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Got some SAD going on at the moment

Metalhead

Metalhead

Video game and movie addict. All for gay pride.
V.I.P Member
Seasonal Affective Disorder

This hits me this time of year, every year, when the skies turn perpetually gray and the rain starts coming in nonstop. I have my sun lamp, and my gym membership, and my Vitamin D. I still feel like crawling right back into bed whenever I look outside and I see that.
 
Yeah it's hard. But maybe embracing the change might help. Go out in the weather, find somewhere wild to explore. Allow yourself to spin inward and ruminate over things. Find something to do with your hands. And always remember, that regardless of what you perceive to be true, that there are always people that care about you.
 
Yeshuasdaughter said:
Yeah it's hard. But maybe embracing the change might help. Go out in the weather, find somewhere wild to explore. Allow yourself to spin inward and ruminate over things. Find something to do with your hands. And always remember, that regardless of what you perceive to be true, that there are always people that care about you.
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True, I am not going to find the solution to this inside of my house. I have my job and my gym membership. I still go to both of those places. I need to find more places nearby to go to. I think I will budget for restaurants and movie tickets this fall season.
 
Perhaps a good dig into why it makes you feel the way you do could help. To move through something like this you need to face it head on and look it in the eye.

Really ask yourself what it is you don't like about this weather? Is it the weather itself, or the way you feel when you can't do normal activities? Do you feel constricted and boxed in? What is it that you are trying to avoid?

Perhaps you could write it all down to get a clear picture of what you're dealing with. I've always found it hard to solve a problem without having a clear understanding of what it is first. Then again, you could choose to not see this as a problem, but rather a situation you can try find ways to deal with.

You could learn to befriend this rather than make it your enemy. See yourself in a loving way, as a person dealing with a tricky situation, and assure the scared part of yourself that you will try to learn healthier ways to cope with it. But first, take a good look straight at what is making you resist this time period. Write it out here if you want to, you might find it therapeutic, you might not.

All the best to you :)
 
Used to live in Michigan. Every year after Halloween I would start to feel down - probably not getting enough light. I'd leave for school in the dark, spend most of the day inside and then get home again just as it was getting dark again. The problem with this time of year is that it doesn't always snow until much later. Every once in a while we would even have a "green Christmas." (Actually, frozen brown.) Those were especially depressing.

A sunny day with a clean blanket of snow on the ground is to die for. Snow makes the world so much brighter. You can get used to the cold, it is just a matter of proper dress, proper nutrition and proper activity level. By the time spring kicks in, highs in the 50s are very comfortable.

Now I live in southern California and right about August and September I start having the opposite problem. Endless hot & dry days with perfectly clear skies start to get me down. Rain and storms lighten my mood so much I like to sleep outside on the patio so I can get as close as possible and not get soaked. Wind is nice too because I get to hear the wind chimes.

 
Noticed this in someone. After 40 mins in front of light box, they seemed more cheerful. Even the cat sat practically on the light box.

This is tough. So keep walking that path you are on. Seems like you are making progress, and you may feel disattached (probably not a word).

I found a cheap massager with heat. That helps. I love hot water feet soaks. Is there a jacuzzi or steam room? That might help. Don't forgot - lots of soup, hot cider too. Maybe burn some cinnamon candles and turn out the lights.
 
KagamineLen said:
Seasonal Affective Disorder

This hits me this time of year, every year, when the skies turn perpetually gray and the rain starts coming in nonstop. I have my sun lamp, and my gym membership, and my Vitamin D. I still feel like crawling right back into bed whenever I look outside and I see that.
Click to expand...

Same...

Could add to the list of tips:
Try sea buckthorn pulp oil.

Where do you get a lamp like that? We're like the cloudiest and darkest part of this country. I can't remember the last time the sun shone.
 
Aspychata said:
Noticed this in someone. After 40 mins in front of light box, they seemed more cheerful. Even the cat sat practically on the light box.

This is tough. So keep walking that path you are on. Seems like you are making progress, and you may feel disattached (probably not a word).

I found a cheap massager with heat. That helps. I love hot water feet soaks. Is there a jacuzzi or steam room? That might help. Don't forgot - lots of soup, hot cider too. Maybe burn some cinnamon candles and turn out the lights.
Click to expand...

