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Does anyone here suffer from seasonal effective disorder?

jixmixfix

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aka seasonal depression or "winter blues"? what are some strategies and coping techniques that help you deal with this issue?
 

UniqueMixture

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My uncle does and I think I exhibit some traits. There are special lamps you can buy for inside the house that are supposed to help. Also, exercise, proper sleeping habits, and nutrition are supposed to help stave off depression in general.
 

jixmixfix

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My uncle does and I think I exhibit some traits. There are special lamps you can buy for inside the house that are supposed to help. Also, exercise, proper sleeping habits, and nutrition are supposed to help stave off depression in general.

Yeah another thing too is to take vitamin D supplements since the main source is the sun.
 

Redbone

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I didn't quite believe in SAD until I moved to the PNW...holy crap the transition between Florida and here.

I take a lot of vitamin D. I need to buy one of those lamps...do they even help? I use some aromatherapy. It helps a little.
 

jixmixfix

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I didn't quite believe in SAD until I moved to the PNW...holy crap the transition between Florida and here.

I take a lot of vitamin D. I need to buy one of those lamps...do they even help? I use some aromatherapy. It helps a little

Yeah well if you buy a lamp they are fairly expensive but could be worth it. Northern light technologies make the best ones. I didn't realize how vitamin d deficiant i was until i got a test done recently by my doctor i take up to 4800 iu a day now. If you see sunlight its always best to go out the sun produces 10,000 to 20,000 iu per hour.
 

sprinkles

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Sockeye Salmon and Albacore Tuna both have lots of vitamin D (about four or five times that in a cup of milk)
You of course can't eat that every single day but it's a good choice for a boost.

Vitamin C is also really helpful I find, red bell peppers, kiwi, and obviously oranges are quite good. I will eat craptons of all these, I'm practically a fruitarian with all the fruits I eat.

I've also found that oranges help a lot with my joint problems (helps with collagen) and just depression in general.
 

FDG

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I don't think SAD is an illness...it's normal to feel less energetic when there's less sunlight around. What is lost in the winter it's usually made up by being more manic during the spring days.

FTR, Vitamin D is only a very small part of the equation - the biggest problem is direct lack of sunlight which does not deplete melatonin in our body.

If you see sunlight its always best to go out the sun produces 10,000 to 20,000 iu per hour.

If you're above the 40th parallel, only from end of February to early November.
 

lunalum

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I'm sort of in the Pacific Northwest too......... totally started affecting me when I moved here. Eventually I had to get the indoor daylight lights and take vitamins everyday. Also maybe try blocking out all the windows when it is rainy and go outdoors a lot when it is sunny.....
 

EcK

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I don't think SAD is an illness...it's normal to feel less energetic when there's less sunlight around. What is lost in the winter it's usually made up by being more manic during the spring days.

FTR, Vitamin D is only a very small part of the equation - the biggest problem is direct lack of sunlight which does not deplete melatonin in our body.



If you're above the 40th parallel, only from end of February to early November.

I don't think cyclical insomnia is an illness, it's normal to be tired and have difficulty sleeping if your internal clock is out of wack.
I don't think depression is an illness, it's normal to feel emotionally numb and lack all drive for months after a negative experience.
I don't think parkinson is an illness, it's normal to get all shaky if your neurons' myelin sheets are degenerating due to counter circuits
i dont th..

Any freaking illness is based on a trait we have that is made dysfunctional beyond what is normal.

I have SAD, believe me, feeling nearly clinically depressed for 3 months a year EVERY YEAR for no other reason than lack of sun IS an illness and is NOT the average : "well, its winter, im a little tired."
 

EcK

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aka seasonal depression or "winter blues"? what are some strategies and coping techniques that help you deal with this issue?

go out at the times of maximum illumination. Buy a high lumen lamp and expose yourself to it 30 mins a day, esp after waking up, you can use it while you are changing for example.
vitamin D
Eat outside when you can (or close to a window)
Drink a coffee in the morning
Stay physically active (it's cold outside? Well, walk faster!)
 

sprinkles

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Stay physically active (it's cold outside? Well, walk faster!)

This is what I do lol since I walk everywhere possible regardless of weather.

There's been times that it's so cold out that I had to actually walk backwards for a few seconds periodically because just the breeze of my body moving through the air made my face feel like it's being ripped off. But IDGAF.
 

EcK

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This is what I do lol since I walk everywhere possible regardless of weather.

There's been times that it's so cold out that I had to actually walk backwards for a few seconds periodically because just the breeze of my body moving through the air made my face feel like it's being ripped off. But IDGAF.

I may or may not have done that before. The difference is I don't look silly when I do it. Not in the least :coffee:
 

FDG

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I don't think cyclical insomnia is an illness, it's normal to be tired and have difficulty sleeping if your internal clock is out of wack.
I don't think depression is an illness, it's normal to feel emotionally numb and lack all drive for months after a negative experience.
I don't think parkinson is an illness, it's normal to get all shaky if your neurons' myelin sheets are degenerating due to counter circuits
i dont th..

Any freaking illness is based on a trait we have that is made dysfunctional beyond what is normal.

I have SAD, believe me, feeling nearly clinically depressed for 3 months a year EVERY YEAR for no other reason than lack of sun IS an illness and is NOT the average : "well, its winter, im a little tired."

U mad? Cyclical insomnia, depression and parkison cannot simply be cured by moving 7-8 parallels south and-or by a string of sunny days. Of course the border between illness and not is always subjective, so from that POV you are right. SAD could just be a signal that you're living in the wrong place for your body.
 

Fluffywolf

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I notice that I have less energy in the winter (especially if it is consistently cloudy and rainy) and tend to get a huge energy boost in spring resulting in an unusually high libido.

