Re: SAD

[Guest guest]

I have not been diagnosed, either.. but I would bet money that I have

it..

I feel just drained and totally depressed.

>

> I have never been diagnosed with SAD, but believe that I do have it.

If it

> is cloudy, raining I get depressed, tired and unmotivated. I told my

> husband that if he ever gets transferrd to the NW, I am NOT going

with him.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Both my husband and I suffer from SAD and had one particularly hard time over a

year

ago when it rained for many days here in Dallas in late fall, and we were

extremely

effected. I was so frantic, I was looking for sunshine in any area within

reasonable driving

distance, but there was a huge blanket of rain all through the area and the

forecast was

grim for many days. We bought a " light box " at Lights Fantastic here in Dallas

and it

helped. We took turns using it on the table for 30 minutes while we had a meal

or worked

on our computers. There are many varieties of light boxes and you can research

them on

the Internet. The light spectrum is supposed to mimic natural light. All I know

is that it

improved my mood and I felt better.

It's important to get outdoor sunlight, not necessarily direct, but just outside

light, for

well being. We are inside so much. We need it for mood and directly on our skin

to get

Vit D (there are a lot of opinions out there about how much time you need in the

sun per

week). I just had a Vit D test done and it was incredibly low, way below the

bottom of the

range. I suspected this for years, due to working for days on end inside my

house in our

home office, and then from being sick for so long and not getting outside

enough. I've

really got to get outside now, on a daily basis, and let the sun reach my skin

for 20

minutes a day to create the Vit D naturally. I also need a supplement, I'm so

low. We're

just lucky we're here in TX and not Seattle! We can get good quantities even in

winter

months down here. The summer becomes a challenge for me, however, since I have

gotten up so late for so many years. I'm going to try to work my hours around so

that I

can sit outside in the morning before it's 90! The heat is just brutal on me.

I watched a PBS pledge drive a few years ago, and there was a special program

featuring

an RN who had written a book on how we all need natural sunlight and we're

inside too

much. She listed the relative number of " luxes " in full sunshine, a cloudy day,

and a rainy

day. It varied from something like 100,000 units down to 1,000. The worst,

however, was

staying inside, where the number dropped to 50! She suggested that folks in

offices get

together and buy light boxes to share throughout the day. She also urged workers

prone

to SAD to demand sitting at desks right next to windows.

We are greatly effected by not getting light outdoors, and you might consider

getting a

light box and finding a way, any way, to get 20-30 minutes of natural light

outside on

breaks for lunch or any other time. Perhaps your employer could be made to

understand

that you need this for your health and let you go outside for 10-15 minutes

twice a day,

if you can't get outside over lunch. Even natural light outside on a cloudy day

or rainy day

is better than not getting any at all.

There is a lot of information on SAD on the Internet and how to combat it. Also

talk to

your doctor about how you feel. The light box worked for me and my husband. No

way to

know if it will work for you until you try

it.

Sara

>

> Does anyone else seem to suffer from " SAD " Symtoms during the winter

> months?

>

> I hate that I wake up in the dark and come home in the dark.. I would

> rather work for 2 hours in the morning in the dark and have some light

> when I get home!!!

>

> Just wondering - and if so.. what do you do for it?

>

[Guest guest]

the other problem for me in the winter is less hours per day of light....since i get up late - 8 or 830 and it gets dark so early 530 or so now...i am not getting as many hours of light as i get in summer spring and fall...my doctor is encouraging me to go to bed earlier and get up earlier for my SAD, but easier said than done

steph

Re: SAD

Both my husband and I suffer from SAD and had one particularly hard time over a year ago when it rained for many days here in Dallas in late fall, and we were extremely effected. I was so frantic, I was looking for sunshine in any area within reasonable driving distance, but there was a huge blanket of rain all through the area and the forecast was grim for many days. We bought a "light box" at Lights Fantastic here in Dallas and it helped. We took turns using it on the table for 30 minutes while we had a meal or worked on our computers. There are many varieties of light boxes and you can research them on the Internet. The light spectrum is supposed to mimic natural light. All I know is that it improved my mood and I felt better.

