NYD - why??

Okay, maybe I have a thing with acronyms (see previous post regarding OOTG), but I heard a new one last night and it caught my attention. NYD - New Years Depression. I was at a birthday dinner with 5 other girls and as soon as the term was brought to the table, I noted that we were all nodding in unison about the experience of NYD. Though the sources of NYD varied and the levels that it was experienced for this particular year were greater than others, I saw that we were or had been plagued by the NYD.

This leads me to ask...why? Wouldn't you agree that time of year we call "New Years" contradicts with the mental state we call "Depression". If I had to play that game where you say the first word that pops in your head after a phrase or word with "New Years" - I would probably say, "resolution". If I had to play it with "Depression" - I would probably say, "death". Okay, maybe not death, but nothing that goes with the word resolution. So, why?? Why the NYD? I don't think this NYD a new phenomenon. I also don't think it's because of the bad and getting worse economy we're dealing OR even with our realization that the extra candy and liquor we've consumed from November 26th-January 1st, has caused our pants to feel a little snug; so, again, I ask why? Why the NYD?

Last nights' champion in the "validity category" for NYD went to Ande Courtney. I'm sorry to use you here, Ande, but this story needs to be told. Afterall, your story is all you have or so says Benjamen Button, yes, everyone go see it. Anyway, Ande's NYD began when the venue that she was at on New Year's Eve didn't allow alcohol on the dance floor. Ande, always thinking outside the box, decides that she will get around this rule by putting a beer inside her purse. Long story short, the beer spills, the iPhone and camera break. Obviously, the NYD ensues promptly on January 1st. I've broken many a phone and lost many a camera, so I have complete empathy for this case of NYD. I guess it's not really NYD, it's more of something that I've suffered with since college, an ailment called, WPD, short for "I Wish I Could Stop Breaking all of my Possessions when I Drink Depression." I guess this example, doesn't completely fit the typical NYD mold, so I still ask, why...why the NYD?

The reasons could go on and on and on: the looming challenges of the new year, the awareness of how quickly time goes, the deliberation of which resolution to choose that will actually be effective, etc. etc. You know what I think it really is... this stress of the "clean slate" you are supposed to feel like you have at New Years. I am a huge advocate of the "clean slate" and have had to give myself several "clean slate" moments to move on in life, so I feel hypocritical in saying this, but, honestly, do we ever have a clean slate? I'm realizing that the second we are born the slate is clean and from that point forward the slate fills and all we can really do is process and move on. So, perhaps, it's the stress of wanting to feel like we should have this "clean slate" in order to better ourselves in the new year could have the potential to bring on the NYD. Who wants a clean slate, really? How boring, right? Everyone needs to litter up that slate and live...at least a little bit. When they say "no alcohol on the dance floor", you say "oh there WILL be alcohol on that dance floor"...right, Ande? Right. Happy New Years, everyone.