Do you deal with SAD

**Palooka** · 12-21-2009, 03:25 AM

As much as I don't want to admit, I'm pretty
sure I do. Lots of people deal with it here.

Can't say I get depressed in the fall but it's Jan and feb months that I would love to hibernate in a cave.

However my anxiety runs high in the summer months.

Could never make it in Alaska with all those dark days.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sea...sorder/DS00195

**ladykemma2** · 12-21-2009, 06:31 AM

yup

when i lived in england i put 100 watt light bulbs in every socket. dang near fried the wiring of the old victorian home . the sun didn't come out until 9 and it was dark by 3 or 4

duva1080 · 12-21-2009, 09:21 AM

I usually only get a tad depressed each year, but this year will be my toughest.

It actually has been the worst year of my life, had a lot of loss, and I thought the year my divorce started was bad.

I lost my father in June, and tomorrow will be his six month anniversary.

Plus a long term relationship ended the week before that...

Needless to say, I am just trying to stay busy...

Last years Christmas was celebrated in the hospital, which we thought was bad, now my family is just trying to support each other...

We really didn't celebrate Thanksgiving in our old way, so traditions are changing.

This year is the first year I will actually have my daughter (shes 5) for Christmas morning, so we are all planning and rallying around her, to make it the best she has ever had...

So I guess keeping busy and a goal pushes SAD to the back burner, at least for now...

After the holidays I guess I will just hit the gym and take some classes to keep the mind and body fit.

Good Luck and Happy Holidays!!!

**nodmicks** · 12-21-2009, 09:46 AM

I don't know much about it but in the salon we have so many "tanners" in the winter that say tanning makes them feel better, happier. . My boss says it is because of SAD and told me their is a light box you can buy to help out. I'd sure opt for the light box over the tanning bed IMO

**Debbie-cat** · 12-21-2009, 10:41 AM

I usually begin feeling depressed around the end of January. I make sure I spend as much time as possible outside when the sun is shining even if it is 50 below and keep busy with projects inside the house to pass the hours. On a bright note, today is the shortest day of the year and it is all uphill from here on out!

**Libby** · 12-21-2009, 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by nodmicks

I don't know much about it but in the salon we have so many "tanners" in the winter that say tanning makes them feel better, happier. . My boss says it is because of SAD and told me their is a light box you can buy to help out. I'd sure opt for the light box over the tanning bed IMO

I'll admit to being guilty of that. Though I only tan for max 5 - 10 mins a week or every other week. Just to boost the feeling in my body. Not to gain colour. Self tanning cream works better on me then being out in the sun lol. As for having SAD? I tend to think I do but not as severe as others I've met.

**Contrary Housewife** · 12-21-2009, 11:02 AM

My mood and my energy is definitely affected by the amount of sunlight available. I've always joked that I'm solar powered. Any time we get more than a couple days of cloudy weather I start to slow down. Some periods are worse than others. I don't notice that winter is much worse than the rest of the year, there are enough clear days that I don't get "depressed" too often.

I have the brightest lights the house can handle, and even in cold weather I try to get out and sit in the sun for a while and soak up some rays. The sun is a natural free source of vitamin D which helps combat seasonal disorders.

**Jellybeanz** · 12-21-2009, 11:56 AM

Yes I have it.. didn't realize what it was till years ago when the term became popular.

Jan/Feb definately the worst! I started dreading that the moment it turned fall. Even though I live in the south. I have NO CLUE how you guys handle it further north.

I especially get depressed on days when its gray and the sun doesn't come out. If the sun comes out and it warms up I do better. My house is older and naturally dark from lack of big windows.. so I try to use light bulbs , but my wiring is bad too LOL ( like someone else mentioned.. I have blown fuses .. yep it's that old, still on fuses) :-))

**dcompton** · 12-21-2009, 02:17 PM

I must have anti-SAD. I thrive in the cold and dark gray days, and it's even better if it's raining -- I long for rain if we've had a stretch without it. At least, my arthritic joints don't much care for it, but my mind revels in it. It energizes me. I can get so much more accomplished on dark overcast days. When I was in Toronto for 4 years, I loved the early darkness. I miss it here in the south.

On the other hand, summers are awful. Too much sun, days and days of unremitting sun, can put me in a really grinchy mood. If the library ever opens a branch up north, I think I'll put in for a transfer!

**pinetree** · 12-21-2009, 02:36 PM

I get up, grab my coffee and go outside and sit in the sun & drink it. The sun is out almost everyday here, which helps alot.

I have a 3 foot light installed over my work area. It suppose to put out light that is like the sun. It really helps when its gray outside.

Lately I can be in bed at 5pm, and want to hibernate until 7:30 when the sun comes up. Its all downhill from here on out, we should be gaining a minute or so a day now.

**Palooka** · 12-21-2009, 09:35 PM

Originally Posted by nodmicks

I don't know much about it but in the salon we have so many "tanners" in the winter that say tanning makes them feel better, happier. . My boss says it is because of SAD and told me their is a light box you can buy to help out. I'd sure opt for the light box over the tanning bed IMO

I can sorta see how the tanning bed would help.

Originally Posted by Debbie-cat

I usually begin feeling depressed around the end of January. I make sure I spend as much time as possible outside when the sun is shining even if it is 50 below and keep busy with projects inside the house to pass the hours. On a bright note, today is the shortest day of the year and it is all uphill from here on out!

Yeah to the shortest day is passing.

There is actually a day in jan that rates the most depressing time of the year. They say suicide rates are even higher then. I will see if I can find the info.

**zakity** · 12-21-2009, 09:41 PM

If you have a real mild case, taking a good multi B helps. I take Schiff Vitamin B Complex 50.

**frugalfranny** · 12-22-2009, 01:55 AM

A friend was saying that she read to up your Vit D intake in the winter to counteract this. (helps your bones too)

I upped my intake this year and haven't noticed the weather/dark days bothering me as much.

Vit. D comes in 'units' - I take from 4,000 to 6,000 units a day. WM sells the only 2,000 unit pill that I have found, so if I can get that I will take two or three a day - WITH FOOD! I also take a B12 for energy!

**Palooka** · 12-22-2009, 02:36 AM

Yep Vitamin D helps.

**2ndGenGranola** · 12-22-2009, 06:43 AM

I've felt better since we got our sunroom. We got it more to keep off the sun and draft from our dining room but have ended up spending way more time out there than planned. I have noticed that the kids have had milder illnesses since we got it. We now head out there to do our homeschool, the kids will lay on the mat and play legos, Dad will come over and just sit...