Folks who get Seasonal Affective Disorder

[NongreasySweatproof]

Do any of y'all get S.A.D? I'm at a mid-latitude location in the U.S. with not-too-particularly severe winters, yet I hear people yammering about this S.A.D. thing. Most of the United States is at a low enough latitude that we get at least a few hours of daylight even in the dead of winter. The bleakest part of our country is probably the Great Lakes region in late fall and early winter (combination of cloudcover with somewhat higher latitude), and I don't live there. On the whole, the U.S. has things real good when it comes to climate. What do all you people up in places like Edmonton and Calgary think of people from places like Northern California or Virginia biotching about the weather and lack of sun? I've even heard about somebody shelling out a couple hundred dollars for a "lightbox." Is it even possible to get S.A.D. down here, or are people just latching onto a term? It's like once the media identified this effect, everyone suddenly has it. Is the sun setting before 3 PM these days in Etown?

 

[snapcat]

SAD can play a part of many people's lives in the United States. Particularly, those people confined to their home because of age or illness, can be susceptible. Combined with depression, SAD can be a profound complication in someone's life. Add cold temperatures ... your body is never warm, take away the sunshine, and combine that with existing problems of solitude and depression, and it can be a dangerous thing.

 

[NongreasySweatproof]

This suggests that perhaps SAD is in part a societal/sociological problem, and not a purely psychological condition. I wonder whether in bleaker places, such as Canada, Scandinavia, and northern Russia, SAD prevalence is actually lower than in the U.S., because of stronger family ties, closer friendships, and cultures that are less coddling and less about "self esteem" and "me-first." It's sad what we do to old, or housebound people in this country, but I also know of people in the prime of their life who claim to get SAD.

 

[dw8038r2]

My cousin's son had this in his early teens. It took ages to figure out why he became a totally different, unpleasant person during the winter. I was skeptical, but exposure to more light during the darker Chicago months really did affect his entire personality. I think there really is something to it.

 

[luminum]

When i first learned about it, I thought it was a joke because my psych teacher was saying how during the winter people get seasonal affective disorder or that they get S.A.D. or the punchline being that they get 'sad'. haha.

I guess it's real, but I don't really believe this disorder so much since I chalk it up to being the same as feeling gloomy on a dark and rainy day, only spread out through 3 or 4 months because of the cold and the lack of cheerful colors (other than disgusting blaring christmas lights).

 

[JayHew]

Yeah, SAD is real. The sun is necessary for production of seratonin in the brain and sunlight coming through the eyes activates the reticular activating system of the brain, increasing the production of seratonin. Decreased production has a depressing affect on the mood. Some people are very sensitive to the amount of light encountered and lessen of the days in winter can cause some to become depressed and irritable.

Another reason those in northern latitudes have carb cravings much higher in the winter than in the summer. High carb intakes increases the release of seratonin.

 

[voyons]

Being in Calgary, light is at a premium during the winter months. I don't suffer from SAD but I definitely am a little extra tired and so I have started to use a tanning bed to give me that boost of Vitamin D. It is brutal driving to work in the dark and leaving work being dark. We are still a week and a half from the shortest day of the year.

 

[jordyy]

I guess it's real, but I don't really believe this disorder so much since I chalk it up to being the same as feeling gloomy on a dark and rainy day, only spread out through 3 or 4 months because of the cold and the lack of cheerful colors (other than disgusting blaring christmas lights).

You think being gloomy for 3 or 4 months straight doesn't qualify as a disorder? The reason it affects Americans is because most people go to work until 5 or 6, and when they get out the sun has already set. So, even though there is sunlight for many hours, they don't get a chance to be in it.

 

[vixca]

TRUST ME!, SAD is a real problem. I'm sitting here right now under a set of full spectrum lights, which help me deal with the lack of light in the winter. It's not just a matter of LESS light , as much as a matter of less INTENSE light which happens in the winter time. (the angle that the light hits the earth due to the relative position of the earth to the sun as it moves) It's a matter of retinal stimulation by the light and the production of melatonin that controls the situation. I have been dealing with this for about 30 years now. Since the medical community has realized that there is a physical cause for the problem, and not just a psychological or emotional basis, it's been a bit easier. Just knowing that I'm not crazy and that things will improve in the spring makes it easier to deal with, but trying to convince the rest of the world (and sometimes those of us that suffer from it) that the "winter blues" is a physical problem, like diabetes or high blood pressure and not a personal weakness, takes a lot of work. You can't just tell me to "buck up, and get over it" any more than you can tell someone to "get over" their cancer or heart disease. Sometimes anti-depressants help in the acute phase of the disease, but not always. More often than not, it's a matter of intense light and the passage of time (until spring) that really helps.

 

[luminum]

You think being gloomy for 3 or 4 months straight doesn't qualify as a disorder? The reason it affects Americans is because most people go to work until 5 or 6, and when they get out the sun has already set. So, even though there is sunlight for many hours, they don't get a chance to be in it.

You know, I did forget about the seratonin levels and the vitamin e.

But really, I don't get the impression that people are sad all the time during the winter, but of course, that doesn't mean that everyone has SAD.

So I recant the idea of my previous statement. SAD is valid, and I may have it, but I always figured that my lighter periods refuted any consideration of continuous depression. That may not be the case, though or I might not even have SAD.

But last year, due to a lot of things, it was all the time. I'd go to class, come back and sleep till 7, eat, do schoolwork, and sleep till morning.

Anyway, now that I'm done rambling, I'm sorry if I offended anyone. I just don't know where my mind is today.

 

[snapcat]

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