The change in seasons can add charm to certain places, but some people go through Winter counting down to the arrival of Spring. Even the most delicious cup of creamy hot chocolate won't cheer up somebody affected by seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression that onsets with shorter, darker days and is alleviated by the typically warmer months.
Experts think a lack of sunlight is to blame for SAD, which explains the tendency for those affected by SAD to feel a positive change in their overall mood during Spring and Summer. If you have SAD, you may notice symptoms like a lack of energy, increased appetite, daytime sleepiness, and decreased interest in your usual activities.
Missoni
Chloe
Aftershock
I have to have a natural light lamp in my office and at home.
My mother is norwegian, and father is hungarian, so the genetic disposition is there.
1I do, although i've never bothered to go to a doctor for it. I finally bought myself a "happylight" from verliux just yesterday. Also joined a gym so i could get more exercies in winter, and am setting up an exercise room at home as well.
2I want one of those lamps, but anyway I hope this is my last winter here...
3we just had our first "real" snow in Chicago yesterday. The sky was so grey and dark, I found myself getting pretty down. Luckily, it's only on the really gross winter days that my mood takes a real nose dive.
4I don't get affected because I spend a lot of time outdoors even in bad weather. However, my husband does get affected by SAD. The number of sunny days in a location were a big factor in our choice of destination when we moved earlier this year. We picked a place at elevation that gets over 300 days per year.
5I actually really love the snowy, gray days that we have a lot in Pittsburgh. Of course, when it's April and disgusting outside I'll feel differently, but for now it feels like the perfect excuse to curl up with a book and look fondly at my Christmas tree.
6I live in CA but I still go crazy with the dark. I leave for work before it gets very light and I leave after its dark so its just nonstop. I can't wait for long spring and summer nights!
7I think It does affect me.
When I get off of work its dark and the day seems to be over.
Although I hit the gym after work.
Then I am single, so I feel lonely. lol.
8i think that i'm just moody in general so i can't attribute it to the seasons at all. i wish that i could cause then maybe i wouldn't be so crazy.
9I just learned about this condition recently and I think I'll speak with my doctor about it at my next visit. The time change had a huge effect on my mood, appetite and energy level.
10I believe that I may have some degree of seasonal affective disorder. I have lived in Chicago all my life, so I know the gloom and doom of the miserable winter weather is inevitable, but I hate it so much. I get in the worst funk between November and whenever the sun decides to start coming out again on a regular basis. I try to maintain my workout routine and continue eating healthy (although it's tempting to park on the couch with hoards of comfort food!) because that helps me be not so miserable.
I would love to move to Arizona, but I'm such a baby and would hate to leave my family!
11I personally feel every symptom you mentioned during the summer, in winter and fall, I'm very happy, but during the summer I have zero energy and don't want to do anything but lay around, I get very SAD during the hot months.
12My mother-in-law has SAD and she has one of those full-spectrum bulbs to help her symptoms. I don't know if I have full-blown SAD, but the super short winter days combined with snow and cold and crappy driving conditions just really bums me out. I actually look forward to the winter solstice because it means the days are going to start getting longer. But yeah, I really hate driving to work in the dark and sometimes coming home from work in the dark too.
13yes...doc wants me to have a light and meds. have the meds, but not the light. need to though...nothing but rain and clouds in the portland area in the winter. but i do have to say..the last 3 wks have been quite sunny.
14I already have this problem and were're just getting started for the winter. I hate it. I live in Michigan and its always cold grey and drurry most of the winter. For about 5-6 months. I wish I could move to Arizona or California. Its amazing how much my body reacts differently to the changes in the weather.
15I spent 23 years in Illinois, then moved to Colorado 13 years ago. You would not believe the difference in my happiness! We have 300 days of sunny days every year! It's really a sad thing that so many people can't have so many sunny days. It makes life SO much BETTER!
16I live in Florida so it's always sunny, but I'm sure if I lived somewhere else I would suffer from it!
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