Seasonal Affective Disorder

**MomToTwoBoys** · 03-22-2011, 10:37 AM

My SIL has this. I've been recently diagnosed with it. It's not fun. It's not something I'd want anyone else to have. Heck, I don't even want it. It's killing me slowly.

This winter's been especially brutal. Being in a new neighborhood with -30C weather and six feet of snow just kills any desire to get out of this hole I feel I'm stuck in. I'm so lacking in mental stimulation to get me out of it that it's starting to affect the family. I spent a good week crying at the drop of a hat because of it. It's causing me to do things I don't normally do and causing me to avoid the things that I do do. When I do get outside and it's nice, it's hard to get me back in. I love the warm weather. This winter stuff just isn't for me anymore. Even if I do things I loved to do before, I just feel like I'm going through the motions.

I've decided to try to do some stuff I used to do back in high school, which is writing fiction. I'm trading PCs with DH and using his laptop and hopefully, this will help jump start me into something that'll keep the SAD away.

There are two times of the year when I feel this way. I feel it in the winter and I feel it around my birthday. Every year, it's the same thing and it stinks. I know my mom has depression and my youngest is taking anti-anxiety medication. But I don't want to resort to popping a pill if I can find non-medicinal ways of fixing this first.

I just feel like my life's being sucked out of me and replaced with a zombie.

**greekislandgirl** · 03-22-2011, 10:54 AM

My mom and I both have this. When I was younger, I struggled with depression and overeating and all kinds of other junk and a lot of it was seasonally associated. I got a SAD diagnosis when I was in my 20s. My mom has struggled worse than I have.

Your writing is a great idea! As someone who loves to write but who also has a "sensitive psyche" - maybe aim for short stories at first. I have about 20 "started novels" on my computer, all of which depress me now when I realize none of them made it past 100 pages, most of them never past 30. Short stories are much more "doable" even when you're not feeling like you can keep something going for too long without giving up on it (if that happens to you).

I will be honest, I tried several things but never drugs. My solution ended up being moving to Greece. I realize that sort of major change is not possible for everyone! Since then, though, I haven't noticed any SAD symptoms although I still get PMS and anxiety. *HUGS*

**krbshappy71** · 03-22-2011, 11:01 AM

I feel for you. I have "happy lights" that are supposed to emulate daylight, for my big kitchen fluorescent lights. I want to move to AZ but am rooted here for other reasons. Colorado supposedly has 300 sunny days a year but that's not enough sometimes. I open all shades, doors, turn on lights. I have not tried melotonin yet nor any drugs. When the sky cries, so do I. Its rough. The first sunny day does not fix it, is a slow crawl out of the darkness of winter. I feel as if I soak up the sun like a lizard on a rock, I need it, it is my life blood. (that being said, I do not lay out to tan, I wear sunscreen, I just need those rays on me)

Hugs to you, you are not alone.

**zakity** · 03-22-2011, 05:05 PM

I have a mild case of it. I take a decent multi-B.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 03-22-2011, 05:18 PM

I'd thought of taking some multi-B and figure that it might help out a lot. The funny thing is that I have a large skylight above the PC, but I feel crummy even with the shade open. Edmonton also has more sunny days and I can't, for the life of me, understand why it's much worse. I had the episodes in Calgary and the weather's a bit more cooperative there when I have symptoms.

When I lived in NY, I was outside almost ALL of the time. You couldn't pull me indoors when I was a kid. When I was in NC, I was in love. I could be outside from March to November and soak in the warmth. I even worked outside from 6am to 6pm and spent most of my nights sitting on the steps outside of my apartment.

I can't do that here.

I really hope the writing does the trick. Maybe it'll get my emotions and feelings out and allow me to soak it into a character or two. I also have a few stories from when I was little, plus a book about frugality that I just haven't gotten published. I'm looking into that, but it's hard to categorize it and harder when I'm not able to leave here to take it to the post office and have it shipped off.

I took DS12 to the doctor today and it really, really felt good to get out of the house. It's when I came back that I lost all of that motivation and spent an hour and a half on the couch, watching The Walking Dead on my iPod.

**Nishu** · 03-24-2011, 03:22 AM

Do you take a vitamin D supplement? Vitamin D is produced when UVB rays hit your skin, and any time you're lacking in sunlight you're probably lacking in vitamin D. A skylight isn't going to make up for it, and in weather like yours you're probably always wearing clothing that covers most of your skin so it's going to be next to impossible to produce enough of it.

If you think natural sunlight will actually help and vitamin D isn't the problem, you can go to a pet store and get a UVB light bulb. They sell them in the reptile section. Of course you can also get one of those fake sunlight lamps but I assume they're more expensive.

Anyway, I hope you feel better soon. Personally, I would just take go to the doctor and take something. I resisted medication for a long time for various reasons, but then came to the conclusion that I didn't deserve to feel like crap all the time. You don't either.

**FrabjousDay** · 05-14-2011, 02:49 PM

Sorry to bump an old post, but...

I hate to see others suffering with SAD, when there is so much that can be done to manage it. Light therapy, psychotherapy and anti-depressant medications can all be helpful.

Here is a quick light therapy overview...
Seasonal affective disorder treatment: Choosing a light box - MayoClinic.com
Light therapy should be started in the early fall months BEFORE symptoms become apparent.

Lifestyle factors are also important...good nutrition, regular exercise (I find yoga especially helpful), socializing with others, getting out of the house every day (even if it's just for a quick walk around the block), spending time on hobbies and interests, etc.