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How do you avoid S.A.D.?

Not sure about totally avoiding it but some things that are helpful are taking walks around noon each day even on cloudy days.

Also there are full spectrum light bulbs you can by and use at home that can help as well.
 
i notice a HUGE difference when i'm growing plants indoors under high intensity discharge lights. not just the lights, i think, but also the act of tending and nurturing the plants.
 
Be Outdoor as much as possible, keep a regular sleep cycle, light therapy, melatonin, Vitamin D-3, And lots of exercise... That's what I (try) to do (SAD&DSPS).


Also a good one: Use a high intensity light to wake you up (connect to a timer).. It'll feel like the sun shining on your face and helps break down melatonin (which you don't want in your system in the morning, it makes you groggy)
 
phoenix_risin said:
Not sure about totally avoiding it but some things that are helpful are taking walks around noon each day even on cloudy days.

Also there are full spectrum light bulbs you can by and use at home that can help as well.
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I've been outside for about an hour almost every day lately... Been around 3 or 4p though, not noon... I'm also out every morning at sun up or very close to it...

I may have to get one of these bulbs... Do they look like normal bulbs? Like, could I put it in my desk lamp? I don't want to draw attention to it 'cause of the person I live with (she'd mock me for it).

voxmystic said:
i notice a HUGE difference when i'm growing plants indoors under high intensity discharge lights. not just the lights, i think, but also the act of tending and nurturing the plants.
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Can't grow anything in the house. That's the long story made short.

Wizzle said:
Be Outdoor as much as possible, keep a regular sleep cycle, light therapy, melatonin, Vitamin D-3, And lots of exercise... That's what I (try) to do (SAD&DSPS).


Also a good one: Use a high intensity light to wake you up (connect to a timer).. It'll feel like the sun shining on your face and helps break down melatonin (which you don't want in your system in the morning, it makes you groggy)
Click to expand...
Going outdoors once the temp. gets in the teens will be impossible. I am not a fan of the cold. Light therapy may help, as may Vitamin D supplementation. I know Vitamin D3 is a "higher quality form" of the vitamin because it's easier for our bodies to absorb, but does anyone know about Vitamin D2?

Would the high intensity light be the same as the full spectrum light bulb?
 
Whatever sunlight I can get. Mushrooms. Comfort foods. Sprinting. Red/Green/White Vein Thai Kratom. I wish I could list "taking a winter vacation where it's tropical" but lord knows I haven't been doing that. I can't complain too much though as I'm in a nice part of California.
 
cocamatic said:
Whatever sunlight I can get. Mushrooms. Comfort foods. Sprinting. Red/Green/White Vein Thai Kratom. I wish I could list "taking a winter vacation where it's tropical" but lord knows I haven't been doing that. I can't complain too much though as I'm in a nice part of California.
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I'm in a place where we sometimes get feet of snow in one day. K, maybe not feet in one day, but we once got six feet in a week. AKA Buffalo. S.A.D. hits me hard. Doesn't help that my comfort foods are gone (I went Vegan and had to abandon mac and cheese... Sure, there's Vegan mac and cheese, but it's insanely time consuming to make, and it just doesn't taste the same...). By "mushrooms," you mean the typical variety you get at the grocery store, right? 'Cause I already eat a ton of those (large pack [18oz] or more a week).

What is Thai Kratom? Unfortunately for this suggestion, if Thai Kratom is a drug, I'll be passing on it. Can't risk another addiction. But if it's like a tea or something (as long as it doesn't have caffeine), maybe I'll try it out.
 
Too bad you can't have any sorts of plants indoors. High intensity discharge bulbs are not the same as full spectrum. They have their own ballasts, and put out many more lumens per watt than anything you can screw onto a regular light socket.
 
funny, I'm in Buffalo too; had been eating raw diet and felt it too restricting in our cold environ, and I'm starting to loathe the already short days!
 
Other supplements:
-Omega 3 (you could also eat a lot of fish, nuts, or flax)
-Creatine (Also in red meat)

Behaviors:
When having depressed thoughts write them down or look for some company, even if the company is boring :)

Vacation is a good one, and if I can spare the money I might go to Egypt or something like that.. Cheap and relaxing :)

Force yourself to think about (deleriously) happy thoughts instead of the negative thought patterns you usually have. Why would you allow yourself to think overly negative about yourself and not overly positive? I believe this is one of the differences between depressed and happy people.

Write down positive experiences you had during the day. This engraves them in your memory wich will give you a more postive outlook.
 
Wizzle said:
Other supplements:
-Omega 3 (you could also eat a lot of fish, nuts, or flax)
-Creatine (Also in red meat)

Behaviors:
When having depressed thoughts write them down or look for some company, even if the company is boring :)

Vacation is a good one, and if I can spare the money I might go to Egypt or something like that.. Cheap and relaxing :)

Force yourself to think about (deleriously) happy thoughts instead of the negative thought patterns you usually have. Why would you allow yourself to think overly negative about yourself and not overly positive? I believe this is one of the differences between depressed and happy people.

Write down positive experiences you had during the day. This engraves them in your memory wich will give you a more postive outlook.
Click to expand...


Thank you these are great tips
 
Wizzle, those are excellent tips. Thank you so much!

Vaya, unfortunately a lightbox is out. I'd love to get one. I probably need to get one. But I can't living in the house I live in. The reason I can't grow any plants as voxmystic suggested is because of the lights they require--The person I live with (my mom) is paranoid about the wiring in our old home and how I "might start a fire with all that crap." Took years of begging to get a heated blanket allowed.
 
Since i live in a place thats pretty far north and we mostly get fog and rain anytime of year it's hard to avoid SAD. I try and get up early as possible and well i use meds too :\
 
^ Getting up early may be helpful. Up until the past month or two, I would sleep in as long as I could. Now, I'm up before dawn most days. Out, walking my dog, at the crack of dawn most days as well. I think that as much as it's going to suck, I should try and find a way to get myself out of the house for at least a half hour every morning once the snow flies... I hate snow... :(
 
gin and poutine

ohh sry sry didn't realize this was healthy living... just thinking about the good things that come with winter works too, or watch a lot of movies that romanticize winters while nice n warm indoors
 
Poutine may be a good comfort food for me though! Minus the cheese, but yeah. Thanks for suggesting that!

The gin on the other hand won't go over so well: Can't keep alcohol in the house--It gets drunk at inappropriate times. :-/
 
thujone said:
gin and poutine

ohh sry sry didn't realize this was healthy living... just thinking about the good things that come with winter works too, or watch a lot of movies that romanticize winters while nice n warm indoors
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Yes beer, whiskey, vodka, gin, whatever with poutine and weed has gotten me through a few winters. But i still had SAD sadly enough :\
 
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