Any SAD folks out there? (Seasonal Affective Disorder)

NH_Norma
NH_Norma Posts: 332 Member
in Motivation and Support
It's that time of year...the days are getting short on light, the temperature is dropping a bit more each day, and my mood is starting to follow suit. Time to turn on my Happy Light! Anyone else dealing with this too? It took me quite a lot of years to admit it, but then I bought a light at the suggestion of my doctor and lo and behold I wasn't sappy, grumpy, and dragging all the time What do you do to cope?
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Replies

  • txcraftr
    txcraftr Posts: 133 Member
    About the only thing that helps get me through is anti-depressants and they can make you gain weight. I wish I had a light. I heard they help. I try and get out and get some sunlight every day and exercise helps a lot, those endorphins feel good. I'm not sure what else can help. I have suffered with it for years.
  • solastyear
    solastyear Posts: 10 Member
    Yup, the light helps me. I start my day with the dawn simulator alarm clock, followed by the light box. And I take vitamin D3. Even with those, I'm still dragging all winter, so this year I'm counting on eating well and exercising to give me a boost.
  • NH_Norma
    NH_Norma Posts: 332 Member
    I wish I had a light. I heard they help. I try and get out and get some sunlight every day and exercise helps a lot, those endorphins feel good. I'm not sure what else can help. I have suffered with it for years.

    Go to Amazon website and search Happy Light 6000. Put this on your gift list for your birthday, or if you celebrate Christmas. It was SO worth it for me! There are less expensive ones but not as "strong". This is the one I have and I noticed a difference within days (this, from a frustrated skeptic).

    Good for you for continuing exercise! Last year I bought snowshoes and that got me out and enjoying winter while I was on them. Made a big difference in my outlook this year. I know I can at least have some fun this winter as long as we get snow, not ice.
  • RachArmstrong
    RachArmstrong Posts: 17 Member
    When the SAD comes along, I call her Heidi as all I want to do is hide. To kick her *kitten* I have the light and find it a huge help as the mornings start to get darker.

    Exercise is the best thing for to send her back to Grandpa and her goats. Although, it can be SO hard to get off the couch. I mean, you know you'll feel better, but that just makes you feel even more guilty for not going......
  • sandrahermione
    sandrahermione Posts: 87
    I love the Heidi idea. I too have been sluggish since the end of September, just want to sleep all day. LIKE EVERY YEAR
    Last year I made it through Christmas without weight gain and then I put on the same stone 6 kg I put on every year and lose in the summer. I just want to keep it off. This year I have the light box and am 5:2 fasting, hoping that breaks from stuffing my face non-stop may help. I am also trying the more exercise route but feel so sleepy.
  • JustYandy
    JustYandy Posts: 221 Member
    Do you know that Golds gym allows non-members to work out for free every weekend in the Month of Oct because of this...It is the one month of the year where people are less likely to go to the gym or buy memberships COOL HA! I was reading that on Yahoo the other day...I already am a member ,but thought I would share that~:happy:
  • Striving4Fit_MrsOrtiz
    Striving4Fit_MrsOrtiz Posts: 399 Member
    I too have the issue, and I tend to gain weight during this time.I'm looking up this light!!
  • nichi123
    nichi123 Posts: 244
    I'm Bipolar and the seasons affect me too. I hate it to begin with but luckily it seems to settle after a while
  • mheebner
    mheebner Posts: 285 Member
    In the area you live in , do a google search for places offering Red Light Therapy or Collagen Red Light Therapy. A 15 min session once a week can do incredible things for people suffering SAD.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    Exercise, exercise, exercise. I need those endorphins in the winter. If I do not exercise in the winter months, I fall into a major funk.
  • Raynne413
    Raynne413 Posts: 1,527 Member
    I have major issues with this as well. It's like I'm a different person in the fall/winter vs spring/summer. I hate it. I have a happy light, but I'm never sedentary enough to use it, except at work, and then all the people around me b!tch that it is too bright and is hurting their eyes, so I can't use it.
  • majica8
    majica8 Posts: 210 Member
    Not so much anymore. I have the other SAD (Social anxiety disorder). I'd happily swap though!
    I used to get really down this time of year but the last year or 2 have been ok.
  • markiend
    markiend Posts: 461 Member
    Sufferer here , have a lamp and use it often during the winter. I have also timed my holidays to the sun to november and february to give me an extra boost, rather than go when it's expensive in the summer etc.

    As soon as the clocks change in the UK , i dig the lamp out and leave it by my desk to remind me in the mornings when I find it most helpful
  • Alpacababy
    Alpacababy Posts: 1
    I definately suffer a bit from this, and I live in Ireland so basically for the next 5 months i'll be going to work in the dark and getting home in the dark....that's when the chocolate calls me! :-(
  • TeaAddictedGeek
    TeaAddictedGeek Posts: 11 Member
    Same deal, I not only suffer due to cold and lack of sun, but my allergies act up to. So in addition, I'm literally allergic to winter. :-/ Exercise and a dawn simulator clock is what keeps me in check.
  • mmc23
    mmc23 Posts: 42
    It gets me a little later in the year .... November / December when we get up and it's still dark and get home from work and it's dark already. (I'm also in NH by the way) The holidays are the worst time for me.

