Sadness Lamp

I recently googled the phrase "Sadness Lamp". Obviously, it's a great band name, but my reason for the search had nothing to do with that. Before I get into my real thought process, here are some Google image results for "Sadness Lamp":

A crying ghost that also happens to be a lamp

A sad man in 1862

A not-exactly-sad cat/lamp combo

Some girl poking a giant doughboy (Not all search results are entirely relevant)

Whatever this is

A pretty realistic rendering of Jennifer Aniston (the artist is named Sadness, I think?)

What I was actually hoping to find was something more like this:

This is a lamp designed by a company called Uplift Technologies and its purpose is literally to improve the mood of its user. A lot of people with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) use these lamps as a defense against depression during the winter months. 

It's hard to believe that staring into a light could actually improve your mood, especially when you are doing it the way this lady is:

This looks like Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard...if she actually cared
about curing her depression.

But now that I am about to enter my first real New York winter, I am wondering if this is a fashion statement I might have to make soon. Since daylight savings began, darkness starts to descend on Manhattan around 3:30 PM. In other parts of the city, this may not be the case, but because of the towering buildings, midtown is basically shrouded in an evil shadow by mid-afternoon.

I already feel it affecting my mood. I am losing patience and feeling lethargic. I am ready to bathe in the 10,000 lux of fluorescent light any day now.

Not only am I experiencing a new level of darkness, but now I am expected to dress the part. The first day that the weather got even slightly nippy, I watched a good number of seasoned New Yorkers dawn the following winter necessity:

While it may look like one, this is not a harbinger of death. It is a down coat designed for maximum warmth. This article of clothing is something I never really saw before coming to New York, but it seems like a really aggressive defense against being cold. Every single woman in New York City has this coat, and with the readiness with which they began wearing them this fall, I am nervous that they know something I don't. 

I'll keep you posted, but I'm pretty sure I'm not ready, physically or emotionally, for a New York winter. You know who is though?

This weirdly furry horse.