i don't like the sun...it gives me headaches and hurts my eyes. but in the winter i suffer terribly from SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder. i have been on antidepressants every year during the winter because it gets so bad. i want to sleep all the time...you know, it's dark and time to go to bed, never mind that it's only 3:00 in the afternoon. Heaven help you if you take a nap and wake up a bit confused!! if the clock reads 5:00 you might not know if it's A.M. or P.M.!!! believe me, it's happened!! LOL
this year seems to be particularly hard for some reason. i get out of the house a lot...errands, lunch with a friend, shopping, getting "beautified"...hair, manicure, pedicure...you know, stuff girls do. but it hasn't helped much. i even go swimming at a local indoor pool with my daughter once or twice a week....but it seems like it's always dark. ~sigh~
i know that many others suffer as i do from this problem and my sympathy goes out to all who do. it's rough...nothing seems interesting, nothing is funny, nothing is fun...it really kicks my butt!! So this year i decided that therapy might help too. besides they bring out the BIG drugs and i thought that might be in order because my depression has been so severe....so each week i faithfully go see my "shrink". i think it helps because she is easy to talk to and really understands this problem. and, yes, they brought out some BIG drugs that are helping...but i don't think they are helping quite enough yet. so, when i go THIS week, i'm requesting the BIGGER drugs!!! and, some daylight if they can conjure it up for me.
my Love and i are looking into getting a "happy light". they even sell them on Amazon.com. you put it where it sit for a while...by the computer or tv or whatever. i have even heard you can put them behind your knees because the skin in very thin there....so when we get one i'll test that theory out for you and let you know.
winter is far from over here so please wish me luck in getting this problem whipped! and if you live where there is daylight, please put some in an envelope and send it to me. my address is ..... oh, yah, near the North Pole. (seriously)
Have a sun-filled (well, daylight-filled anyway) day!!
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| Cuties at the South Pole even get daylight!! |
I have SAD also. When I lived in Anchorage, I was on 2 heavy meds and they didn't quite do the trick, so my doctor prescribed a light box. I was a skeptic but it totally works. When I moved to Arizona, I never suffered at all from SAD because of the constant sunshine but moving to Washington, I have it just as severely as I did in Alaska. The first winter I just suffered through it but decided to buy a light box last year ($400 - yikes) but it's worth every single penny. How it works is the special spectrum light goes thru the pupil in to the pituitary gland and shuts off the production of melatonin. I start sitting in front of my light box in late September and quite about March. I sit in the mornings writing in my journal, reading and sometimes do some card making, etc. in front of the light. It's amazing how much 30 to 60 minutes will help. As a fellow sufferer, I hope you find relief with the light box. I have opted to not take meds as I had a very difficult time stopping them ~ made me very sick.
ReplyDeleteI have SAD as well, but it's not as severe as some folks get. And it's gradually easing up for me now as we get more daylight.
ReplyDeleteI bought two full-spectrum desk lamps at Home Depot. I keep one next to my laptop and turn it on whenever I'm on my laptop (a lot). I also have one on my night stand for reading.
This winter I also started taking Vitamin D. What an improvement! This winter wasn't half as bad as previous winters have been.
I've never been on medication, although I have one of the rarer symptoms of SAD - I get insomnia, rather than wanting to sleep. I take melatonin at times, but found that taking a half of an OTC Unisom tablet works even better.
thanks for the info, Sue. i think it's about time we invest in one. it's been really awful this year.
ReplyDeleteI've used one for a number of years. The blue lights that you sit by for 20 minutes or so seem to be the best. I have it on while I eat breakfast everymorning. I am on antidepressants for a chemical imbalance and try not to adjust them for the SAD. The lights really make a difference. I have one of the desk ones at work,but don't sit at my desk long enough to use it. I am either teaching or in the lab.
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