Yeah, don't bother with the hot cider given you are getting off alcohol addiction. But the rest sounds great. Lots of soup and keep warm enough.

But I love to walk outdoors in autumn as the leaves are falling. I associate the time of year with the start of the school year, lots of classes and trainings I mostly enjoyed, and working as a trainer myself later on. Love it. But can see this might work differently depdnding how that went for you? Try to get more light to lift your mood.
 
Au Naturel said:
Used to live in Michigan. Every year after Halloween I would start to feel down - probably not getting enough light. I'd leave for school in the dark, spend most of the day inside and then get home again just as it was getting dark again. The problem with this time of year is that it doesn't always snow until much later. Every once in a while we would even have a "green Christmas." (Actually, frozen brown.) Those were especially depressing.

A sunny day with a clean blanket of snow on the ground is to die for. Snow makes the world so much brighter. You can get used to the cold, it is just a matter of proper dress, proper nutrition and proper activity level. By the time spring kicks in, highs in the 50s are very comfortable.

Now I live in southern California and right about August and September I start having the opposite problem. Endless hot & dry days with perfectly clear skies start to get me down. Rain and storms lighten my mood so much I like to sleep outside on the patio so I can get as close as possible and not get soaked. Wind is nice too because I get to hear the wind chimes.

Click to expand...


I greatly missed rain and thunder storms when I lived in Utah, loved bright sunny days to go skiing, and hated the ugly brown snow season in April and May when I wanted to be back in the South with rolling tropical storms and torrential rain instead of looking at dirty snow everywhere. Maybe we all like best the weather of our childhoods?
 
Yes! Horrible. I am in work before the sun comes up. Leave work after the sun goes down. Work in a dim neonatal unit. I've got 6 "good" hours, from around 10am - 4pm,...no matter when I go to bed or wake up. Screwed up circadian rhythms. I live in cloudy west Michigan,...and despite the big windows on the south side, and 10ft ceilings,...still seems dim and gloomy in the house.

I don't spend that much time at home, but I have special full-spectrum LED and florescent lighting in the house. Works nice for the house plants and me. I also try to have high enough wattage on the lights I do have,...they have to be somewhat bright. Tinkering away outside helps, mowing the lawn, trimming plants, gardening, washing the cars,...whatever dumb excuse I have to come up with to get outside in the light helps.

I do the 5000IU/day of Vit D,...not sure if it helps with SAD or not,...use it for general health. I do 10mg melatonin before bed, as well,...not sure if it helps with SAD or not.
 
Neonatal RRT said:
Yes! Horrible. I am in work before the sun comes up. Leave work after the sun goes down. Work in a dim neonatal unit. I've got 6 "good" hours, from around 10am - 4pm,...no matter when I go to bed or wake up. Screwed up circadian rhythms. I live in cloudy west Michigan,...and despite the big windows on the south side, and 10ft ceilings,...still seems dim and gloomy in the house.

I don't spend that much time at home, but I have special full-spectrum LED and florescent lighting in the house. Works nice for the house plants and me. I also try to have high enough wattage on the lights I do have,...they have to be somewhat bright. Tinkering away outside helps, mowing the lawn, trimming plants, gardening, washing the cars,...whatever dumb excuse I have to come up with to get outside in the light helps.

I do the 5000IU/day of Vit D,...not sure if it helps with SAD or not,...use it for general health. I do 10mg melatonin before bed, as well,...not sure if it helps with SAD or not.
Click to expand...

Maybe your joy can come from watching all the babies that go home. Seeing the moms who are recovering from childbirth that still come down to breastfeed. God bless those little TTN babies xo.
 
Neonatal RRT said:
Yes! Horrible. I am in work before the sun comes up. Leave work after the sun goes down. Work in a dim neonatal unit. I've got 6 "good" hours, from around 10am - 4pm,...no matter when I go to bed or wake up. Screwed up circadian rhythms. I live in cloudy west Michigan,...and despite the big windows on the south side, and 10ft ceilings,...still seems dim and gloomy in the house.

