Are you affected by S.A.D.?

The following information is from the Mayo Clinic website. Like many people, you may develop cabin fever during the winter months. Or you may find yourself eating more or sleeping more when the temperature drops and darkness falls earlier. While those are common and normal reactions to the changing seasons, people with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) experience a much more serious reaction when summer shifts to fall and on to winter. With seasonal affective disorder, fall's short days and long nights may trigger feelings of depression, lethargy, fatigue and other problems. Don't brush this off as simply a case of the "winter blues" that you have to tough out on your own. Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression, and it can severely impair your daily life. That said, treatment -- which may include light box therapy -- can help you successfully manage seasonal affective disorder. You don't have to dread the dawning of each fall or winter. Signs and symptoms Seasonal affective disorder is a cyclic, seasonal condition. This means that signs and symptoms usually come back and go away at the same times every year. Usually, seasonal affective disorder symptoms appear during late fall or early winter and go away during the warmer, sunnier days of spring and summer. But some people have the opposite pattern, developing seasonal affective disorder with the onset of spring or summer. In either case, problems may start out mild and become more severe as the season progresses. Fall and winter SAD (winter depression) Symptoms of winter-onset seasonal affective disorder include: Depression Hopelessness Anxiety Loss of energy Social withdrawal Oversleeping Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates Weight gain Difficulty concentrating and processing information There are treatments available for this disorder including light therapy and medications for depression. I mainly deal with this issue by trying to get outside some during the daylights hours. I also try to stay busy in the evenings. I have some advantage in that I work shift work and usually work inside under brighter lighting and I have some time off during the daylight hours. More information is available on this condition at: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder/DS00195/DSECTION=1 Are you affected by this unique problem? Let us know how you deal with it. Life is great, Rick

Thanks for an interesting post Rick. I do not suffer from SAD and thankful that I don't, but I do know it is a serious problem for some people. If you are one of our MARCHers that suffer from this, please get the help you need. I am sure it is miserable to have this problem. Barbara

Rick, your SAD post made me sad! I deal with this every year too. Its an awful feeling. It usually hits me the last week in August, almost like.. ok fall is here, no more summer and then it hits again in October when it starts getting dark earlier and its always cold. I haven't tried medication for it, but light therapy helps! I bought "day light" lighbulbs for my lamp at work and for some at home. When I'm bummed out I turn the light on, close my eyes and let my mind wonder to thoughts of sun and ocean I get through the winter by tanning once a week (mid jan - spring) those bulbs make you feel like a million bucks when you have SAD! do your bright lights at work help?

I can sure relate to most of what you have said. I haven't tried the light therapy, but I try to get out when the sun is out and get some natural light. Take, Care, Rick