    I'm also on meds for regular old depression but the best thing that works for me when it gets worse this time of year is stay active, active, active. If I start to feel the SAD grabbing me, I go for a jog or just do a Wii fitness program if it's bad weather. Rake leaves, shovel snow, climb stairs at home or in the office building if you can. If I stop fighting I go down with it and end up in my bathrobe feeling miserable.

    Obviously if you haven't talked to your doctor / counselor about it you need to touch base with them to make sure it is not another medical issue being masked by SAD (thyroid, etc.)

    Lots of people in this boat with you.
  • silencioesoro
    silencioesoro Posts: 318 Member
    It hits me around December/January. It used to be pretty bad when I wasn't consistently working out or around people, nowadays, I try to get through it. I used to take St. John's Wort to battle it,buuuut... I enjoy my sun and with St. John's Wort, I have to be careful being out in the sun. Not worth that side-effect.

    I hope people can find their happy. <3
  • Katla49
    Katla49 Posts: 10,385 Member
    I use daylight temperature lights in my laundry and office. I also exercise every day. When it is nasty outside I ride my bike on a trainer in the garage. This combination plus Citracal Maximum Calcium Citrate and D3 has helped dramatically. People in short day locations should look at their Calcium & D3 levels. DH is also taking this now.:flowerforyou:
  • viglet
    viglet Posts: 299 Member
    I'm in the same boat.

    I noticed myself falling within the SAD category a few years ago. Last year was my first year working out and eating healthy and it made a HUGE difference. I still feel down and out, but the endorphins do help.

    I am really considering getting a lamp, but I have to admit that I am really skeptical!!!!
  • Jennloella
    Jennloella Posts: 2,286 Member
    l used to live in Oregon and it was so bad! Now I live in Cali and while my buddies in Oregon are posting rain boot photos I am still sporting a tan and rocking tank tops! Nice and cool in the mornings and supposed to be up to the mid 80s all week. Moving was absolutely the best thing I ever did for my mental health - and my husband's he was born in Cali and even though he was never diagnosed he was a real sad sack for the 9 months it would rain in the Northwest. While in Oregon I did UV therapy (tanning beds) once a month as prescribed by my Dr.
  • Christineturner7
    Christineturner7 Posts: 3
    I can totally relate. Here are a couple of things I do...sometimes they help, sometime they don't. I plan and take winter vacations in late February early March. I never watch movies with snow or very cold weather and I keep pictures of the grandchildren on my desk playing inthe pool. When all else fails I curse a lot. :blushing:
  • TeachTheGirl
    TeachTheGirl Posts: 2,091 Member
    Not diagnosed with it, but I definitely feel 'heavier' during the winter months. Tired. Hungry. Depressed. BLAH.

    It's one of the reasons I changed my living room color from eggplant to lime green. During the winter, the eggplant wouldn't reflect any light and it was dark and dismal ALL the time. With the green, I can at least turn on the lights and pretend it's warmer outside. XD
  • Sedna_51
    Sedna_51 Posts: 277 Member
    I don't have a SAD diagnosis, but I do have chronic problems with depression (I've taken Paxil since I was a teenager) and late fall through winter has always been a hard time for me. Especially November. So I sprung for a SAD light (one of the little blue ones from Phillips) a few days ago- I'm hoping if I use it regularly through the dark days it'll make it a little easier to face the day when I wake up in the dark every morning.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    Not so much anymore. I have the other SAD (Social anxiety disorder). I'd happily swap though!
    I used to get really down this time of year but the last year or 2 have been ok.
    I got both. AWESOME! :grumble:
    I also have low-grade clinical depression year-round. It's a constant struggle to get out of bed and do my job without anti-depressants, D3, light, exercise, and cats. My husband is nice, but there's something about fuzzy purring balls of fur this time of year.

    Even living in the sunny southwest, the shorter days give me a SAD. The happy lite is a necessity. Thanks for reminding me to get it back out!
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    Yes, my happy light has returned! In the summer, it gets light so early that I actually just leave my blinds open, and that's enough to get me going in the morning. Daylight Savings Time will offer a slight reprieve, but my expensive happy light will always be around.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    I take high dose Vitamin D, otherwise I plummet very quickly into depression.
  • vanillacoffee
    vanillacoffee Posts: 1,024 Member
    I suffer from it, too. I take Vitamin D, but I find exercise helps the most.
  • carolose46
    carolose46 Posts: 199 Member
    here too! tough morning even under the light 10000u. read about your post on vitamin d and it reminded me to not forget to take some. feels good not to be alone in the dark :flowerforyou:
  • KnitSewSpin
    KnitSewSpin Posts: 147 Member
    I have SAD. In fact, I'm sitting under my light right now. I have a routine of drinking coffee and sitting under my light before my kids get up. I take vit D and St Johns Wort plus exercise and trying to eat healthy. I find walking outside every day does wonders for me. Still, it never goes away completely. I tried anti depressants one winter but the side effects were horrible.

    Does anyone else have a harder time losing weight in the winter?
  • bbzgrl110
    bbzgrl110 Posts: 45 Member
    I've never been diagnosed, but I can definitely tell a difference this time of year. It's like I just want to go into hibernation and have absolutely ZERO energy or motivation to do anything, and I can feel my mood just change drastically. I'm going to have to break out my vitamin D again. I've heard about the light, may have to invest in one

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