Seasonal Affective Disorder (Winter Blues)

Oh yeah, you guys are a real riot..HAHAHA! lol.

My friends always joke around that its the winter, you won't be seeing Matt anymore! I hide in my room in the winter, I never go out, I hate waking up, I hate doing anything that involves leaving my bed.... me and the winter do not get along. I've always contemplated moving to an area with a warmer climate. It has been 60 degrees here for the past couple of days, so i actually am happy for once.

reply to post by hikix


Ditto to that! If I could install a fridge and bathroom in my bedroom, I would be good to go.I would love to Hibernate for 4-6 months of the year.
Are you very outgoing in the summer months?

Yes in the summer I am out on my boat, on the beach, hiking, camping, doing anything to enjoy the outdoors. I'm a different person in the summer, seriously.

Originally posted by hikix
I've always contemplated moving to an area with a warmer climate.

Well I've always contemplated on moving to a chillier region.

As a rule, man is a fool,
When it's hot, he wants it cool;
When it's cool, he wants it hot,
Always wanting what is not.

--Anonymous

Originally posted by hikix
Yes in the summer I am out on my boat, on the beach, hiking, camping, doing anything to enjoy the outdoors. I'm a different person in the summer, seriously.

Me too.I can't stay inside in the summer.Always at the beach.
I walk everywhere I go, just to be in the sun.I have a bit of wilderness behind my house where you can go watch deer, beavers, muskrats, ducks..etc.I like to walk back there.Except during mosquito season.


Beachcoma- That little saying is so true.Spring and fall days bring the perfect happy medium.

AD, hard as it may seem to phathom, i am a semi-goth chick at times. Sometimes the urge hits and i do up Red/Bronze stripes in my hair and dress in black. I have to be careful because i am a bit older and this impulse could lead to laughter from people. So i play it down.

Now, i may be weirder than most of you! I feel good, very good, when its rainning outside for days at a time!!! Yeeeehawwww! Its cozy, relaxing and invigorating to me. Having said that, i do go thru a period from January 1 to April where i do get depressed, and i mean REAL depressed.
I'm borderline now. I slept most of the day today (it was cloudy and windy) and cold. I will cry about anything and i do take a little something for my mood. Still sometimes that doesnt even help during these months!

Rain= Happy
overcast=Depression
Cold and dark= Depression

Sunny and warm? Alive
Sunny and cold? Depression

Too bad there's no such thing here as a rainny and sunny day. I'd be in heaven!
Come to think of it, in my native land we have what they call chubascos, meaning a sunny day followed by pouring rain, then sun again. Maybe i suffer from some form of Post Traumatic Disorder with the weather.

DG,

You ever get sad and just need to talk, I am the best "MAN" listener I know..

And I am always available...

Family has to stick together.

Semper

reply to post by semperfortis

Thank you sweetie! This is why i love ya!
u2u is on its way.

By the way..

I would LOVE to see you all "Gothed" up....

I bet your gorgeous...

Semper

Good to know I'm not the only one. I first noticed it when I was in college in New Hampshire. For half the year, it got dark at, like, 3pm.

I have the lamp, but I'm usually too depressed to think it'll make a difference. (Silly, right?) :bnghd:

I have the lamp, but I'm usually too depressed to think it'll make a difference. (Silly, right?)

NO NOT AT ALL

That is actually the "demon" that is depression. The "self" manipulation of our feelings and thoughts...

I can only tell you what worked for me...

I made myself a schedule and forced myself to stick to it.. Now don't get me wrong, it took awhile. I would put it down out of frustration or convincing myself it would do no good, but gradually I started sticking to it..

Exercise (The gym for me) and my light therapy (Tanning)

That is just what worked for me, might be worth a try...