It's important to get outdoor sunlight, not necessarily direct, but just outside light, for well being. We are inside so much. We need it for mood and directly on our skin to get Vit D (there are a lot of opinions out there about how much time you need in the sun per week). I just had a Vit D test done and it was incredibly low, way below the bottom of the range. I suspected this for years, due to working for days on end inside my house in our home office, and then from being sick for so long and not getting outside enough. I've really got to get outside now, on a daily basis, and let the sun reach my skin for 20 minutes a day to create the Vit D naturally. I also need a supplement, I'm so low. We're just lucky we're here in TX and not Seattle! We can get good quantities even in winter months down here. The summer becomes a challenge for me, however, since I have gotten up so late for so many years. I'm going to try to work my hours around so that I can sit outside in the morning before it's 90! The heat is just brutal on me.

I watched a PBS pledge drive a few years ago, and there was a special program featuring an RN who had written a book on how we all need natural sunlight and we're inside too much. She listed the relative number of "luxes" in full sunshine, a cloudy day, and a rainy day. It varied from something like 100,000 units down to 1,000. The worst, however, was staying inside, where the number dropped to 50! She suggested that folks in offices get together and buy light boxes to share throughout the day. She also urged workers prone to SAD to demand sitting at desks right next to windows.

We are greatly effected by not getting light outdoors, and you might consider getting a light box and finding a way, any way, to get 20-30 minutes of natural light outside on breaks for lunch or any other time. Perhaps your employer could be made to understand that you need this for your health and let you go outside for 10-15 minutes twice a day, if you can't get outside over lunch. Even natural light outside on a cloudy day or rainy day is better than not getting any at all.

There is a lot of information on SAD on the Internet and how to combat it. Also talk to your doctor about how you feel. The light box worked for me and my husband. No way to know if it will work for you until you try it.

Sara

>

> Does anyone else seem to suffer from "SAD" Symtoms during the winter > months?

> > I hate that I wake up in the dark and come home in the dark.. I would > rather work for 2 hours in the morning in the dark and have some light > when I get home!!!

> > Just wondering - and if so.. what do you do for it?

>

------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

Does anyone else seem to suffer from "SAD" Symtoms during the winter months?I hate that I wake up in the dark and come home in the dark.. I would rather work for 2 hours in the morning in the dark and have some light when I get home!!!Just wondering - and if so.. what do you do for it?

I was diagnosed with SAD before I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, then Hashi's. I use a 10,000 Lux light for a half hour every morning during breakfast. I didn't need it in Houston, but now that I'm back in France, where winters are gray and dreary, I use it daily. Without it, I'm irritable, tired, just plain out-of-sorts. I also up my vitamin D to 2,000 units in the winter.

Fibrojay .

Make your life easier with all your friends, email, and favorite sites in one place. Try it now.

[Guest guest]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder

Note: for light therapy, you really want to use it before noon. If used too late in the day, you might not be able to sleep. There now are desk lights than are on a rheostat and can be used for light therapy until noon, then turned down to a regular light for the rest of the day. Great for those of us who spend time at the computer.

Fibrojay

Does anyone else seem to suffer from "SAD" Symtoms during the winter months?I hate that I wake up in the dark and come home in the dark.. I would rather work for 2 hours in the morning in the dark and have some light when I get home!!!Just wondering - and if so.. what do you do for it?

I was diagnosed with SAD before I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, then Hashi's. I use a 10,000 Lux light for a half hour every morning during breakfast. I didn't need it in Houston, but now that I'm back in France, where winters are gray and dreary, I use it daily. Without it, I'm irritable, tired, just plain out-of-sorts. I also up my vitamin D to 2,000 units in the winter.

Fibrojay .

Make your life easier with all your friends, email, and favorite sites in one place. Try it now. Make your life easier with all your friends, email, and favorite sites in one place. Try it now.

[Guest guest]

Around 20% of Irish people are affected by SAD, according to a survey conducted in 2007.

And the number is apparently higher for those of us of Scandinavian origin.

In Sweden now, they have bright lights in nursery schools and in old-age homes, where residents don't get out much. Last study I saw said that for the elderly, the prescription of anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs and painkillers was "halved" with the additional of bright day lights in common rooms.

Fibrojay

Make your life easier with all your friends, email, and favorite sites in one place. Try it now.

[Guest guest]

Fibrojay - thanks for the link.

Interesting: Around 20% of Irish people are affected by SAD, according

to a survey conducted in 2007.

I'm pretty darn irish!!! LOL

Figures.. add that to my list of issues..

I'm going to look into getting one of those lights.

[Guest guest]

I've ordered a light box.. might as well see what it can do!

WOO WOO