Seasonal Affective Disorder

Hi - while I am fairly new to this aspect of my disorder , it is true that when I first came to Santa Fe here in New Mexico, I wasn't really prepared at all for the winter season ...

Having been in FL for 22 yrs ... well, I loved the spring, summer and fall, but winter hit hard ... and I hid ... and I havn't really adjusted back to being able to enjoy the other seasons as I first did ... my MS , et. al. , did not stop me from getting out to museums, concerts in the park , etc .... it was the cold, the snow and then my inability to cope ....

Light therapy sounds great .. they have so many alternative med. facilities here that it would be worth a try, but the costs for some of us is not conducive ...

What else can people , like me, who shut down , do ??? Learning new coping methods , yes, I am open to that and have my work cut out for me ... when you are alone , there isn't anyone to help, ask you out , drive you places , or anything like that ... so what to do ....

I am open to other choices and this is a subject I will be braoching with my therapist , as we approach that time ... of course I am not expecting miracles , as I am still in avoidance of "getting out there" ... mostly it worries of money, will I be accepted in the circles of that "crowd" of normal folk , who see me , my smile and my warmth , then see my cane and just kinda back off ...

Which is what really happens , y'know ? So, rejection is a problem ... weather is an inhibitor as it doesn't help with my FMS ... and so I will talk about it in therapy .. and just wondering about others who struggle with this , what do you do ?? agserra

I dread the onset of winter too. I agree, Fall quarter isn't bad because of all the distractions, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fall activities. After the Holidays is when the trouble begins. I have suggested it would be better if Christmas was January 25, to kind of space things out. I usually don't have SAD until February. We see green grass on TV and feel jipped. We live in North Dakota, one of the last to get green in Spring. This year, we're going on our cruise at the beginning of Feb. instead of the end, like we did last year. Last year, we didn't have a break from the severe cold in Feb, and I got SAD real bad a week before our cruise, and thus didn't enjoy the vacation like I should have.

Once in my life, I spent the entire winter in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas with my parents, who show bird. That following summer, I felt the best I have ever felt. I think that proves that what I have is SAD. And I didn't know about Saint John's Wort back then either.

About a month and a half ago, I read in Popular Science that they're in the process of approving a 50 year old antibiotic used for TB for the treatment of depression. I am anxiously awating more on this subject. If anyone hears anything, please let me know.

One final comment, I feel lmuch better when we have mild spells during winter. I don't know if it's the lack of light so much, but my mood is definately affected by the outside temperature.

I have lived in New Jersey my whole life and being that I have depression due to ailments  i've struggled with..come the time the leaves start to change and fall although it's beautiful it only reminds me that soon it will  be dark earlier,colder and everything just goes into hybernation including myself.I too need alot of light,and it wasn't till we had a week of rain  I realized I felt like doing nothing.Thank god my boyfriend who lives in England will be here over the Thanksgiving holiday for that will be a great distraction..and I have no Idea how he lives in such a rainy dark atmosphere day after day for I would never make it there,but as he says if you know nothing else you don't notice it.I would love to hear how your light therepy research helps you,for I would love to try it myself!

                                 Many thanks,

                                      Jennifer

Hi all,

I am going to be writing more about this topic, including ways to deal with it like exercise. That's a good double-barreled way to treat SAD.

Losing half of your year to depression is no good!