I Have Seasonal Affective Disorder, And...

[Changing4Best]

As well as my PTSD and Bipolar, I have Seasonal Effect Disorder too. This is where you get depressed in the winter. My psychiatrist put me on a low dose of an anti-depressant for the winter, but I fear what will happen to me when I go off it again come springtime. Anyone gone through this withdrawl like this before? I wonder how it affects us??

 

[WillyKat]

I stumbled across something that helped me with SAD. I'm an amateur photographer and the best light for certain types of photos is grey sky. It events out the light so that you don't get such huge contrast between highlights and shadows. Colors are easier to capture.

So when it got grey out, I got the camera and went out more often. I found a way to turn a SAD time (pun intended) into an opportunity to be creative.

Bonus points: it works even if you suck at photography.

 

[Tobias]

Yeah I get it alot with especially with winter. It's happened for the past 4 years, it varies from as soon as summers over.

I know what's coming in the winter so i get down, to not thinking about it then it happening anyway haha. But I don't always help myself with drinking so much haha. Do you find that thinking you're about to get depressed can make you down? thanks, Tobias :)

 

[Upside Down Eagle]

For some reason winters are always the most horrible time for me, and summers are the complete opposite (I tend to get ecstatic and overjoyed). I think WillyCat's is probably good advice, I should go out way more often. Sometimes it's nice to go out in the cold and have a cool wind blow through your hair.

You said it's a low dose, and your can probably come off it gradually? Maybe you can discuss this fear with him, it might alleviate your worries.

 

[Viosinger]

I'm originally from a very cold, very snowy place. Sitting under a sun lamp (or like a lamp for growing plants) can help, but the best cure I found was to bundle up and get outside for a bit. Walk, snowshoe, ski. Saunas are great as well.

 

[WillyKat]

Yeah, snowshoeing is a great option. Snowshoes will cost you far less money than skis (and all the other gear), there is not training necessary, falling over is usually in slow motion and painless, and you can get up easily.

I already mentioned photography but binoculars can be very enjoyable too, particularly if you have birds in your area.

 

[franciemarnie]

I get it too. Bummer man!

They say we are low on Vitamin D in the winter and that twenty minutes of exposure to sunlight is sufficient to make up the deficit.

When it is cloudy, I read that 40-45 minutes outside will do the trick. Not looking at the sky but just looking as you do at the world - without sunglasses.

Before I knew I had SADD, I did note my significantly down feelings in winter but didn't know enough to do anything about it. It just so happened the winter I was 34, I got a job in a lighting fixture show room. I was astonished to note I felt no usual dip into depression that winter. So if indoor lights are bright enough, they can make a difference. Of course I was working in an environment with the wattage of 400 light fixtures!

The light box not only did nothing for me, I found the fluorescent light irritating and I read somewhere on here before that there is scientific back up to account for the irritation from that kind of light. But as always - to each his own.

Taking a Vitamin D supplement is not sufficient to undermine the power of SADD. Not for me anyway.

Anti-depressants did not help me with SADD but they could make a difference with someone else I imagine.

No sun in Chicago today. Petite bummer.

 

[novemberDark]

I have SAD too, and I live in a place that has very cold winters.

I have a light alarm, it gradually gets brighter in the morning (mimics the sun). This makes a big difference as I have to get up when it's still dark. I found my bio rithm is not so confused anymore.

At work I have a special lamp for health reasons, a colleague has one on her desk too.

Indoors I keep the temperature really high. I have really good gear to go out (hooded coat, boots especially for these extreem temperatures.

I skate and walk everywhere I can.

Best would be a travel brake for a week or two, in a warm climate. That's not in the budget every year, but it helps recharge the battery.

Winter is still hard on the spirits, but these things sure help to get through it.

 

[Barconian]

I get depressed in the winter. Unless I have something to do :D

 

[NoWhereKnowWhere]

My other half has SAD he has an SAD lamp it makes a huge difference to his mood and I noticed it helped with my mood too in the winter. I have bad skin and the doctor recommended I go to a sun bed in the winter time (just for a couple of mins) I'm so pale I don't tan I just get freckles and then burn. Going to the sun bed really helped with my bad skin and I noticed a change in my mood. Worth a try before going on meds.

I hope this was helpful you can get an SAD lamp from Amazon. Xxx

 

[Barconian]

Going to the sun bed really helped with my bad skin and I noticed a change in my mood. Worth a try before going on meds.

I think not!

 

[novemberDark]

A sun bed is not the same light.
Maybey the warmth on your skin makes you feel better. I know I feel relaxed when the sun does this.

Even when it's grey sky, there is still light that we need (through the retina of the eye) for our brain. So it's important to get out.

My growing light bulbs in the house do make a difference, my plants seem to thrive.