[VickyRN]

I'm originally from the midwest, from an area that had persistently cold and overcast winters. I LOVE living here in sunny eastern North Carolina. Januarys generally are dreary and rainy, but the rest of the months (to me) are fine. Some people even in this region suffer from SAD... I had a very good friend who battled terrible depression in the winters and eventually moved to Florida.

[Angel2004]

Oh yes! This was my story. I am from Corvallis, Oregon. I had to leave because of the seasonal stuff. It took me a few years to really believe that it was happening. I moved to northern California (in a semi wet but way more sunny area). I am so happy, I don't have to deal with anti-depressants any more. I have energy and life! I felt so much better when I moved because I realized all that stuff was not my fault. Happy days are here again. I may even move further south one day! You should be thrilled to know that there is a solution!
Angel

Originally Posted by mjlrn97

Do people who live in sunny parts of the country have fewer problems with seasonal affective disorder than those who live in northern climes?

The reason I'm asking is, my family and I are considering moving south in a couple of years (maybe even sooner), and the biggest consideration in this whole process is my problem with winter depression. Actually, it begins in the fall and lasts all the way until April or May or whenever sun and warmth finally make their return to soggy, soppy Western Oregon. Every year it's gotten worse, and this last year was absolutely disastrous........I'd lost 40 pounds, was exercising, and felt better than I had in 15 years, then the blues hit me in September and I completely lost control. The depression itself has been fairly mild, but insidious, as I gained back every pound I'd lost, and they brought friends, 20 of them to be exact. I didn't even realize what was wrong until recently, when it all fell into place as I began to emerge from the fog..........now I know, and I've got to do something about it.

So I'm wondering if people who live where it's sunny and warm most of the time generally do better with this condition. I can't keep upping my antidepressant dose......I'm already at the outer edges of safety with the med I'm on, and I don't think pills are enough to do the whole job anyway. I need to SOLVE this problem, because the yo-yo-ing on the weight is devastating to my health, and now that it's warmer I have no problem keeping my intake at a decent level---no more compulsion to scarf down every single carbohydrate I can find, no need to gobble sweets like there's no tomorrow. (I've lost 15 pounds without even trying hard!)

And it's not just food and weight issues. I get lazy and unmotivated at work, and when I'm home all I do is spend time on the computer instead of working in the yard, cleaning house, or spending good quality time with my family. I feel like all the life has been sucked out of me.......and then when the sun returns, I'm full of energy and fun again.

There's got to be something better than living like this, and until we do make the decision to move, there's probably another couple of winters to get through. I'm going to do more research, but I'd like some anecdotal evidence too if you can provide some.........I'm skeptical about the so-called geographical cure for ANYTHING, but I do want to hear from those of you who live, or have lived, where there's no real winter.

Thanks in advance to all who may post here.

[sockov]

I was born and raised in southern california. I moved to upstate NY 6 years ago. (long story).. and I developed SAD. Going from a sunny state to a cloudy, grey state really affected me. The thing that works great is tanning.
Just go for 8-10 min every other day to everyday. It really helps with the SAD. I call it "light therapy"
If you have SAD that bad, you should move to a sunny state for your own health.

[caroladybelle]

Well, the allergies here in Florida are killing me right now....so I guess that it is a tradeoff.

[mzvee8]

Hi,
SAD is a very common disorder and affects many people... most of whom don't know it. I do, however, know a little about it because I did my major assignment on it last year.

I live in Australia, and it definately isn't a common disorder here, probably because even in the southern areas we have warm weather for about 9 months of the year. It doesn't even snow in most places. There are a few organisations that run out of Australia, but in tests that have been conducted over here, the majority of SAD sufferers were found to be located in Tasmania (the small island that hangs off the bottom of Australia). The reason for this is that it is closest to the Antartic region. There are fewer numbers in Victoria (where I am from) and the numbers become positively minimal the further north you go (with numbers dropping as low as into the single digits in the Northern Territory, Northern Queensland and Western Australia - notoriously warm regions).


