S.A.D - Seasonal Affective Disorder

[Yads]

Get one of those lights for SAD.

[IggyWH]

[ QUOTE ]
3- she just kinda accepts that winter will be less awesome.

[/ QUOTE ]

IMO, this is all you can really do. Don't harp on it or else it'll bring you down even more. Try to be as active and social as you possibly can.

It's almost painful to get myself motivated at times to go out on the weekends during the winter. Once you do it though, you feel much better and it gets easier the more you do it.

I definitely have SAD, which is definitely a big reason why I'm moving to San Diego. I'm not sure I can make it through another Pittsburgh winter without driving myself insane.

[KRANTZ]

dean,

clean your apartment. spend some money on some decorative stuff/more lights. i guarantee you you will be at least a little bit happier when everything is clean, comfortable and a bit homier.

[Klompy]

Going to a tanning bed usualy cheers me up.

[PartyGirlUK]

Mum - I never knew you posted on 2p2 under the 'Krantz' alias [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I was thinking of getting a cat. Not specifically for S.A.D but for general happiness. Dog would be good but I cant afford the time in my first year likely. Thoughts?

[tsearcher]

Like everyone else says, get those lights. Always go outside some time during the day. If you live or work in the city, this is real easy to do no matter what the weather. If it's real bad out, just hop from store to store. And go out at night too. The streets are lit up real nice.

If you are stuck in the suburbs this will be a little tougher. But you still should be able to step out of the office once in a while, like the smokers do. Every little bit of sunshine on the skin helps.

Also, get some good cold weather gear and force your self to spend the weekends outside. There's skating in the city and if enough snow skiing. Also there is tons of stuff to do up in WI.

One more thing, don't close your shades. Let the sun wake you up in the morning.

Hope that helps. It works for me.

[TheGrasshopper]

I would encourage you to buy travel magazines and plan trips that you won't take. I probably suffer a little from that and took that advice and it made the winter better.

[PartyGirlUK]

Unf for my first year Im gonna be working so hard that I wont have time for any fun or travel or life.

[Skipbidder]

I'm already looking at the available data for effectiveness of light therapy (for a friend). There is a recent study comparing SSRIs (the drug class that includes Prozac) to light therapy, which shows similar effectiveness between the two. I haven't nitpicked the study yet. I'll keep this thread bookmarked. After I finish the research, I'll post again here.

[PartyGirlUK]

Presumably even if you use one the other has benefit......