S.A.D.: Knowing that's why I'm depressed doesn't help.

[bertha katzenengel]

You?

:kicksdog: (it was a stuffed plushy dog)

[KitchenWitch]

1. ...

:hug:

I only wish I had SAD, I have full on, full time depression. :eyes:

I have it under control with medication.

[bertha katzenengel]

4. you do?

Your meds must work really well, then, because I never would've guessed. (I take pretty heavy meds too - but nothing helps during the winter)

I really hope that living in the 33rd parallel helps you out a lot. I'll wager it will. :hug:

And the Twinkies visit Anaheim twice this season!

[KitchenWitch]

6. They do

I am on a very high dose as well.

I am excited as all get out that I will get to see my Twins live and outdoors for two series' this year!

:woohoo:

Now if that does not kill my depression, nothing will!

:)

[bertha katzenengel]

8. Mrs. V. and I make it through the winter on the wings of four little words:

"Pitchers and catchers report."

:7

[KitchenWitch]

18. Man oh man do I ever hear that loud and clear

February 15th!

[LuLu550]

21. Have you tried light thearapy??

I heard that works the best.

[Roon]

25. I am on four types of physche meds

And it seems to work pretty good, for now. I am on zoloft, risperdal, buspirone, and seroquel. My favorite is the seroquel, it gives you FUN dreams!

[Haole Girl]

2. Just a few more months and we'll see the..

..first flowers of spring. :hug:

[bertha katzenengel]

5. Yay.

Good thought. :hug:

:flowers:

[NC_Nurse]

3. I have it too.

The only thing that's good is you can counter it somewhat by getting out in the light. You can buy those bright lights online too.

I went to the tanning place today - even though I don't give a sh*t about tanning. It helps me feel better. I only did 10 minutes and I felt much better afterwards.
:-)

Give something a try. Ya never know...:hug:

[bertha katzenengel]

7. I never thought of that -- a tanning bed. Hmm.

Sister # 2 and I got Sister # 1 a full-spectrum desk lamp for her birthday. Sister # 1 is something of a grouse anyway, so on the card we wrote "LIGHTEN UP!" Bah.

[NC_Nurse]

9. Cute.

Just don't burn yourself at the tanning place. :D

[bertha katzenengel]

11. It'll be about a year before I can use a tanning bed, anyway....

[NC_Nurse]

16. 38 lbs. Wow.

Good for you! I don't know the weight limit, but I bet you can weigh pretty much because I've seen big guys go in there.
Anyway, the lights are probably better for you.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

10. At least it gives you a place to rationalize your feelings...

instead of taking them out on somebody else. :hug::hug::hug:

I'm sorry you're down, my friend. Do the light bulbs help at all?

[bertha katzenengel]

13. don't have any full spectrum lamps

oughta get one

I'll make it through. It's just not fun, is all. :hug:

[Left Is Write]

12. I agree!

Knowing why I get depressed or what triggers anxiety attacks doesn't help me get over or prevent them.

[bertha katzenengel]

14. It never has and it probably never will.

:grr:

:hi:

[Left Is Write]

15. I've never had a problem with SAD...

but I am feeling a lot more lows right now than I usually do, so I'm wondering if this year SAD is exacerbating my existing problems.

[Radio_Lady]

34. I love winter, cool weather, cloudy skies, rain -- hate the summer, because

I have to be in a wet bathing suit just out of the pool or in air conditioning -- any time the temps get above 70. I like to refer to the class of people like me as "LOW THERMALS" -- there are a few of us around.

Go figure! It's just the way I'm wired up -- have been this way since I was a child.

[Rabrrrrrr]

17. I getcha - once we pass Dec. 21, and the days get longer and the (&#$ sun comes out more

I get depressed, too. And knowing that it's because of the lack of dark doesn't really help with the depression, either.

But, at least I can sort of mentally prepare for it. Still, I always feel sad when the nights start getting shorter.

[Zookeeper]

19. I understand there is new research that says it doesn't....

matter if the lights used for treating S.A.D. are full spectrum or not. They just have to be very, very bright and should be used first thing in the morning. The doctor I heard this from also said blue light is the most important and that Costco sells a blue LED light box that is small, energy-saving and extremely effective.

I'd like to get one to put next to the computer. I'm really feeling it this year because we have had so little snow to reflect the light and it's been overcast most of the winter, so far.



:hug:

[EFerrari]

31. Wow. Costco here I come. Thanks for this, Zookeeper.

This time of year, I can feel my mood start slipping with the light which also means, before the light slips, I feel anxious. Ack.

[Zookeeper]

38. You're welcome, sfexpat...

The doctor I heard this from suffers from S.A.D. himself. He starts using a light box in October every year!

[baby_mouse]

20. Agree

Nothing in my life is particularly wrong at the moment. I still spend days at work having huge imaginary arguments with the boyf. HE doesn't get it at home though...

[pink-o]

22. The darkness sucks

...but I f**king HATE HATE HATE the cold of winter!!!! I hate my cracking dry fingertips, I hate bundling up early in the morning and getting into a freezing car (no garage in San Francisco--if I warmed up my car, it would be gone.) I hate not being able to play outside, I want to feel the sun on my skin and wear tank tops again when I bike, not swaddle like Nanook of the North. I've been sick of winter since November, and it's gonna be another couple of grim months before we see any kind of warmth returning. I want my daylight saving time back, and I want my 65 or higher degree weather.

I am moving to the tropics when I get older. I refuse to be a frail, cold octegenarian blasting the heat 24/7 every year.

