No in the strictest definition of SAD, where the winter and fall depress you. I have reverse seasonal affective disorder, where the same happens to me but in the spring and summer. The sun saps all my energy away and I thrive in the cold and the dark. All of my positive emotions dull from April until around mid-October every single year. Give me snow and clouds any day over shorts and sunlight
I moved from Tampa to Portland and I gotta tell you, I feel so much better most of the time. I’m just not a sunny person. I need my overcast.
Moving to Portland was when I realized it was actually S.A.D. and not just being miserable from the harsh winter weather I grew up with.
My first winter in P-town was amazing - there wasn’t any snow or sub-freezing temps! My 2nd winter there I was cripplingly depressed from the lack of sun…
We moved from Houston to Seattle and we adore all the seasons here. Spring comes just as the winter feels like its dragging on. First the daffodils, then the tulips, then cherry blossoms explode! Then its summer and camping every weekend and Rainier and North Cascades and just go go go the entire time. Then fall comes and I fall over from exhaustion. Its time to put in the order for tea for the winter and catch up on all the shows we missed and all the board games we haven’t been playing and just relaxing. Just when I’m tiring of the cold and the wet, the first daffodils pop up and we do it all over again.
Similar here except I just have depression. I think I just like winter more because it makes some of the outward symptoms more socially acceptable which causes less stress.
Winter- Someone else: Any plans for the weekend? Me: Staying at home under several heavy blankets, watching old TV shows, and eating like I’m surviving the apocalypse. Someone else: Goals! That sounds so cozy!
Summer- Someone else: Any plans for the weekend? Me: Staying at home under several heavy blankets, watching old TV shows, and eating like I’m surviving the apocalypse. Someone else: Are you ok? Do I need to call someone?
Yes, take some vitamin D if you get this too. I’m more active outside now in the winter so I don’t need as much, but the vitamin D does help.
Basically every westerner has a vitamin D deficiency, as we don’t spend all day long outside anymore.
So go get some D prescribed, because deficiency accelerates dementia and a whole slew of mental disorders.
You could spend lots of time in the sun to alleviate the D vitamine deficiency but that’ll get you skin cancer instead.
What’s the benefit of a prescription over just buying a bottle at a pharmacy? Would it be covered under insurance if prescribed?
In Europe you can’t just buy any medication like that over the counter (not in France anyway), and yes I guess it’s also about cost.
Yup. I have a SAD lamp. (Just a Verilux one from Amazon.) I have it mounted to my desk above my work machine’s monitor so that it’s only about 1.5 feet (or 0.46 meters for people not used to clown units) from my face. I use it year-round, but I still have some SAD during the winter months. It’s not as bad with the SAD lamp, though.
Another thing I do is take a walk multiple times a day. And I try to make the first one an early morning walk.
As qooqie said, vitamin D can also help.
If I take the above steps, my SAD isn’t terrible. Noticeable, still. Everything’s just a little shittier than normal. But it’s not terrible. (Not that I wouldn’t eliminate it entirely if I could, but it’s manageable. For me, at least.)
IME there is an additional mental fog during the fall and winter seasons. I think there are a handful of reasons that are mostly a byproduct of shorter days and colder temps. More barriers to going outside when it’s cold (more layers, jackets), less social gatherings during the season, it being dark so early limits outdoor activities. Being able to do more helps my mental health for sure, which is much easier in the summer months.
Edit after seeing other comments: I was able to reach a “toxic” level of vitamin D last time I tried it, daily headaches, even just following the recommended amount. It took me a while to realize what was going on. I might have to try again with a smaller dose though.
I get the opposite lol. Or the opposite of the norm I guess. I thrive in the cold months. When it’s hot as shit and humid in the summer I’m grumpy all the time.
