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0:00
A year ago, I was depressed and not in a
0:03
dramatic way or a crisis way, but in a
0:07
quiet, heavy way. The kind where you
0:11
still feel functional. You still show
0:13
up, but everything just feels muted. And
0:18
somewhere in the middle of that season,
0:21
I had this thought, what if I just
0:25
needed a completely different
0:26
environment? What if the problem isn't
0:28
me? what if it's where I'm living? And
0:31
so we did something that felt bold,
0:34
maybe even a little unrealistic. We
0:36
moved to Disney World and I genuinely
0:38
believe that it might be the answer or
0:41
the solution to the problem that I was
0:43
having. So, let me tell you what
0:46
actually happened. Every year around
0:48
January, I would just feel it coming.
0:50
the heaviness, the 4pm darkness, the
0:53
cabin fever, and especially the cabin
0:56
fever. As a stay-at-home mom, I wasn't
0:59
in crisis. I wasn't collapsing. I was
1:02
functional, and sometimes that is harder
1:06
to identify, but I was tired all the
1:09
time, easily over stimulated, less
1:12
patient, less playful, less motivated. I
1:15
loved my husband deeply and adore
1:19
absolutely adore my children, but I felt
1:23
like I was moving through life under
1:27
water. And winter season made it worse.
1:30
Dark mornings, early sunrise, cold air
1:32
that kept us inside. The house started
1:35
to feel smaller every year. And I began
1:38
noticing something that I didn't like.
1:40
It was my tone, my reactions, how
1:43
quickly I would say not now. And that's
1:46
when I realized that this wasn't just
1:49
about me. My emotional state was shaping
1:52
our home. And I didn't want my kids
1:55
remembering a mom who was just surviving
1:58
half the year. That thought scared me
2:00
more than depression itself. But
2:04
something that was extremely evident is
2:06
that every time we traveled somewhere
2:07
sunny, I changed. And it was noticeable,
2:10
even dramatic. I laughed more. I
2:13
initiated things. I had patience again.
2:15
I felt light. I felt joyful. I would
2:19
wake up excited instead of bracing
2:21
myself. And then we would get back home,
2:23
back to gray, skies, back inside, back
2:26
to heaviness. And one day, I asked
2:28
myself,
2:30
what if the problem isn't my gratitude?
2:32
What if it's my environment? And that
2:34
question changed everything because I
2:36
even noticed that my mood was
2:37
significantly better during the couple
2:40
of summer months that we had up north,
2:42
which was typically the months of July
2:46
and August. June was warmer, September
2:50
was warmer, but even four months out of
2:54
12, it's just not enough, especially out
2:57
of a lifetime. So,
3:01
one year, specifically last year, I
3:05
decided that I didn't want to do it
3:07
again. And I told my husband and we
3:11
moved to Disney World. And honestly,
3:15
it worked.
3:16
We could have moved anywhere warm. We
3:20
knew that we wanted to be in Florida,
3:23
but we also wanted to be near Disney
3:25
World. There's something about Magic
3:28
Kingdom that you just you just can't
3:31
deny. You walk, you anticipate, you look
3:34
up. There is this family dynamic that I
3:37
honestly haven't seen anywhere else.
3:39
Just families from all over the world
3:41
across the globe, loving each other and
3:43
their time together, kids just happy,
3:46
parents feeling nostalgic. And then
3:48
there's Epcot, the music water movement,
3:51
flowers during the Flower and Garden
3:53
Festival. They have art during the art
3:55
festivals, the holiday festivals.
3:58
There's always something new, something
4:00
fun, different for the entire family.
4:02
You can choose to relax during the day
4:04
or shop around and eat in the evening.
