Hey, its time for all the SAD* sufferers to start to hunker down....

[triguy46]

*Seasonal Affective Disorder. I've already started getting the symptoms: Exhaustion and extended sleeping, lethargy, depression, carbohydrate craving. Shit I love winter.

[Nikia]

1. I'm alright so far

Sunday was fairly nice so I sat out front for a while. It is still light when I both get to work and come home. I'll probably be alright at least until the end of the month depending upon the weather.

[Suich]

2. I finally bought a light last year

and it has helped a lot.

:)

[triguy46]

3. Read last night that the light works best if you use it within 15 minutes...

of getting up in the AM. Also recommended outdoor exercise. And Wellbutrin.

[Suich]

4. Yeah, I use it while I have my coffee and read the paper.

Zyban helps, too!

:)

[Der Blaue Engel]

8. That's cuz Zyban is Wellbutrin

:)

(Been on the W for nine years now. Joy.)

[TrogL]

27. I use it all day.. Wellbutrin gives me seizures

[MountainLaurel]

6. Was this something you bought from the Web

Or did you need a special one from a medical supplier?

[TrogL]

28. I got mine from a medical supply house

You have to get the right bulb otherwise it's just an over-priced desk lamp.

[txwhitedove]

5. Yep, that's me. Already affected by unusual rainy summer here.

[Der Blaue Engel]

7. Yes, it's hit me hard already

Crap. Crap. Crap. x(

[bridgit]

9. welcome to: The High Holidays...

plenty of time to feel like shit!!

[hickman]

10. For years I didn't know what it was.

It usually starts about early may and lasts till october. Something about the relentless light and heat makes me want to crawl into a closet and hibernate. As soon as the temp drops below 60 I snap awake and have energy again. It sucks.

[Redstone]

11. Y'all need to buy a "Happylight" from Verilux.

Look it up on the Web to find a source. A lightbox absolutely CAN help you deal with SAD.

I have NO connection with that company, other than as a satisfied customer.


Redstone

[Oeditpus Rex]

12. Or these guys

http://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com/

They sell UltraLux and BlueMax, and they explain very well what to look for in a full-spectrum lamp and other types of SAD lamps, including light boxes and dawn simulators.



—another satisfied customer

[Redstone]

19. Hey, thanks; I'm always looking for new sources; I also use the dalyligh-spectrum bulbs

in my photography studio (they run MUCH cooler than tungsten lights).

Have you made any new models lately?

Redstone

[Oeditpus Rex]

26. I still haven't finished the '65 El Camino

that I started months ago, after I finished the P-51. I had to modify the front end because it rode too high, but then the hood hit the air cleaner when closed.

The easy way around that would be to display it with the hood up. I think I could fabricate hinges from a coupla safety pins so it'd look right. But it wouldn't be right, y'know?

[progressoid]

13. Yup.

Just started the Wellburtrin again.

No insurance so no drugs last year. Twas miserable.

[Sanity Claws]

14. So sorry to hear

I moved from Seattle because I could not face another winter of gloom and its affect on my mood. People there are already getting ready for the storms that happen in November. I'm so glad to be out of that.
Where are you located? Any chance you can move?

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

15. Its hit me too.

HARD. and I hate it. I am just so depressed about everything. FOR NOTHING.

[MissMillie]

16. I usually end up w/ a mild case every year

I find that regular exercise is a big boost.

And also spending time w/ people who love you.

[SoxFan]

17. I've got reverse SAD

For whatever reason, my disposition improves as fall and winter set in. I'm mopey and ornery during July and August, but fine in November. Go figure.

[cobalt1999]

18. One of the reasons I moved back to Florida

I spent a few years living & working in Ohio, I had no idea I suffered from SAD until the first winter. I thought I was going nuts. Life is much better back in Florida.

[0rganism]

20. light box == your new best friend

Get a nice big one. Plug it into one of those neat digital timers, set to turn on along with your alarm clock and stay on while you get out of bed for a quick round of stretching and exercises.

[WolverineDG]

21. kicking

so I can find this again after work. :)
dg

[SteppingRazor]

22. I used to get it a bit when I lived in Colorado and Missouri. But I don't anymore.

I definitely didn't have a serious case -- just a months-long case of the blues from Dec.-Feb.

But then I moved to Florida. :party:

[Deep13]

23. How is that different than other times of the year?

:shrug:

[hedgehog]

24. Google Vitamin D, depression and SAD

Works for me!

[BarenakedLady]

25. Ahhh that explains a few things

You would think I would expect it by now.

[Inchworm]

31. psst

:hi:

[lizziegrace]

29. Same here

This year more than ever. I'm puttting heavy, insulated coverings over most of the windows. It will be difficult to open them so I'll be living in a cave most of the winter. I will put in the full-spectrum light bulbs and burn every light in the house when I'm home. I'm not looking forward to it.

Going to a tanning salon seems to help me a bit. Maybe it's the warmth and not so much the light.

We'll prop each other up, okay?

:hug:

[deucemagnet]

30. I got SAD once -- during a particularly dreary Buffalo winter.

I was a grad student at the time, and I couldn't afford an expensive lightbox, but I used my fancy edjumacatin' to calculate how much of a light dose I needed, and I found that I could get the needed dose with two shop lamps from Home Depot equipped with flood lights. It worked wonders.