[Nikia]

23. I think the darkness makes things worse for me too

My two full days of work this week consisted of me being in work during the daylight hours. It was dark both before and after work. Maybe, I should go for a walk tomarrow. I wonder if the sun helps much though when one is covered except one's face.

[Zookeeper]

24. All you need is to expose your face to light....

Light boxes work to treat S.A.D. because they trigger a (hormonal, I think) response through your eyes.

The problem is that our bodies are programmed to sleep a lot and generally wind down during the "dark" months, but modern life doesn't allow that for most of us. If you can keep yourself exposed to bright light throughout the winter, your body, brain and hormones will be fooled into staying in an active summer mode.

A walk in the sun is a great idea. Unfortunately, it's been cloudy here most of the winter so far. :-(

[Oeditpus Rex]

28. 'All you need'

Interesting diagnosis, Dr. Frist.

:popcorn:

[Zookeeper]

37. Please explain your snark. n/t

[Oeditpus Rex]

39. I think it's self-explanatory, but...

Even an attending physician wouldn't say "All you need is..." to a depressive patient. I find it quite reckless that someone would do it on the internet.

[crispini]

40. Ye cats, out of context much?

The question:
. I wonder if the sun helps much though when one is covered except one's face.

The answer:
24. All you need is to expose your face to light....

Makes perfect sense in context of the question, and is appropriate, IMO....

[Oeditpus Rex]

41. The topic is depression

The question was about depression. Nikia wondered if sunlight makes much difference.

Proper answer: It might.

[Zookeeper]

43. I'm not a doctor. This is a message board.

If you read the posts, you will see that we were discussing S.A.D. The question is how much skin needs to be exposed. Seeing that Nikia and I live in the northern latitudes, that is a very reasonable question. I'm passing along information I just received from a Pediatric Psychiatrist who suffers from S.A.D. himself. Since you live in "Godforsakenhellhole, Kalifornia" according to your profile (which I'm guessing means the L.A. area), you may not be familiar with the subject.

If you were really concerned about Nikia, you would have suggested that she see a doctor or ignore the advice on the thread, rather than snarking at me.

[Nikia]

29. Unfortunately, it has been overcast here all day

If it does get sunny before spring, while I'm not confined to work, I'll try to take advantage of it.
What about vitamin D production during the winter? I probably should be taking a supplement, but can one really absorb enough winter sun through the face for it to be enough.

[Lisa]

33. getting outside even on overcast days can help

Enough wavelengths make it through the cloud cover that it's much better than just being indoors (unless you are undergoing full or partial-spectrum light treatment, that is) ....

[RetroLounge]

26. No, knowledge has no benefits here...

except to say, clinical depression was diagnosed, and proper drugs administered...

RL

[BarenakedLady]

27. Me too

Along with depression, general anxiety, social anxiety, and I'm sure other labels.

I got a light box thingy for X-mas. I'll let you know if it works.

[sweetheart]

30. vitamin D...

http://www.progressiveindependent.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=54463&mesg_id=54463

[Lisa]

32. well, it reassures me that I'm not either malingering nor a hypochondriac ...

Even after SAD was officially described and published in medical journals in the mid-1980s, there was (and still is) skepticism from doctors and the general public about it being a "real" medical condition. I don't have it anywhere near as badly as my boss does, but I've seen the way people who are afflicted are scoffed at.

I've noticed some signs of change, though. My workplace's counselling department has begun to circulate memos each fall, reminding people about what SAD is -- and the health book distributed by the government to every household in my province discusses it in detail, along with providing helpful advice. I've been tracking this in the medical journals and there is evidence that even small amounts of light, on a regular basis, can help -- so I try to get outside as often as possible, even in gloomy winter west coast weather.

Recently I collaborated with another researcher on a review article about environmentally-triggered mental ailments (including both the summer and winter variants of SAD) ... and interestingly, none of the editorial committee dismissed the concept. (I'm grateful that I don't have the summer variant, which is less widespread in the population, but apparently is even harder to deal with.)

[Radio_Lady]

35. Lisa, you are right about the "summer variant" -- I have it! Not much I can

say except I have to keep myself hydrated in a swimming pool, or in a wet bathing suit, or in air conditioning -- whenever it gets over 70 degrees. I absolutely hate summer and have to accept the fact that it's coming on every April.

There are a few of us around. I call the group I'm in the "Low Thermals" -- it can't get too dark or cold for me. My husband threatens to put me on an ice floe and send me out to sea when I'm old and ready to go. Apparently, he read or heard somewhere that's what the ancients who lived in the upper latitudes did with their elderly.

In peace,

Radio Lady in Oregon (It's never cold enough for me here.)

[Radio_Lady]

36. Seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D.) discussed here:

http://www.medicinenet.com/seasonal_affective_disorder_sad/article.htm

[Lisa]

42. at the rate things are going, there might not be any ice floes left!

But you're in the right place -- much less chance of those really hot, sticky interior and East coast summers.

I am starting to whether the increasing frequency of heatwaves might result in higher numbers of summer SAD people being diagnosed. I have a feeling that there might be a group of those who are on the borderline of the condition, just like for winter SAD, who aren't chronic sufferers but do experience some of the symptoms when the heat/humidity thresholds kick in. Someone in Australia is trying to come up with some estimates of how many people in the population have summer SAD, and to what degree ... it will be interesting to compare this with North American and European populations, to see if there is any genetic pattern.

[high density]

44. Yeah it kind of helps

Though I am always a bit surprised when it comes. Every year I believe that I'm going to avoid it somehow but Christmas time always kills me. Music and video games help keep me distracted.