom line for now: this epidemiology thing and using in to make decisions in our everyday life is kinda of complicated! One of the biggest decisions I will have to make in the near future is deciding where I should live. There are so many things to take in to consideration when making this decision. Looking at studies that have researched what things effect quality of life and Job satisfaction will be on my list of things to do. But may give no definite answer!
In the meantime, now that the sun is out and the temperature today is in the 40s, should I forgive Erik?
Bibliography:
Absolutely, you should forgive Erik completely.
ReplyDeleteSincerely, Erik.
P.S. Note that there is a 2010 "list of happiest countries" that is topped by Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. You're welcome.
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-35010143
You are right. People that forgive easily tend to be happier people!
ReplyDeleteYou just added another continent to my search for a permanent residence though....
what do you think of people that can tell you every thing, fell mad with you, and, the next week can talk whith you like nothing happend?.
ReplyDeleteor some time you had a fiht with your boyfriend or husband and.... many month or year latter... you forget about this problem but your husband no!!!...
that mean that you don`t mind him.. for me that mean that you take off all your mad and this never back.. and I forgot it.. but he remembre frecuently...
And I do.. this with frecuency... I do not carry agry with nobody.. only with my self...
You should forgive yourself and let go of any anger towards yourself the same way you forgive and forget others mistakes. I think it's great you don't keep negative feelings for years.
ReplyDelete"Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone;and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering."-Ida Scott Taylor
Forgiveness primarily affects the forgiver, not the forgivee! And it is not always a one-time thing (for some people, I have had to do this on a daily basis!)....And as for happy places to live, anything with a beach, warm water, and tropical plants would work for me. There is no scientific study to back this, only that I know what works for me!
ReplyDeleteLisa,
ReplyDeleteI agree! The beach,warm water and tropical plants works for me too. It's "semana santa" (holy week) this week in Nicaragua. Not much holy about it! I wish I was back home this week, swimming at a beach during the day and dancing on the beach at night. ahhh home sweet home!
I love rainy days too, so I guess blogging on a rainy Friday morning isn't all that bad. It's the snowy days I hard time forgiving Erik for. We went out to dinner a few weeks ago, laughed a lot and all is forgiven!