Blue Light Therapy

I hate winter and cold weather. I especially detest when it begins to get dark early. I get depressed every fall and winter. It is not possible to move to the South now. Am I weird? Does anyone else feel this way? Does anyone have suggestions about what I can do to overcome the winter blues?

You may be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder. I’ve been affected by it for decades, and it got much worse after menopause.

Seasonal Affective Disorder is treatable for most people with either light therapy or medications. Both together don’t usually work better.

Do you find that you are chipper and looking forward to spring in February when everyone else is dragged out from winter? If so, you may very well have Seasonal Affective Disorder.

SAD is not depression, although many of the symptoms are depression like. I like to think of it as a high risk factor for depression though. It comes from an earlier era when people gained weight in the fall, and holed up in their caves with little food to mostly sleep the winter away. Bears do this, they don’t really hibernate.

Ask your doctor for a referral to someone who works with Mood Disorders. Both light or drug therapies are very individual, and require some fiddling to get right.

And don’t just go buy some light online. There are very specific criteria for light spectrums to be used therapeutically. I was loaned one as an outpatient to see if it would work for me. They have come down in cost a lot, and are much smaller now so more convenient to use.

And don’t forget, starting December 22, the days are getting longer!! I better eat some mashed potatoes and have a nap, lol.

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It’s been grey and damp for so long, my spirits are low, I feel pale and sluggish, my job is good but the work is dull at the moment. I have no energy and feel low. I’m sure it is the winter blues but as I live in the UK there is no certainty the rubbish weather will end for months! What tips have you got for making life fun again?

Hi effie!
I live in Canada – where we have that going on for about five months! bleck. We have sunny days, sure – but not when it’s COLD outside. What you need is to get out, amongst people, even if it’s to the local library or the mall! Ever just felt so low and looked outside (like now) and told yourself, nothing’s going on.. It’s all the same…
Go out!
You’ll see happy people, smiling people, people enjoying themselves despite the weather – and you’ll realize you, too can feel that. You’ll see that there’s hope for you, too. If you have kids, get a babysitter! You need to be on your own, but amongst other cheery adults. Go buy yourself a drink, or lunch, a manicure, etc.
Heck, take the day OFF Work! Don’t feel guilty, laugh!
The cheeriness of people (even strangers, yes), is contagious.. trust me, I’ve been there, and glad I went out!
Try it please…
It’s worth it!

C’kins

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Any tips from anyone else who experiences this?

Winter-onset SAD is most likely caused by your body’s reaction to the lack of sunlight. Light therapy is one option for treating this type of SAD because increased sunlight can improve symptoms.

If your doctor suggests you try light therapy, you may use a specially made light box, or a light visor that you wear on your head like a cap. You will sit in front of the light box or wear the light visor for a certain length of time each day. Generally, light therapy takes about 30 minutes each day throughout the fall and winter, when you’re most likely to be depressed. If light therapy helps, you’ll continue it until enough sunlight is available, typically in the springtime. Stopping light therapy too soon can allow the symptoms to come back.

When used properly, light therapy seems to have very few side effects. However, some side effects may include eyestrain, headache, fatigue, irritability and inability to sleep (if light therapy is used too late in the day). Light therapy should be used carefully in people who have manic depressive disorders, skin that is sensitive to sunlight and/or medical conditions that make their eyes vulnerable to sunlight damage.

Tanning beds should not be used to treat SAD. The light sources in tanning beds are high in ultraviolet (UV) rays, which harm both your eyes and your skin.

Your doctor may also want you to try medicine or behavior therapy to treat your SAD. If light therapy or medicine alone doesn’t work, your doctor may want you to use them together.

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It runs in my family to get the winter blues at this time of year.
I’m 16 now and started getting them last year. All the homework doesn’t help!
I’m a really sociable person and I get on with loads of people but I really put myself down at this time of year, and begin to compare myself to others which I don’t normally do.
Any tips or trick on how to stay happy?

ps. I live in Scotland and basically everyone has them now due to the lack of sunlight!

Exercise, get outside at least an hour a day, make sure you house has the best light available and do not anticipate being depressed.

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