SAD- seasonal affective disorder, anyone?

[bri276]

well, it's that lovely time again!

the air is chilling, the days are shortening. I can smell fall when I step outside. And tonight, we cooked a stick to your ribs, cold weather type meal so the house smells of butter and potatoes and is really making me depressed- the summer is truly over.

:

soooo I need to stay happy! ack. I hate this time of year.

[boongirl]

I had a hard time when I first moved from the 33rd parallel to the 49th. I never knew that the lower 48 could get arctic winds! I was totally unprepared for so much dark and greyness. It took me years to get this all organized but now I know that I need to get outside as much as possible in the fall/winter. Even a small amount of fresh air and daylight helps. I also put full spectrum light bulbs in the lights that I spend the most time near: my bedroom reading lamp, my desk lamp, and the living room lamps. It really helps. And, exercise helps. I do yoga as it is too dark after dh gets home from work for me to walk by myself. But, I do take dd to the park often in the fall/winter. There is just as much outdoor fun to be had in winter as in summer - you just have to look harder.

Try googling seasonal affective disorder for more tips. It is something you can control.

[lilsparrow]

I suffered from SAD. Good coping skills and a little pot do the trick for me. I wish I had known about the medicinal effects of marijuana sooner, I would have used it a long time ago and saved myself and my family a LOT of heartache. It had gotten to the point we were considering moving south. The pot is not enough on it's own, or the coping skills (eat well, sleep well, outside time) It has to be both for me.

[familylove]

I use full-spectrum lights like Boongirl does. I have a square table/desk lamp that I sit in front of for 30 minutes each morning. My DH thinks it makes a real difference. Also, like boongirl suggested, I get outside as much as possible.

Google "Full spectrum lights" if you're interested in finding out more about the various makes/models of lamps available.

Best to you!

[Electra375]

I've been researching lights for about 3 yrs now and I'm still not clear -- what is the difference between full spectrum bulbs and a SADD box?

My dh purchases full spectrum bulbs, but they are flourecent and not very bright, I see no point in them -- unless they are just labeled this way, but really are not what one means in the SADD dept when someone says FULL SPECTRUM.

I'd like to buy a SADD light box, I think it will be my best option. I've been wanting 1 for 3 yrs and well at this point so early into the fall and feeling this bad -- It is a must.

[broodymama]

Yep, it affects me too. I just found this out last year when we moved from southeast GA to WA, just west of Seattle. The short, cold, rainy days really affected me last winter and I'm worried about it now that we are approaching that time of year again. My DH is at sea so it's just me and the kids, my family is on the east coast. I'm not looking forward to winter.

[RainbowsMum]

I know what you mean. Where I am winter is just ending. We had the most horrible cold grey winter... And I was misrible for the whole lot of it :. I never knew it was a thing that so many people experience with a name and everything... I just thought it was a strange me thing, its a releif to find out it's not....! And that there are things that can be done to make it a little better

[margi83301]

I moved from southern Idaho, which is high mountain desert, to Olympia, Washington. I didn't think the dark was going to affect me, but boy did it ever. My Dh bought a small light box at CostCo. It was under $200. Really worth it.

:
Isn't this an appropriate emoticon for all of us that live in western Washington?

[lotusbeans]

Originally Posted by Electra375

I've been researching lights for about 3 yrs now and I'm still not clear -- what is the difference between full spectrum bulbs and a SADD box?

My dh purchases full spectrum bulbs, but they are flourecent and not very bright, I see no point in them -- unless they are just labeled this way, but really are not what one means in the SADD dept when someone says FULL SPECTRUM.

I'd like to buy a SADD light box, I think it will be my best option. I've been wanting 1 for 3 yrs and well at this point so early into the fall and feeling this bad -- It is a must.

I'm about to buy one for the first time. My therapist and doctor have both pretty much insisted I get one. I don't understand the difference between full-spectrum bulbs and the bulbs in a light box either.

My doc sent me to http://cet.org/ to start. (Which says, "The lamps should give off white light rather than colored light. "Full spectrum" lamps and blue (or bluish) lamps provide no known therapeutic advantage.")

[lotusbeans]

Originally Posted by Electra375

I've been researching lights for about 3 yrs now and I'm still not clear -- what is the difference between full spectrum bulbs and a SADD box?

My dh purchases full spectrum bulbs, but they are flourecent and not very bright, I see no point in them -- unless they are just labeled this way, but really are not what one means in the SADD dept when someone says FULL SPECTRUM.

I'd like to buy a SADD light box, I think it will be my best option. I've been wanting 1 for 3 yrs and well at this point so early into the fall and feeling this bad -- It is a must.