I don't spend that much time at home, but I have special full-spectrum LED and florescent lighting in the house. Works nice for the house plants and me. I also try to have high enough wattage on the lights I do have,...they have to be somewhat bright. Tinkering away outside helps, mowing the lawn, trimming plants, gardening, washing the cars,...whatever dumb excuse I have to come up with to get outside in the light helps.

I do the 5000IU/day of Vit D,...not sure if it helps with SAD or not,...use it for general health. I do 10mg melatonin before bed, as well,...not sure if it helps with SAD or not.
Click to expand...
Yeah, being outside and active while there is light is one key to fighting SAD.

SAD isn't just about short days. In the winter, because the sun is lower there is less light per square meter of surface area. A bright sunny day is factually darker than the same sunny day would be in late spring/summer. Passing through more atmosphere, more light gets reflected back to space and more gets absorbed by dust. This is particularly true of the blue end of the spectrum. The red end is less vulnerable to this. Winter is like being in perpetual sunset.

OTOH, having a layer of snow almost doubles a day's brightness. So bright that you can get snow blindness in extreme cases.

The thing about the full spectrum lights is that you want to tone them down about an hour before bedtime. Light from the blue end of the spectrum tends to keep you awake. My computer is set up to go into "nightime" mode in the evening The color balance shifts to the yellow end which is what you normally see at sunset. But screens, in general, keep people awake so no screen time after an hour before bedtime.

Cabin fever is SAD's kissing cousin. Usually a winter affliction but it can happen any time you stay confined to quarters. It kicks in when you're stuck for a long time in a small area due to cold or inclement weather.
 
Doctors prescribe light boxes. Just Google light box for SAD. This will bring up many choices. You sit in front of it for like 30 or 40 mins in the morning. It makes a big difference. Just eat your breakfast and read in front of it. The cat would sit on the table with his fur right on the box. Smart cat.
 
I highly recommend a light box. I have two of them. (The first was a gift from a friend, an older model with tubes. The second one is LED, which I purchased myself. I prefer the LED one. Both are Verilux brand.)

I keep one in my home office and one in the workout area in my basement. So no matter where I start my day (with the computer or a workout) I have the light box on for at least 20 minutes. I have it on right now as a matter of fact.

They're not that expensive and well worth the investment. The LED one I have is hanging on the wall and it's about the size of an iPad.
 
@Aspychata I have a light box and the doctor said not to sit in front of it as that’d be asking for eye injury. Place it at an angle away from your eyes; it will flood the whole area with light.
Mine has 3 settings. On the darkest days I will use it twice, the second time while exercising.
This helps me, but only in combination with exercise & the right nutrition for winter. @Neonatal RRT ’s suggestions for Vit D & melatonin are what I was going to say too.

Verilux light
 
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The nonstop rain of Pacific NW fall weather.

I really am not digging this at all.

Maybe I should buy a decent sized umbrella and walk to a theater.
 
I’m dealing with SAD too. It hits me harder than usual this year. 4 weeks ago I was on a great schedule of working out, cooking healthy food and losing weight steadily. Then I got a nasty cold and wasn’t allowed to visit the gym or my physical therapist and was in no shape to go to the farmers market for my fresh fruits and veggies. Oh, and I had to stay home from work because of my symptoms (although I did test negative for covid several times). Pretty much all the healthy things I was doing (and that were lifting my mood) crashed to a halt. I try going for a walk when the weather is acceptable, but it’s mostly been either raining or cold and foggy (which really aggravates my airways).

I am mostly recovered from the cold physically, but my fitness has declined dramatically and my weight has gone way up again. That bums me out majorly. But it’s more than that. I’m not in good shape mentally. I’m supposed to go back to work on Monday and just the thought makes my chest tight and my eyes well up with tears. I really just want to stay indoors with the curtains closed, eat comfort food and spoil myself until I feel better. I know it doesn’t work that way, intellectually, but my feelings don’t agree.

I asked a trainer at my gym to train me via Zoom until my cold is completely gone and she agreed, which I’m very happy about. I did my first training yesterday and although my muscles are sore, my mood definitely improved.

The suggestion of a light box is a good one, I just ordered one online. Take care, @KagamineLen . Hope some sunny fall weather comes your way for a bit of relief.
 
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