Now that the nights are getting longer and the weather is turning foul, I find myself dreading the long, dreary season ahead, knowing that I'm going to start feeling tired and depressed at some point, even with my antidepressant medication. I've had SAD every winter since the second or third year we've been in Oregon, which is famous for its long rainy season (basically October through May, and sometimes even into early July), and every year it seems to get a little worse.
Now I'm ready to do something constructive about it, other than increasing my medication every winter (and not being able to decrease it when the sun comes back). I don't want to spend another winter on the couch, eating massive amounts of carbohydrates and feeling like I don't want to do anything. I'm limited as to what I can do outdoors in the winter, as I don't like being out in the rain, and my asthma tends to kick up whenever it's damp & chilly. But I do want to start being a little more active, and I'm interested in researching light therapy as well.
What I'd like to know is, do any of you with SAD use light boxes, and how effective are they at reducing your symptoms? I'm going in for my yearly physical next month, and I need some anecdotal evidence before I ask my MD for a prescription, as I imagine they're rather expensive and I doubt my insurance will pay for one. If there's even a reasonable chance that light therapy could provide some relief, it would be worth the money, but I'd like to know what your experiences have been before I invest in this equipment. Thank you.
I have a very mild case of SAD and usually do OK until around March. It may be because the area I live in *usually* gets a couple of clear (but cold & dry) spells in December and January. When I worked nights and missed all day light it was awful.
Good luck to all of you who deal with it all winter, I do hope you find something that works for you.
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
Thank you all soooo much for responding to this thread. I appreciate the links and suggestions, and definitely will follow up on them. That's why I love allnurses.....I learn something new every time I come here, and there's nothing like nurses helping nurses to make me feel I chose the best profession on earth!!:kiss to all of you!
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I have a very mild case of SAD and usually do OK until around March. It may be because the area I live in *usually* gets a couple of clear (but cold & dry) spells in December and January. When I worked nights and missed all day light it was awful.
Good luck to all of you who deal with it all winter, I do hope you find something that works for you.