It's SAD season. How are you coping?

a reply to: Grovit

I know how you feel. The *only* thing that I look forward to in the winter is when the sun is
out shining and there is a nice layer of white snow on the ground. Those sun rays being reflected
off the white snow make it nice and bright and I soak up as much as I can. I can literally feel
my body filling with energy from the sun, and can also feel it drain in a matter of a minute if
a cloud happens to cover the sun. I hope you find some relief this winter.

a reply to: eccentriclady

I recently read that Infared heat and/or lights are being used for SAD therapy. If it works for you,
that's wonderful! I am for trying anything and everything I think might help.

a reply to: dreamingawake

I have so many hobbies, it's a hobby in itself trying to organize my hobbies...lol

I also have ADD, so getting one thing accomplished is a victory. A few weeks ago, I
made up my mind to give my kitchen a major cleaning. Day One I noticed my exhaust fan
needed cleaning, so instead of giving it a good cleaning, I ended up removing it
from the wall and proceeded to take it apart and clean every screw, nut, etc and
that only took 4 days. Lost my motivation after that. ;(

I saw results from a tanning bed.... just don't end up like this one:

You want to knock sad on the head for good, buy a bog standard dual spectrum grow lamp which will cost you no more than £60.

Your vitamin d levels will raise and you'll get healthier skin to boot, also eat a good 10 bananas a day preferably organic to give your serotonin levels a boost, byby sad, byby.

a reply to: virraszto
Some thoughts... First off, It feels as if naming a completely normal, rational and explainable phenomenon as a "disorder," thus a disease, automatically puts one into the realm of a victim, followed by guilt by associacion (why do I feel it more than others, something is wrong with me, etc.,).

Let it be clear: by saying this, I am not denying, nor minimizing the severity of the state of being during the darker, colder season. My point is the approach to it, as it decides right off the bat the outcome.

I have lived 17 years in the New England area, so I am very well aware of it.

I will not go too deep into the esoteric side of this, as this is an individual trek, but there is always something one can do to improve the state of their mental being. My point is mind over matter - while one is feeling down, depressed, cold and figuratively spent, let him or her ponder for a moment the mind power of the tibetan buddhist monks, who up in the coldest of nights in the Himalayas, brave the darkness covered only by a wet sheet which they dry on their bodies.

Let him or her who is feeling a bit down and drained think for a bit in that very moment of the homeless sleeping on the sidewalks, covered with cartons. And let them count their blessings.

These are two very extreme examples, but as someone who has gone through depression I wanted to illustrate and i can attest for myself that the power to overcome anything is within you.

You are not the victim, the diseased, the helpless one. Start there. Change the attitude, change the outcome.

Now to the more practical side of it. I did sungazing, few seconds each day, first hour of sunrise or last hour of sunset, whenever the sun was out up north. Even with the cold, I'd stand barefoot on bare earth, sand or gravel a few seconds each time. I am NOT advocating this for anyone, as it requires discipline and many rules to follow, but that's what I did...

It gave me energy and i slept like a lamb, feeling more and more energized the next day.

5HTP is a very good supplement to take, one can try it without much fear of side effects.
Magnesium also is effective. The one I did not read about here is Vit B complex, very important in aiding against SAD or depression. As an add on, Vit B12 as methylcobalamine taken sublingually would help in restoring energy.

And as someone mentioned, work out, 10-15 min a day, sweat it out, fight the stress hormones, make your body feel alive to the cell level, increase production of serotonin.

Meditate and ground yourself, gather all your energy during meditation in your heart chakra, connect it with the Earth's core, be thankful.

There is nothing one cant do and overcome if one set their mind to it. It gets easier by the day.
All the best.

20,000 iu of d3 an extra cup of coffee and iced tea as caffeine helps with dopamine and serotonin similar to ssri. Natural light light bulbs increase physical activity and try to laugh ! Magnesium is great as well as omegass I add extra flax hide it in everything for the whole family. As bad as it is for skin a tanning bed session twice a month helps me.

If the changing of the seasons makes you sad then your problems go deeper than the changes in the seasons. You're probably generally miserable as it is if thats the case.

a reply to: byGRACE

1. Synthetic vitamin D (and arguably any synthetic vit) is useless as vitamin D i.e cholecalciferol can only be synthesized from sunlight (UV) through the top layer of skin.

2. Stay away from caffeine or any psycho-stimulant drug as this is the worse thing you can do if you have any kind of legitimate depression.

I live near the Gulf Coast so our winters are comparatively mild. Nevertheless I hated winter and every winter I would feel awful. Then I wondered- maybe I feel bad in the winter because I hate winter? So I decided to not hate winter. I decided to look at all the positive things about winter. So now I feel fine in the winter. I strongly believe that we create our lives with our thoughts. So if you feel bad in the winter- don't focus on the gloom and the cold- focus on how beautifully the ice sparkles in the sunlight, how nice it feels to snuggle up in a warm bed on a cold night, how cheerful the holiday decorations look, etc.