Okay, I've been researching some more (I'm hoping to buy the box this week), and what I've found is that the lightbox will get you the 10,000 Lux of light and filter out any UV rays. Some of them use broad spectrum bulbs and some of them use specific spectrums (like the blue light boxes), but the key is the amount of lux and how long you sit in front of it. The bubls are broad spectrum with some reflectors in the box.

So, changing the bulbs in your lights at home won't make a difference because you aren't getting -more- bright light, which is what you need to treat the depression, and going to full spectrum might mean being exposed to the UV rays. Full spectrum light that covers the entire spectrum from low ultraviolet to infrared and above.. and the UV is what you need to have filtered out. Don't know if tanning bed lamps are full spectrum, but they do have the harmful UVs.

Anyway. I wish these weren't so expensive or that insurance would cover the cost!

[lotusbeans]

Originally Posted by margi83301

I moved from southern Idaho, which is high mountain desert, to Olympia, Washington. I didn't think the dark was going to affect me, but boy did it ever. My Dh bought a small light box at CostCo. It was under $200. Really worth it.

:
Isn't this an appropriate emoticon for all of us that live in western Washington?

Is this the one you got? How do you like it?
Light box

[Electra375]

This is the type of Sad Box I've been looking at and pining for.
http://alaskanorthernlights.com/usage.html
But I think this is the site I've been looking at for a few years
http://www.lighttherapyproducts.com/products_lamps.html
These are the stupid light bulbs my dh has all over the house - I detest the florecent bulbs
http://www.lighttherapyproducts.com/Compactbulbs.html

I use 2 lamps at my sewing machine which are full spectrum, OTT-LITE. I'd like that kind of light all over my house!

[asoulunbound]

I hate my sad... I moved from MD to TX... and everyone here want it to cool down.
Inside I'm screaming NO! Sun, do not set earlier then yesterday! etc.
Good times.

[margi83301]

Originally Posted by lotusbeans

Is this the one you got? How do you like it?
Light box

That's the one, exactly. I like it. I noticed a big difference last year about 3-4 weeks after I started using it. I used it until April. Very soon I'm going to dig it out and put it on the computer table.

[Maggi315]

I also suffer from SAD, just got officially diagnosed last year. I hate being cooped up with the kids, hate the early darkness, but most of all, I hate the cold. I try, I really do, to be positive, keep busy, get outside, but the cold really does me in. It seems the older I get, the less I can tolerate it.

We have discussed moving south or at least spending part of the winter in Florida but that's not really a possibility at this point.

I just can't imagine this will ever get better or I will ever like the cold again.

I would love to hear how others cope. I intend to get a light, try to walk outside as much as I can tolerate, invest in some good quality winter outerwear, stay busy, exercise at YMCA.

What about everyone else?

[Electra375]

Well, I know I have SAD. I grew up just north of the Equatoral Line!!!!!!! The sun rose and set withint the same 35 minute span every day 365 days a year! We first moved to TX and I had it there, now we're further north in VA and I've got it here.

I have an extremely hard time with the sun rising late and setting early. I never had a watch, I cooked dinner when the sun was at a certain point. I'd wake up and now by the sun light that it was time to get up, I did have an alarm clock to get up with though, so days with rainy season the sun would be gone and the day would start out gloomy. Imagine what it is like in our house -- summer time dinner is forgotten until it is too late simply b/c it never occurred to me that the hours were passing and the sun was still high and winter it's too early to cook when the sun sets so I then forget again. I've gotten better over the last 5 years, but it's hard to break 20 + years of habit.

Yeah, I don't like the cold, but it beats the allergies I have in the summer/fall. The gloominess gets to me the most -- yesterday, rain all day! There is rain the on vehicles now, I wonder if the sun will shine today at all.

When you grow up without 4 seasons, the seasons are pretty nifty to watch. But I also grew up where the climate was a constant temperature and you didn't have to decide to bring the jacket or not, wear long or short sleeves, sneakers or sandles -- running late and then stepping outside to find it's cold is frustrating, everyone has to stop, drop what they have and get a jacket, the pick up what they were bringing out and start again and it's 10 minutes plus with little kids who all need mom to do it for them.

The inconsistency of sun light truly is my biggest issue, I can deal with the cold if the sun would just rise and set on a consistent basis, my days are all screwed up when it does not. I've been in the US for 8 years now and I still have issues.

[kyndmamaof4]

I Fall and Winter seasons, it's just the shorter days that get to me. DH and I were talking about it last night. He reminded me about the time change this weekend. Thank goodness. I get confused when to cook dinner, because it's dark, but I'm not hungry yet.: My internal clock gets thrown off I think. I open all the blinds and curtins in the daytime, and that helps me. I really feel worse in the summer-I know i'm crazy, but it gets so hot here, we keep it really dark in here to keep it cool, and it is really hard for me to get moving without any light. At least I can enjoy the light in the cooler months.

Kaara