Semper

Dg, hon..Goth is cool no matter what your age. I have always been goth.Since I was 13.I suppressed it somewhat when I started having kids, but now it's full force.My closet is a sea of black.I share clothes with my 17 year old daughter, as we are the same size.She loves my clothes.
My goth tendencies do not reflect my depression though, as I wear all black in the summer as well.Even a black bathingsuit to the beach.
My time line is just like yours.Jan.- April. February is always the worst for me.Even if it is cold outside though,as long as the sunshines,Iam OK.
A grey day, and it's off she wrote my energy level.
Honey, I would love to see your goth look as well.Every woman loves how sexy she feels in black.I just take mine to the extreme.Seriously, when I wear coloured clothes,I feel like a clown.Goth is just me..inside and out.

Originally posted by semperfortis
By the way..

I would LOVE to see you all "Gothed" up....

I bet your gorgeous...

Semper

Now, now...Semper...I think you and DG need to take this flirting over to the Crush thread.
>giggles<
AD

reply to post by HarlemHottie


You know..I kinda feel the same way.I don't have a lamp because I think they are too pricey.But would 30 mins. really make that much of a difference? Iam skeptical. On my worst days,when I cannot get out of bed, I fail to see how that would help.It is still artificial light, and in my experience the sun has been the only thing that can help.
Boy, Vegas is looking real nice right now.

Originally posted by AccessDenied

 

I would love to just move somewhere warmer, but I don't see that happening.

Why not?

If it get worse, I think you should give it a shot. At least try a month or two.

I totally forgot some people have this disorder. Well, some people (such as I) need a lot of sun to function well. I guess you're kinda like myself, Access. It's possible we both have those plant genes in our DNA.

Over here, I can't complain. Climate wise this is the best place to live anywhere on the planet, especially if you were born here.

Where exactly were you born Access, where did you grow up? It might be related.

[edit on Thu, 10 Jan 08 by Jazzyguy]

reply to post by Jazzyguy

Jazzy, I was born and grew up about 300 miles from where I now sit.
Same climate all my life.
However..I have not had this all my life.
I believe it was brought on by a myriad of factors.
I have had some traumatic events in my life,and I have lived in places so far away from other people.In the winter,I could only leave the house twice a month.Never interacting with others. Even though I live in a city now, and I go out all the time, the depression continues to get worse.
Me moving to a warmer climate is not feasible for me or my family right now.I wish it was.
Funny..I never thought of it in a botanist kind of way.Must be why Iam obsessed with roses.

reply to post by AccessDenied

I have 2 suggestions for you:

1. You have to get in tune with your sleep pattern and your need for rest and sleep. You have to do this by intuition!
What I mean by intuition is you actually have to get the feel of it. Since women tend to have stronger intuition, this should be easier for you. I do it myself, it does help, even when I'm not sleeping in my own bed.

When you're going to sleep, you have to let go. You cannot force to fix your problem during sleeping, so stop thinking about it before you go to bed. If you're willing to let go, the sleep itself will help you with the healing.

2. Please don't laugh. But perhaps the picture or poster of the sun might help. I know you're a goth, so whatever sunny picture works for you, sandy beaches, deserts, a big yellow sun.

My bedroom wall is actually beige, it looks warm and gives you that warm feelings. I don't think you want your bedroom to be in white, it has to be in some warm color.

It's often a vicious cycle. I get SAD during the winter months and it seriously affects my work sometimes. Depression leads to a mind that can't think strait, and that leads to shotty work, which leads to chastising from the bosses, which leads to more stress, and depression. I'm trying to convince my people to move me to the Hong Kong office where it's sunny almost all year round, except when it rains.

If I moved though, I'd leave behind all of my friends and family, which may make me depressed for other reasons.

Don't feel alone AD, there's a bunch of us out there.

Originally posted by Jazzyguy
My bedroom wall is actually beige, it looks warm and gives you that warm feelings. I don't think you want your bedroom to be in white, it has to be in some warm color.

Yes, yes. This actually helps. I did it in college for my cognitive psych research paper.