Sal

a reply to: virraszto

^This

5000k bulb and above for SAD.

6500k CFL from amazon will work nicely.

To me, it's the worst during January/February.

As long as it is a festive holiday, (Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years) I am okay.

That is probably why these festive holidays were placed in the Winter in the first place. Hee...

a reply to: virraszto

SAD season my buttocks, I LOVE this season. When the snow and real cold come around, we'll talk about the BUMMER season

a reply to: virraszto

This 25 year old bottle of dalwhinnie is freshly cracked.... it's going great

a reply to: virraszto

I too start to feel like SAD sets in around Feb. But I also attribute it to the lack of activity. Let's face it, even workouts and all that, we just aren't that active around that time of year. And I also attribute my feelings due to being impatient for spring and know it could, though maybe not, just around the corner.

I love all the seasons, but winter can drag on a bit to long.

a reply to: virraszto

First of all, let me tell you that you are not alone in dealing with these things. Countless others are going through it as well. I know that doesn't help much on the surface - but in the darkest hours it is a light.

While I do take medication that helps to a degree, I've found that there are several things I can do myself that boost that effect greatly. If you don't mind, I'll just dispense with my usual verbosity and simply list them.

1) Do not give into the urge to isolate. Make yourself be social, even if it's just a two minute convo with the mailman.
2) WALK!!! Taking a few walks a day, even short ones, really does help a great deal. If weather permits, find a place to simply sit and think while you're out. A dynamic and moving world around you helps on a subconsious level I think.
3) Do your best to have a set schedule. That also helps.
4) Try not to dwell. One of the unique horrors of depression is that it sucks us in and makes us think about it, which, in turn, makes it deepen and feel even worse. Try to find at least two or three things you enjoy that you can use as distractions from dwelling... reading, video games, watching movies, crafts, woodworking, fishing... anything.
5) Try to create a positive future goal of some kind that you can get excited about. I do online surveys, for example, to make a few bucks while I am bored. They earn me $5 gift cards every few days. So I try to focus on the item that I am earning five dollars at a time. I try to reach out and "touch", for lack of a better word, the moment I'll reach my goal. I imagine how it will be to get there and it motivates me.

Most of all - you've got a support system and people to talk to, right here on ATS. There are many of us here who also fight with depression and are open to discussing it.

Should you ever feel the need to talk or just vent - my inbox is always open and I am more than happy to be there.

Heff

I used to think I had SAD, but opposite (as in summer gets me down... which makes sense, since Brazilian summers are really intense and uncomfortable, while our winters are really not that bad at all)... however, I actually am dealing with depression, plain and simple.

Still, you guys should try your best to get some vitamin D and a bit of daily exercise. It's not the perfect treatment/cure, but it helps a little. Good luck!

a reply to: virraszto

Feb. is definitely the peak for me,and everyone around me knows there is a summer personality,and a winter one. I am seriously considering the light box this season,as I know I will be spending this winter more isolated.

I don't think I actually suffer from SAD but during the colder and darker times of the year I'm more prone to (shorter or longer) depressed episodes, like I was about a week ago, I felt pretty bad. January, February and March are the most dangerous months for me because then the winter and cold have lasted for too long and it's as if my ...''reserve'' is empty then. I don't know what that reserve would actually be but I think it'd be something as sunny mood leftovers or something (yeah I know I'm crazy)

Anyway, I had some weeks recently during which I had little energy, emotionally aching and was much more easily frustrated, saddened, etc. At the time I just made sure I ate regularly, exercised outside a lot and just accepted the feeling as it came because I knew it'd pass and suppressing or really fighting it would only make it last longer. And yes, it passed. I don't have issues with negative thinking and such but I made sure I thought positive things. Very simplistic I know, but just yay!-thoughts. It helped. It also helped that I did new fun things and pushed some of my boundaries. What helped the most was that someone said something that really ruined something I was looking forward to. I ended up (because I wasn't really like I usually am) crying on the phone with my mom and the crying, and discussing how I felt etc worked wonders. So even though that other person said a dickish thing, eventually he helped me

I'm definitely not looking forward to begin/middle/end February because that's when I typically start to feel pretty bad. Last year was worsened because my then BF didn't have any understanding/empathy as to why I sounded so tired (I wasn't physically tired but emotionally I was, and could hardly muster to talk at all) and didn't feel like doing stuff. Oh well. I learned to deal with it by accepting it for the time being and knowing it won't last. Because it WILL pass. Be conscious about it.