But to say I 'suffer', hmm, not really. It's there, but I'm not that concerned about it.


For me it's a bit annoying sometimes, since I got DSPS (delayed sleep pattern syndrome) I can't commit to a regular sleep pattern without ending up laying awake a night every 3 or 4 days and also wake up dead tired pretty much most of the time.

Luckily, I have a job with flexible times. Sometimes day shifts, sometimes night shifts, etc. Since I live in a consistently irregular pattern, I just need about one day of every week to sleep longer than usual and add in a few powernaps (30min to 1 hour max) during days I feel tired. The rest of the nights I just sleep about 5-7 hours max.
 

jixmixfix

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go out at the times of maximum illumination. Buy a high lumen lamp and expose yourself to it 30 mins a day, esp after waking up, you can use it while you are changing for example.
vitamin D
Eat outside when you can (or close to a window)
Drink a coffee in the morning
Stay physically active (it's cold outside? Well, walk faster!)

I don't like cofee and I think it will make you feel worse in the long run due to it's stimulant effects. My thoughts on working out are if you're feeling slightly down or melancholy it works wonders. If you're feeling really down it's a serious struggle. Do you find that the lamps actually help you? I know you need to be consisgtent with them.
 

gromit

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go out at the times of maximum illumination. Buy a high lumen lamp and expose yourself to it 30 mins a day, esp after waking up, you can use it while you are changing for example.
vitamin D
Eat outside when you can (or close to a window)
Drink a coffee in the morning
Stay physically active (it's cold outside? Well, walk faster!)

Yeah this is pretty much what I do. I haven't ever gotten one of the special lights, but I have heard good things about them. For me, it really comes down to spending time outside during daylight, especially exercising. It's weird, it's the last thing you want to do, but the thing that makes you feel the best. Just have to remind yourself that it's worth it. I mean, after spending a weekend day outside doing a winter activity, I am practically euphoric.

Hits me the worst in Feb/March, somehow.
 

King sns

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Yes, I've had seasonal affective since I was like 12 that has turned into bipolar with a roughly predictable seasonal pattern. I find that having a routine helps, and just make sure you're getting as much awake times during sunlight as possible. I use a broad spectrum white light in the winter mornings, and that's helping immensely this year. It does have some bad side effects when you first start using it. (Irritability/ insomnia), and it takes a couple weeks to start working. Insurance sometimes pays for the light if you have a diagnosis.

There are some studies saying blue light helps SAD people, and some that promote the broad spectrum white. I am sensitive to the white, it makes the bipolar worse if I'm not medicated properly. Some people do have those kinds of reactions to it. Anyway, they run from about 60 dollars to 300 dollars. Mine was 60, it's cute and called "lightphoria". Only reason it was so cheap is because it's small and you have to keep your face like nine inches from it which makes it hard to do other things. I'm not a morning person anyway so I just stare at it half asleep for 15 minutes when I get up. With this method, I went from sleeping 14-15 hours in the winter to 7-9. Hope this helps. :)

(Edit: Also, read amazon reviews about these lights, they are hilarious!! This one family was facing the dumb thing at the grumpiest person at the breakfast table in the morning and were like "our whole family is happier!!" )
 

kyuuei

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I get it really, really bad. I'm definitely a summer girl, and winter is particularly harsh for me even in the mild (read: sometimes nonexistent like now...) winters of Texas. I get very groggy, sleepy, and lethargic and I tend to over eat more and hydrate less frequently if left to my own subconscious devices. Also, projects slow down and motivation plummets.

Here's generally what I force myself to do:
- Continue to exercise, just indoors. I usually go running on trails near my home, and I soak up a lot of sun that way. During the winter the trails are flooded. Also, I have this silly thing where my ears hurt if I am out in the cold running. Working out indoors solves all of that. I just vary between plyometric DVDs, dance DVDs, and walk-in-place DVDs and it does the trick within an hour.
I've gotten myself to work out a steady 2-3 times a week right now... I'll work my way up to 5, and by then it'll be summertime again and I'll go back to running on the trails. :laugh:

- TRY to wake up at a regular time. This helps a ton if I have a job where I have to report to others like college or corporate work. Doing work on my own... I tend to play music to help me wake up. Also, my nephew now assists me in waking up whether I want it or not. :doh:

- Eat healthy, hot foods. I usually in the summer start off with an icy smoothie and cereal and iced teas.. salad and sandwich for lunch, and a lightly cooked dinner since the stove heats up the house. In the winter I have to adjust those things... so hot tea and oatmeal, soups and grilled sandwiches for lunch, and salads and hot, long-baked and cooked items for dinner.

- I force myself to go outside anyways. Even it is just for a while--to walk to the end of the street and back or getting to my car and driving to some place to do some thing.. Unless it's raining buckets and cars and cows are floating by I try my best to do this.
 

EcK

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U mad? Cyclical insomnia, depression and parkison cannot simply be cured by moving 7-8 parallels south and-or by a string of sunny days. Of course the border between illness and not is always subjective, so from that POV you are right. SAD could just be a signal that you're living in the wrong place for your body.

Yeah. Next time a guy has SAD i ll tell them its their own damn fault for not living next to the equador. Its such an easy thing to move all your life to another country when its so hard to get flue medication. Your point is valid. My bad. You are a genius unlike anything the world has seen this side of the new millenium.

I am. Mad. Those extra neurons just weight me down into dementia sometimes.
 

cascadeco

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Yeah, having lived in Minnesota for close to 9 years, it affected me.

I didn't realize how much until I moved to Colorado, where I get sun 360ish days a year.
 
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