Unfortunately, it's a difficult form of depression to battle. Your symptoms are classic indicators that you actually suffer from this condition quite badly. It definately doesn't help that you live in an area that has bad winter's and obviously, the first thing that most doctors/specialists would probably recommend is that you seriously consider moving to a warmer climate. You have already expressed to us that summer definately improves your condition and that during winter you lose control.
The only other solution that might even be practical would be "lights." These "light boxes" try to mimic the benefits that SAD sufferer's seem to reap from natural warmth and in most cases work well. Rather than upping your med's I would probably recommend that you search for other avenues that would/could possibly help this disorder and a simple search on GOOGLE should give you some clues as to what other alternatives there are for you.

Good Luck to you. I hope you find a solution to assist you out of this depression.

[stevesf]

Hi,

Here's a few links from a paper I did for a biology class last year. I've also had a friend with this, and he participated in the timed light study at Yale (it worked for him!).

Steve

http://www.ynhh.org/healthlink/menta...lth_12_03.html

http://www.isv.uit.no/seksjon/psyk/wdep2.htm

http://www.outsidein.co.uk/sadinfo.htm

http://www.light-and-ion-therapy.org/

[Foxfour]

I have lived in a hot, sunny place for the last 15 yrs, and I hate it here. If it was solely up to me, I would have been living in the pacific northwest a loooong time ago. We do not get the four seasons here. We have a short spring (4.5 mons) and the rest of the year, it's 90-110 degrees. The humidity is high. Our windows fog up a lot. The only trees are palm trees. There is very little rain, so there's very few flowers or green. The wind is always blowing here. My husband does not understand nor believe me when I start complaining (which I do a lot) about how miserable I am. He makes me feel guility when I mention leaving. I have found others down here who feel the exact way I do, so I know I'm not alone. We are starting into our 100+ days. I don't even want to get started on how miserable those temps make me feel. I envy people who live where there are opportunities to use coats, sweaters, fireplaces, make snowmans, seeing fog come out of people's mouth instead of on there windows. I could go on and on, but I'll stop.

[prmenrs]

Come on back to SoCal!! You know you want to! I'll come help you pack, OK?

[VivaLasViejas]

Originally Posted by Foxfour

I have lived in a hot, sunny place for the last 15 yrs, and I hate it here. If it was solely up to me, I would have been living in the pacific northwest a loooong time ago. We do not get the four seasons here. We have a short spring (4.5 mons) and the rest of the year, it's 90-110 degrees. The humidity is high. Our windows fog up a lot. The only trees are palm trees. There is very little rain, so there's very few flowers or green. The wind is always blowing here. My husband does not understand nor believe me when I start complaining (which I do a lot) about how miserable I am. He makes me feel guility when I mention leaving. I have found others down here who feel the exact way I do, so I know I'm not alone. We are starting into our 100+ days. I don't even want to get started on how miserable those temps make me feel. I envy people who live where there are opportunities to use coats, sweaters, fireplaces, make snowmans, seeing fog come out of people's mouth instead of on there windows. I could go on and on, but I'll stop.

You sound just like my sister........she THRIVES on the gloomy conditions up here, while I'm the polar opposite (oops, no pun intended).

When I lived in the San Diego area, I used to dream of living someplace lush and green, where you could actually tell the seasons apart........now all I want is to be where it's sunny and warm pretty much all of the time. Who'da thunk it?

[VivaLasViejas]

Originally Posted by prmenrs

Come on back to SoCal!! You know you want to! I'll come help you pack, OK?

If I could afford to live there again, I probably would.......I miss the beach!
But there's no way......it's way too expensive, and there's just too danged many people there now. I remember when the area around Miramar was almost completely devoid of humanity, now it's wall-to-wall houses.....same thing with Poway, and even where I grew up (Ramona) it's becoming congested. No thanks.......think I'll take my chances on southern Arizona at some point.