Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.11.2009, Page 8

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 17 — 2009
I have to
admit, it's
been a little surprising
seeing the reactions to the
news that McDonald's have closed
their doors in Iceland. One popular
right-wing TV show host on FOX News
made quite a big deal about it, using
this as the sign of a failing economy.
That's right, guys – when an American
fast food chain can no longer compete
against the hundreds of other tastier
hamburger joints in any given country,
then that country is clearly in a state of
complete and utter financial collapse.
When I first came to Iceland,
there was a McDonald's in downtown
Reykjavík. When it closed down, and
was replaced by the restaurant Hressó,
I thought, “Wow, good for Iceland.”
The consumers decided they'd rather
eat domestic food than what passes
for food at McDonald's. In fact, the
McDonald's that's now gone has been
replaced by a new restaurant called
Metro, which serves much the same
fare that McDonald's did, only all the
ingredients are domestic, even the
packaging. This will even create some
new jobs.
Isn't that a good thing? I mean,
regardless of Iceland's economic
situation, the fact that at least the
fast food industry has taken this tiny
baby step from imported to domestic
is encouraging. And even though
unemployment has been steadily
dropping since April, we could still use
all the job creation we can get.
Come to think of it, maybe fast food
is the answer to Iceland's economic
troubles. Close Domino's, replace with
yet another Icelandic pizza chain. Close
KFC, replace it with the resurrection of
Akureyri's legendary Crown Chicken.
Close TGI Friday's, Ruby Tuesday's,
Taco Bell, go right on down the
list, replace them all with good ol'
Icelandic fast food. Sure, we won't get
any healthier, but the jobs created to
supply these restaurants – instead of
importing goods – will surely help.
And then who knows? Maybe
Iceland can start exporting fast food
chains to other countries. Sharing our
fast food with the world is arguably
a more noble cause than setting up
investment firms and online banks.
No matter how bad things get, the
demand for food served in paper bags
seldom wanes.
Man, I hope the government's
taking notes here. Climbing obesity
rates and cholesterol levels be
damned, forget exporting clean,
renewable energy – fast food is clearly
the future of Iceland's economic
comeback.
Iceland is not the best
place in the world to visit
during the winter. Especially
if you crave long, sunny
days with still winds and a nice crisp,
dry cold. Where I come from, winter
is hell—it snows so much that you
actually cannot get to school. We have
temperatures like -20° C, snow is black
from pollution, and it just goes on and
on for months. Living in a country
where people are still relatively new to
this sort of hellish winter-infinitum (we
only got there about 400 years ago—
you guessed it: Canada) means that no
one is ever happy and people complain
all of the time. And that doesn’t make
things any easier.
When I came to Iceland, all set to
spend my first winter here, I thought:
“Yes, this will be so much easier...”
Oh, how I erred.
Winters in Iceland are much
milder, this is true. They have amazing
northern lights, beautiful white snow
and swans. Indeed it is not so much
the temperature that affected me, but
the overwhelming feeling that I just
kept missing the little sunshine I was
offered, day after day.
You see, when winter came and
the days started getting shorter (what
Icelanders call skammdegi), I had no
way of knowing that these would be
the last minutes of sunshine I would
see for weeks. The darkness took
such a toll on me that my sleep cycle
was turned around completely (which
means I didn’t really go to school—
don’t worry, I got away with it). I was
sleeping until 2 pm, and by then, if
it wasn’t grey, the sun was already
disappearing. For four weeks, I did not
see any sun. And I went insane, and it
was no fun. I felt like that guy from The
Shining. I watched all the worst movies
from the 90s, I almost exclusively ate
rice, and I didn’t come out of my room.
It was difficult, but the following
spring was the best I have ever seen.
I didn’t expect darkness to have so
much power over how I felt and what I
did, but it did. Now I know. I go to the
gym, I go out to cafés, I do my best to
see my friends, I go out as soon as it
gets sunny (even slightly cloudy will do
it) and I’m careful about when I go to
sleep and when I wake up.
So my words of advice to those
of you who plan on staying over the
winter are as follows: Wake up early
and do everything you can to catch the
sun. It will be your best friend.
Do not underestimate its power.