4:06
Then there's the fireworks that my
4:08
entire family love. Animal Kingdom is
4:11
perfect for homeschool days. I mean,
4:15
there's water parks. Literally, Disney
4:17
forces you to be outside. It builds
4:19
novelty into your week and it gives your
4:22
family shared anticipation and joy. And
4:24
I realized that when I was there, I
4:26
wasn't stuck in my head. I was engaged
4:28
with my husband, with my kids, with the
4:32
people in the world around me. I was
4:33
meeting new people from all over the
4:35
world. And I started imagining what it
4:36
would be like if that wasn't just
4:39
vacation. What if that was just a random
4:43
Tuesday night? So, when we made this
4:45
decision, we didn't make the decision
4:47
emotionally. We ran the numbers. We
4:49
talked through risks. We asked hard
4:52
questions. But underneath all of that
4:54
was the truth. I did not want to keep
4:57
surviving my own life. And I didn't want
4:59
my family carrying that weight every
5:01
year. So, we moved. So, then came our
5:04
first winter in Florida. In the middle
5:07
of January, we were sitting pool aside,
5:09
sunlight pouring into the house, windows
5:12
open, the kids running outside. One
5:16
evening we walked into Magic Kingdom
5:18
just a stroll. No rides, no agenda, just
5:21
movement. One day we went to Epcot and
5:23
we went and we just enjoyed dinner
5:25
watching the fireworks by the water and
5:28
it just felt like something that I had
5:30
not felt in years. It was intention. It
5:33
was kind of rebellious and it was
5:36
something that we chose, you know, and
5:40
it was something that I knew that I
5:42
wanted and all of a sudden I could just
5:44
grasp it. And the fact that in that
5:46
moment where we were enjoying something
5:48
that we used to have to just wait month
5:53
and month on end with heavy planning,
5:55
the fact that we could just get up one
5:57
day after homeschool and go do something
5:58
like that, it was a great feeling. The
6:02
first few months just felt like
6:03
confirmation. Better sleep, less
6:06
napping, playing more, creating again.
6:09
And my husband and I started taking late
6:12
night walks, talking longer, dreaming
6:14
again. And the kids were outside more,
6:17
less screen time, more laughter. We have
6:20
done more here in Florida in the
6:23
surrounding Disney areas in the past 4
6:27
months than we have done in the past
6:32
year back at our home state, maybe even
6:34
two years. We've been outdoors a lot
6:37
more. we've had more opportunity. It's
6:40
just been a really great feeling. Then I
6:43
remember thinking, okay, this worked.
6:46
But here's the part that people don't
6:48
actually talk about. And that is that
6:50
location actually lifts you. Doesn't
6:53
erase you and you still wake up as
6:57
yourself even if you're in a different
6:59
state. So here is the honor answer.
7:02
Disney did not magically cure me, but
7:05
moving de dramatically improved my
7:07
seasonal depression. And here is why.
7:10
First is that sunlight is just every
7:12
single day. We can just find it and go
7:14
out and just watch the sunset or rise.
7:17
Two is just natural vitamin D. There's
7:20
also daily walks outside that I've
7:22
learned to love. Less isolation, more
7:25
novelty, something to look forward to.
7:27
And cabin fever disappeared because I
7:30
didn't have to be inside anymore. I
7:31
actually wanted to be outside. My mood
7:34
stabilized. My energy improved. My
7:36
patience improved. Even my creativity
7:39
came back. It wasn't magical pixie dust.
7:42
Instead, it was rhythm. It was light,
7:45
intention, movement. And honestly,
7:48
Disney just happened to be the
7:50
environment that made that easy. It was
7:53
a breath of fresh air that I truly
7:56
needed in my 32 years of life. So here
8:00
is what the entire experience has taught
8:02
me and that is that environment shapes
8:04
emotion more than we admit. We blame
8:07
ourselves for not being disciplined
8:08
enough, for not being grateful enough,
8:11
positive enough, but sometimes we just
8:13
haven't seen the sun in weeks or in my
8:15
case months. Sometimes we need movement
8:18
and sometimes we need to get out and
8:20
actually experience the outdoors. Disney
8:23
just so happened to bundle all of that
8:25
together. But you don't necessarily have
8:27
to move across the country to apply the
8:29
principle more light, more outside time,
8:32
shared anticipation and rhythm. It just
8:35
is what our preferred location to do so
8:38
was. And it definitely changed us. But
8:41
moving to Disney World didn't just turn
8:43
life into a fairy tale because we still
8:45
have hard days. We still deal with
8:48
stress. But winter nor longer feels like
8:52
something that I have to survive and my
8:53
family doesn't feel the emotional weight
8:55
that I used to carry. So did it work?
