Seasonal Affective Disorder

CGreen177

I deifnitely suffer from this (self daignosed). Two things have helped:

1. I bought a body clock alarm. Immediate benefits.
2. A couple of years later I started to go to the gym (first thing in the morning). I found that I was driving into work during daylight. Those precious minutes 3 times a week made such a difference even my husband commented on it. Seeing daylight helps. A lot,

yoovie

twinkle lights.

maria0elisa

Bump!

NK1112

[/quote]

This! My house is spotless during the winter....gotta keep my mind and body busy. If I don't, that dreaded homesick-type feeling creeps back in and once it starts, is almost impossible to shake.

Thanks for posting this![/quote]

That's the feeling ... you nailed it!

AliceDark

Thanks for bumping this -- I bought creatine a few weeks back and was waiting to start taking it until I was ready to start bulking, but this reminded me to start taking it now!

Anonycatgirl

Does anyone else find they eat ALL THE FOOD in an attempt to stave off the SADness? Caught myself at it tonight! It does help temporarily, but I know I won't feel better in the long run if I put on weight. At least I realized what I was doing and why early in the winter and will try to take healthier measures when the gloom tries to take over.

usmcmp

Anonycatgirl wrote: »

Does anyone else find they eat ALL THE FOOD in an attempt to stave off the SADness? Caught myself at it tonight! It does help temporarily, but I know I won't feel better in the long run if I put on weight. At least I realized what I was doing and why early in the winter and will try to take healthier measures when the gloom tries to take over.

It's easier to feed my feelings with carbs and fat than it is to stop and focus on actually fixing or easing it.

Anonycatgirl

usmcmp wrote: »

It's easier to feed my feelings with carbs and fat than it is to stop and focus on actually fixing or easing it.

Oh yeah.

losingles

Thanks for posting this. Bump for ideas...

BRFMcKay

I totally get this. I think my undiagnosed SAD has a huge effect on my fitness throughout the year. I really hate it. I think this winter is going to be bad, too.
My problem is, I work nights! I am lucky that I start at 4 p.m. right now, so I get in at the end of daylight (if there is any.) It is really hard on me, because I don't want to do things before work with it being so gloomy. I am trying to stay away from the couch, set a schedule for myself daily but not fill it too much, and take lots of vitamin D (I am vegetarian, too.)
I am going to look into the lamp, the creatine and maybe a mid-winter tropical vacation.

Penny5518

The light box is incredibly helpful to me. My mood is noticeably better when I use it.

cmazurek85

usmcmp wrote: »

While some people look forward to fall many of us dread the changing of the seasons. It's not the cold weather that we dread, it's the seasonal depression that sets in from fall to spring. I've suffered from SAD since I was very young. Only in the last few years have I found ways to boost my mood without prescription medication. I thought I would share some of these with you and see what works for others.

1. Exercise! Lifting weights leaves me feeling good long after the session is over. It also helps with those few extra pounds I tend to gain over the holidays and regulates my appetite better.
2. Creatine. There have been clinical trials that have shown creatine helps improve depression, especially in women. We can get creatine from food, but I just add a scoop of a creatine supplement (which are fairly cheap) to my coffee in the morning.
3. Vitamin D. My Vitamin D levels tend to be very low, even during the summer. Taking a supplement for it takes the edge off of the depressed feelings.
4. Light therapy. I used to use a tanning bed to get light exposure during the winter, but I've switched to a desk top lamp. A few minutes in the morning helps how I feel the rest of the day.

Anyone else have things that work for them?

In the winter, I take special effort to do the 5am workouts and go snowboarding at least 2 times a month for 3 hours to make sure i get SOME sun (ive typically been blessed to have good weather despite all the ice). I do everything you stated, except I have a light that I shine on my face in the morning when I get up (for about 20 mins.) What has been making my SAD worse is not eating well (consistently), mostly because I spend more time getting upset with myself that I ate poorly or overate.

thanks for posting this! SAD is very sad!

cincysweetheart

Very interesting responses. I have never been diagnosed with SAD, but it has been suggested to me by a few people that it's something I may have. I definitely have lower moods in the winter. I hate the winter worse than anything. I can't even enjoy fall because it means winter is coming. To add to it… I work a graveyard shift… so sunlight is almost impossible to come by during the winter months. This is my first year of making exercise a part of my life… so I hope that will help. Will have to seriously consider a light box (or some kind of light therapy lamp).

lisaanne1369

I use to suffer till I took up running.I miss the swimming but loving the cooler temps in Florida to run in.

Justygirl77

I've used all the ones you suggested except creatine...did not know about that one. By light therapy do you mean tanning bed? I've used the standing tanning booth in the wintertime. Now that colder weather and shorter days are here, it's a good time to start keeping those happy hormones going! Definitely good suggestions, I found they worked for me.

usmcmp

Justygirl77 wrote: »

I've used all the ones you suggested except creatine...did not know about that one. By light therapy do you mean tanning bed? I've used the standing tanning booth in the wintertime. Now that colder weather and shorter days are here, it's a good time to start keeping those happy hormones going! Definitely good suggestions, I found they worked for me.

I have a light box like this that I use first thing in the morning.
amazon.com/NatureBright-SunTouch-Plus-Light-Therapy/dp/B000W8Y7FY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417618742&sr=8-2&keywords=sad+light+box+therapy

AliceDark

usmcmp wrote: »

Justygirl77 wrote: »

I've used all the ones you suggested except creatine...did not know about that one. By light therapy do you mean tanning bed? I've used the standing tanning booth in the wintertime. Now that colder weather and shorter days are here, it's a good time to start keeping those happy hormones going! Definitely good suggestions, I found they worked for me.

I have a light box like this that I use first thing in the morning.
amazon.com/NatureBright-SunTouch-Plus-Light-Therapy/dp/B000W8Y7FY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417618742&sr=8-2&keywords=sad+light+box+therapy

I have the same one, and I love it.

Lalalindaloo

usmcmp wrote: »

I have a light box like this that I use first thing in the morning.
amazon.com/NatureBright-SunTouch-Plus-Light-Therapy/dp/B000W8Y7FY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417618742&sr=8-2&keywords=sad+light+box+therapy

This is my light box as well! I use it for 30 minutes every morning while I check the news online and wake up with my coffee. Got it 2 years ago and it helped tremendously. Last year, I didn't use it as much and was BLAH again. I made sure to pull it out this year as soon as it started getting dark earlier. This one also has the ion therapy which has been shown in a couple of studies to be effective for treating SAD, but the smell bothers some people.

I also find that I need to keep my schedule more rigid in winter. I get up and hit the light box at the same time almost every day. Sleeping in can be my enemy. It's like that puts my whole body out of sync. In the summer, sleeping in and naps are fine.

You're right. Exercising regularly gets me all pumped up and keeps me there. That has been a big add for me this season and so far I'm... normal. Which is wonderful when I think back to the winter blues I've experienced before.

The creatine info is a really interesting. Thanks for posting!

CGreen177

So I have one of these (older model - Lumie Classic Bodyclock) and they do lightboxes too. I don't have one of them. I really like the alarm clock as it wakes you up with a 'sunrise' and you can have a 'sunset' when you go to sleep - so kind of like natural daylight

http://www.lumie.com/collections/all

MOMfit4life

Hey amazing MFPs! I am thrilled to read this post! Need SAD pals... for tips & encouragement! SAD sucks life out of me!