S.A.D. and light boxes

[crazylegs]

Recently I've been feeling quite down, everything in life seems to be tainted and I struggle to get enthusiastic about anything. I've also found it really difficult to get out of bed in a morning - some nights I have been to bed about 2100 and still be struggling to get up at 0830 the next morning.

So I went online to do some research and found that I am experiencing most of the symptoms detailed on here: www.sada.org.uk - My family also recalled that I have been feeling similar at this time of year for at least the last two years as well.

I'm not normally one to complain just because I'm feeling a bit down but it's starting to affect my work, so I thought I'd be proactive and go and see my GP. She suggested that it might be seasonal and that I should consider a light box to see if that had any effect. I checked with my health insurance and they won't cover it despite it being a genuine medical device so I wanted to see if anybody had tried one of these, and if they had any advice where I could source it from. I've found one that's £36 per month so it might be worth giving it a try.

I'm normally just the "pull yourself together and get on with it" type and my reservation is that S.A.D. has been quite widely publicised and I want to be sure I haven't just taken all the symptoms of feeling a bit down and self diagnosed myself with something just because I've heard of it.

So does anybody else suffer? Does it even exist or is it just a media spun illness that makes a good story?

[lanciachris]

My uninformed opinion says its the media spin one.

[dern]

I know exactly how you feel but don't know if I simply can't abide winter which is a plausible enough explanation but may well have a physiological trigger that you can fool. Get a light box for a month and see how if works and the decide whether or not to buy one.

I keep meaning to have a go too but never seem to get around to it.

Please let us know if it makes a difference.

Good luck,

Mark

[catretriever]

I don't think it's spin at all, I think we all suffer from this to greater or lesser degree. Do the lightbox suppliers suggest how long it should be before you feel a benefit? It it's not too long then it has to be worth a go for a few quid IMHO.
Depression Sucks!

[Incorrigible]

Or it could be just because it's post Christmas

I'm affected in a similar way, my solution is to go skiing somehting to look forward to after Chrimbo, and when you get back spring is on it's way

[bigandclever]

Should cost you about 40quid a month to rent a box. You should feel a benefit (if you're going to) within a few days, but not everyone does (think it's put at 75% do, but no idea if that's a scientific measure). I can recommend a place in Southport that are very helpful.

But, you do have to sit in front of it for a few hours every day, which could get to be a bind. And it didn't work for me either. But the whole thing of recognising there is a problem and wanting to do something about it is a great step in the right direction.

Quite frankly, even if the whole thing has no basis in fact, if you think there is a problem and you can perceive a benefit from a 'new-age' treatment (god, I hate that phrase), whether it's sittig in front of an expensive lightbulb, or necking StJohnsWort, or reflexology, then try it.

[Wacky Racer]

Let's face it, most people have been depressed at some time in their life to various degrees, often through no fault of their own, bereavement, divorce, money worries, health scares, it is very very important to realise your not alone, I was reading yesterday that Robbie Williams suffers badly from depression, I mean what the hell's he got to worry about????, girls falling at his feet and more money than he knows what to do with....

No, Winter stinks in the UK, damp, frosty days, dark at 4pm, roll on Summer I say......

[Plotloss]

I thought this was a made up way of having 6 months on the sick...

[Ding]

I know someone who has this and he always sits in the window and takes a walk during daylight hours to get as much natural light as possible. Since he started this regime he has been considerably less depressed.

Elizabeth

[chim_girl]

lanciachris said:

My uninformed opinion says its the media spin one.

<sigh>

Crazylegs, I have a disease that, amongst other things, results in periods of chronic fatigue from time to time, the winter months can be especially hard for me. I found a bodyclock light helped me enormously, basically it simulates a sunset and sunrise at a time you specify. The sunrise starts while you're still sleeping, about half an hour before the audible alarm goes. This means that waking up isn't quite such a shock to the body, after a week or so I found I was actually awake a couple of minutes before the audible alarm went off. The biggest benefit was that it stopped me feeling like I was trying to drag myself back to consciousness first thing in the morning. Cost £80, available from Boots.

If you're thinking about a lightbox, can't tell you if they're any good or not, but Boots have one in stock for around £130. They also offer a 28 day return, if you find it is 'unsatisfactory'.

As someone else suggested, St John's Wort can help too.

[chim_knee]

crazylegs - YHM.

But also check out this.

[chim_girl]

Plotloss said:

I thought this was a made up way of having 6 months on the sick...

The embarrassing thing is, I thought exactly the same about people with chronic fatigue/ME type conditions. Until I experienced crippling tiredness for myself.

Jo - a confirmed workaholic.

[GregE240]

chim_girl said:

As someone else suggested, St John's Wort can help too.

Oooh.....caveat emptor on that.....

[Plotloss]

Indeed, natural prozac is still prozac...

[chim_girl]

GregE240 said:

Oooh.....caveat emptor on that.....

Never tried it, but all the stuff I've read said it can be useful if you don't take it for too long.

Also, for me, it isn't Prozac I need, it's speed!

[Mrs Fish]

chim_girl said:

Also, for me, it isn't Prozac I need, it's speed!

and a bobble hat

[chim_girl]

Mrs Fish said:

and a bobble hat

LMFAO

[cosmoschick]

crazylegs said:

Recently I've been feeling quite down?

You're not alone - I do too. But then I've been feeling ill for a few weeks now and the GP is carrying out all sorts of tests. Scary days.

One of the things that's guaranteed to cheer me up is going out for a long drive in the Tiv but I'm in too much pain at the moment to handle its stiff clutch and no PAS

I don't know what the answer is* but I do hope you feel better soon These bleak cold winter days don't help that's for sure. I need warmth!

Edited to add: *A bl**dy good cry helps from time to time!

>> Edited by cosmoschick on Thursday 27th January 12:41

[titiany]

I have to say I tend to get down in the winter months. Not to the point of dragging myself to the docs, or staying in bed all day, but I do find it hard to get motivated and go outside.

I wouldn't bother with a light box. I had a tip from a friend with the same problem. A heat lamp does the trick for me - you'd be surprised just how effective shutting your eyes and shoving your face in a lamp is!

The light (you know, the red colour you get when you shut your eyes) and the heat combined does cheer me up. Also - I know it sounds stupid - falsely smiling helps.

The light, heat and fake smiling does enough for me to get happy and be proactive for the day! I would never touch drugs to treat it - not even herbal ones - in a million years. My theory is that it only adds to the problem.

[Psychobert]

Light therapy does work reasonably well, its all to do with the levels of Melatonin , a hormone regulated by the amount of light the body receives, which in turn regulates sleep patterns. Light therapy is certainly not the only way to treat depression, but SAD in particular can be moderated by it.

Take a look at www.lumie.com for more information.