8:58
Yes. But not because Disney is magical,
9:01
but because lights in your environment
9:04
truly matters more than you think. And
9:06
sometimes the bravest thing that you can
9:09
do for your family is change what's
9:11
around you. Whether that be the
9:13
environment, the habits, the people
9:15
around you, whatever it might be. If
9:17
you've ever wondered whether a big move
9:19
could change your mental health or felt
9:22
the winter heaviness, then I would love
9:25
to know has environment ever changed
9:28
your mood. And if you're curious about
9:30
what it is really like living near
9:31
Disney, I have more videos coming up
9:34
about that, too. I also have a video on
9:36
the channel talking about what we needed
9:38
to do to get here, the sacrifices we
9:40
made, the process of us getting here. I
9:42
shared our travel video and if that's
9:45
something that you are looking forward
9:48
to or maybe you think so then I'll have
9:50
those videos linked down below for you.
9:52
But also even if it's not about a move
9:56
for you and you just need a breather, a
9:59
breath of fresh air, someplace that's
10:02
familyfriendly
10:03
for the entire family, like truly
10:06
something for everyone to enjoy, then I
10:10
don't know. I recommend Disney World.
10:12
That's why I love Disney World. And so
10:15
naturally, living nearby is just going
10:19
to naturally boost my mood. But
10:22
surprisingly, you guys, I have to say
10:24
that it's been about so much more than
10:26
the parks. I actually have not gone to
10:29
the parks as much as I thought that I
10:31
would. That is truly surprising. I found
10:34
joy in just going for daily walks, going
10:37
outside and reading my devotionals or my
10:40
books, going to the library. I found joy
10:43
in even church on Sundays. It's so much
10:46
different when you just can get up and
10:49
get on a beautiful dress, take your
10:51
family out for a nice service, and go
10:53
have breakfast at Kiki's afterwards. You
10:55
guys, it's just a different feeling. We
10:58
used to wake up and it would still be
11:00
dark outside when we are getting ready
11:02
for church and we would have to bundle
11:04
up and put on tights and coats and hats
11:06
and scarves and winter boots and run up
11:09
to the door and afterwards all we wanted
11:12
to do is go back and get in the bed and
11:14
go back to sleep. It just it's
11:15
everything just feels different. I just
11:18
wanted to get on here and share that
11:19
with you guys. I felt like it was a
11:21
little bit overdue.
11:23
And again, I have more on this coming
11:26
up, but I don't want to make this video
11:27
too long winded. So, to answer the
11:30
ultimate question,
11:32
did Disney World cure my depression?
11:38
Not necessarily Disney World,
11:41
but moving to a sunny state where it is
11:45
more warm and sun throughout the year
11:48
has definitely cured my seasonal
11:51
depression. So, if you struggle with
11:53
seasonal depression, any sunny state
11:55
that you love, the one that we love is
11:58
Florida because Disney World is here and
12:00
because of how beautiful it is here and
12:03
we've kind of just found our groove
12:05
after coming here for so long. But if
12:07
it's something that you struggle with,
12:08
just explore a few different states. I
12:11
mean, why not? I truly think that your
12:13
mental health, your family's health and
12:15
dynamic, and your environment and your
12:17
future
12:19
is worth it. But that's going to be all
12:22
for today's video, and I hope that you
12:23
guys enjoyed it. If so, don't forget to
12:25
like this video and subscribe to join
12:27
our Disney loving family. But I'll see
12:28
you guys in the next video. Thank