Post by redheadbaker on Sept 23, 2013 10:17:04 GMT -5
Does anyone else have this?
It came up during a therapy session that while I've been feeling better lately, I regress on rainy, gloomy days. In the past, I've been "down" much more often in the winter, much more prone to bad moods and snapping at FI.
What do you do to deal with this? P.M. if more comfortable.
I don't know if you are into exercise, but last year, I forced myself to run outdoors (even after dark) all winter and did some cross country skiing and it helped immensely. Being stuck indoors really sets off my mood.
I do. It is a big reason why I will only live places where it is sunny most of the time, although that is obviously not very practical, and even in SoCal I struggle with the shorter days in the winter. Other than that I don't have much advice, working out doesn't help me much. I have heard good things about sun lamps though.
Post by StrawberryBlondie on Sept 23, 2013 10:50:36 GMT -5
I kind of do. Not so much for cloudy/gloomy (i actually love rain very much) but for snow. I just mentally can't handle everything being covered in white and bare trees for too long. Like I get angry in late March every single time it snows.
I don't know if you are into exercise, but last year, I forced myself to run outdoors (even after dark) all winter and did some cross country skiing and it helped immensely. Being stuck indoors really sets off my mood.
I stumbled upon this unexpectedly last winter too. I took up running again and prefer running outdoors. Well that little time outside in nature really helped me mentally. I have never been diagnosed with SAD, but certainly feel my mood plummet when it is dark and gloomy out. It was the first time in years I wasn't wishing away winter. I was getting out to run about 3 times a week, and it helped a lot.
I live in the south and one thing (of many) that keeps me here is I know that lack of sunlight affects my mood. I probably would end up clinically depressed living somewhere like Seattle. When it does hit, I acknowledge to myself that's what's going on, that's it's temporary and just move through it. Getting outside does help, but isn't always possible. I take Vit D sometimes, but haven't noticed if it really helps. I really take it more as a preventative.
In the winter, I go to work in the dark, get home in the dark and sit in a windowless office all day.
To combat the problem, I try to run outside on the weekends, regardless of how cod it is. I will also try to go for a lunch hour walk a couple days each week, even if it means bundling up in several layers.
This is an expensive solution, but I also find that a late January / early February vacation to somewhere warm is necessary. I find that my mood is ok in the first part of winter, as long as we have Christmas to look forward to. It's the January to March months that are hard.
I find myself noticing symptoms earlier and earlier each year, in anticipation that winter and darkness are coming.
Today is brilliantly sunny, yet I still feel down (or maybe that's because it's Monday).
I'm mobile and miss my physical keyboard!
Yeah, I get this too. I seem to be pretty sensitive to changes in the seasons. Even on ADs I find it is easier to be motivated in the summer than the winter. My body wants to hibernate in the winter I think. lol.
I have it. It's easier to manage in my current geographical location but I can't go for more than a few days to a week of gray, sunless weather. It's the reason that I have been strongly discouraged from moving to the Pacific NW (a place I LOVE in the spring/summer time.)
I cope by exercising (I exercise at least 4 times a week) and making most of my workouts be outside, even on gray days. I find that if I stay in my home, I tend to make it dark and cave like on gray, gloomy days. This increases my melancholy and leads me to slide into a blue-y spell.
Post by dutchgirl678 on Sept 23, 2013 13:48:30 GMT -5
DH gets it too. He tries to work out 4-5 times a week and that helps some. He also has a full-spectrum light at his desk that he uses for 30 minutes in the morning. And at night, he sometimes takes melatonin to get to sleep. It works wonders for him. He sleeps within 10 minutes and gets a good, restful sleep. It helps his body get on the right schedule. I heard getting extra Vitamin D helps too.