BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Stress Management how do you handle S.A.D.....

Does anyone know any details about seasonal affective disorder?

my friend Kelly, we think is suffering S.A.D since she was a kid, and in the last few years its got a little bit better.

feeling down in the winter months, wanting to be alone, avoiding socialising as much as possible its not nice at all

but as soon as spring and summer arrive, she feels completely at ease with herself and generally upbeat, just enjoying life again,

do you think this is S.A.D and if so, got any tips how she overcome the symptoms?

cheers,

Roberta2008

I get that, too. Take up an outdoor sport, like walking or skiing, to get some sun. Take vit.D. A friend of mine swears by the lamps, can't think of the exact name, but I haven't tried them.

Try hard to stick to a healthy diet. SAD has you craving carbs. I tend to put on ten pounds before I regain control, each year.

Since I live in Alaska, I can tell you a good bit about S.A.D.
It affects all of us here badly in the winter. You crave carbs, you are always tired, etc. etc. The nurse at the clinic recommends that you get alot of vitamin D in your diets in the wintertime. Milk, cheese, etc.
Where I am located, it is almost always overcast with no sun and rainy most of the year, so it affects us here even more so.
It's as if you wish to hibernate. That's how it feels I can't tell you how much in the past month, I have taken several naps during the day and night because I can't stop being tired. And it's funny at the store, because everyone is buying lots of chocolate or candy. You can tell when it happens. And it does keep you from socializing to an extent because of the drop in energy that you get from it. But once spring rolls back around, all of us bounce back and have more energy than ever. That's why I kind of dread when winter gets here. I love the snow and I don't mind the reduced hours of daylight, but this S.A.D. thing drives me crazy. I hope that this information will help you.

My friend who visits Finland says that everyone there swears by full-spectrum light bulbs. Most indoor lights have only part of the spectrum of light found in the sun. Full spectrum lights have most of the light found in sun. If you get just one, you can put it in the lamp where you sit the most in the evening.

I have it too. I hate winter, so to force myself outside I try to plant flowers such as witch hazel and hellebore which are winter bloomers. If I don't go out, I don't see them. I love seeing flowers bloom too much to miss it. I also have a greenhouse and lots of windows in my office which faces south.

Sheri

Do you have warm winters then? Or do these flower in snowy damp areas?

I bought my first FS light bulbs a couple of weeks ago. I installed one in my desk lamp, to shine on me during my evening computer routine (email, Bella, writing, etc.) In two weeks, I've seen the urge to hibernate decrease, and I'm no longer sleeping 12 to 14 hours on days I don't have an alarm set for morning obligations. I'm still easily exhausted, craving carbs, and feeling pretty "blah" and unmotivated. But it's only been a couple of weeks, and this experiment started pretty late in the winter.

I just wanted to throw in my FS light experience. I intend to use them all next winter, and more of them. (I detest yellowish lights, anyway, so these are more aesthetically pleasing!)