Article | Seasonal Affective Disorder opinion | Paul F Nikolovopinion | Étienne Ljóni Poisson
McDonald's
Leaves
Iceland
When The
Sun Stops
Shining
REBECCA LAUDER
JULIA STAPLES
Imagine a morning in the middle of
December. Your alarm clock goes off,
beckoning you to get out of bed and get
your ass to work. You pull up the blinds
hoping the morning light will wash over
you and perk you up. Except it’s pitch
black out there, and it will remain so, all
fucking day long. What is one to do? How
is one to proceed?
It’s pretty tempting to throw oneself
back into bed and cocoon under the
blankets, but the truth is we must forge
ahead. For many, though, that is much
easier said than done. They truly cannot
find neither the willpower nor physical
strength to fight the darkness.
This is a small idea of what it’s like
to live with seasonal affective disorder
(SAD), a debilitating mood condition that
can affect up to 10% of the population
in countries in high latitudes, such as
Iceland. The condition is thought to be
brought on by a decreased amount of
daylight and the suppression of serotonin
produced in the brain.
The most common symptoms are
an increased need for sleep, increased
appetite and feeling generally miserable.
Other common symptoms can include
cravings for carbohydrates, increased
stress, irritability, social reclusion and
a lack of interest in sex. Some extreme
cases can even trigger manic episodes
and suicidal feelings. Sounds fun, right?
WHo GETS BUMMED oUT?
In general, women are two to four times
likelier than men to be affected. Young
adults are more vulnerable than the
middle-aged. Those with a history of
clinical depression in their family are at
risk. People who have never been exposed
to long and consistent periods of darkness
are also more prone to falling prey to the
seasonal beast, and should watch out for
signs of it rearing its ugly head.
So if you just moved here from, oh I
don’t know, let’s say Florida, you might be
in for a boring, awful treat.
As for actual Icelanders, they seem
to have some luck. A study conducted in
1999 shows that as a general population,
Icelanders have a fairly low prominence
to get SAD compared to other high
latitudinal countries. In addition, a
concurrent study of Canadians of purely
Icelandic descent in Manitoba showed
that they had less frequency of having
seasonal affective disorder than other
Canadians, even in Manitoba. So there
may be a genetic tolerance for darkness in
Icelandic blood.
Speaking with Andrés Magnússon,
a psychiatrist at Landspítali hospital,
he told me that the prevalence of SAD
in Icelanders is uncertain, although
it seems to be no worse than in more
southern locations, such as the North-
Eastern United States. According to him,
the condition seems to be an increasing
problem the more north one goes up to a
certain latitude, but it seems to taper off
around the 50° mark. Still, he does not
think that there is absolute immunity
to it, and many Icelanders become
plagued with lethargy and have difficulty
functioning in the darkened months.
HoW To CoPE
If you suspects you are experiencing
SAD, that is to say, a depression in direct
relation to the change of season with no
depression during other seasons, then
there are several ways to power through.
Andrés recommends that one simply
tries to expose themselves to as much
natural daylight as possible. Although
this is a bit of a challenge in Icelandic
winters, there is still a bit of time to see
some light in the middle of the day. The
exposure to vitamin D is important in the
production and release of serotonin from
our neurotransmitters, so use your lunch
hour to go to an outdoor pool, go skating
on the weekends and ditch your curtains
entirely.
If exposure to the little daylight there
is isn’t sufficient, the most common
and non-invasive form of treatment is
light therapy. Using a full spectrum
light bulb, one is to sit and stare into the
light for 30 minutes to 2 hours a day,
depending on the bulb’s intensity and
the severity of SADness. Andrés tells
me that specialists are unsure why this
treatment is so successful, but it seems
that the stimulation of the optical nerve
resynchronizes the body clock, improving
sleep patterns and energy levels.
One should consider medical
treatment by a specialist if they have
a prior psychiatric condition or mood
disorder that is exacerbated by the
seasonal change. For example, Andrés
says that a person afflicted by manic
depression can be strongly affected by the
seasonal change, and this can have heavy
repercussions. If shit gets really rough,
don’t suffer in silence. Turn that winter
frown upside down!
SADland
The Winter Blues unleash the fury
Are you feeling all blue now that the sun has pretty much left us to rot? Why not do something
constructive about it? Form a band, take up skateboarding or write us a nice article - the choice
is yours.