Oh yes, the dark weather has started here in Portland, Oregon. It’s easy to experience seasonal affective disorder symptoms when it gets dark at 4:00 PM. I have found that prevention is the best treatment for SAD. The first step is to determine your worst time of the day. When do you feel the most down? It’s around 4-6 PM for me.
Here are some tips for how I manage and prevent seasonal affective disorder :
1. I get natural light in my eyes if there is sun in the morning. Look up at the sky and let the light get into your retina so it can tell your brain to switch on your serotonin. You want to look at blue sky whenever possible- this is the blue light that helps depression. Light boxes can cause mania in people with bipolar disorder. I recommend a full spectrum alarm clock if you want to use a light box treatment.
2. I have coffee with a friend during the dark times. A quick visit with someone when it gets dark early takes your mind off the gloom outside. I’ve found that going to a movie helps as well. Yes, the theater is dark, but seeing a comedy is often a great antidote to the outside darkness.
3. Exercise during your worst hours. If 4- 6 PM is my tough time, it makes sense to battle the problem directly and make sure I’m as active as possible during these times. If you work on a schedule and can’t exactly jump up and exercise for an hour at 4:00, at least stand up, stretch and mentally remind yourself that you feel down because of the weather, not because there is anything wrong with your life. Take a walk right after work is possible. Gyms have very bright lights and that helps. It’s hard to remember to do these activities when you feel down- scheduling in advance works the best.
4. Try not to complain too much about the weather. Portland, Oregon here on the west coast of the United States is funny. The weather is terrible many months of the year. It has always been this way and yet we still complain. It was the same when I lived in Seattle, Washington. We would have gloomy weather and rain all the way into the spring. I’m not sure why I used to get so upset and complain so much. I’m the one who chooses to live in these areas!
5. Hang out with positive people. This helps all around.
You can manage seasonal affective disorder!
Julie
Great post, Julie! I have bipolar one, and I have used a Sunbox DL desk light since my bp diagnosis in 2007, and light sessions have been wonderful in helping with my Seasonal Affective Disorder. I have never been thrown into hypomania or mania from it, as I believe is the concern for those with bp using therapeutic light therapy.
However, I have been on a mood stabilizer ever since using the Sunbox. Sunbox is a fabulous company – one of the best – and their website is http://www.sunbox.com, phone # (with real, live human beings who answer) is 1-800-548-3968. Sometimes people can get reimbursed by insurance companies for the cost of their light with doctor’s notes, although my company rejected my claim. 🙁 The light was till worth every penny!
thank you for the sunbox info! I will put it on my facebook. (Julie A. Fast) you can also post it there. It will help a lot of people! yes, being on a mood stabilizer should keep any possible mania down. I’m going to use one this year here in dreary Portland, Oregon. I feel safer now that I’m on lithium! Julie
Hi Julie. Here in Southcentral Alaska we are currently losing over 5 1/2 minutes of light each day and the darkness is closing in fast. By Winter Solstice (Dec. 21) we only have about 5 hours of daylight. In Barrow, on the North Slope (top of Alaska), they go for 65 days without any light at all and I have no idea how they do that! Those of us in this part of the world have to make an extra effort to be healthy during these changes. The one thing that makes it better is that, unlike Portland’s usually dark, wet streets, we have snow that reflects light. The really good part is that after the Solstice we start to gain light at the same rate that we have lost it. By February everybody wakes up again and we have 10 1/2 hours of daylight.
The key that I’ve found to best deal with early darkness is exactly what you have described – exercise. I like to cross country ski and we have lots of lighted trails to help me keep up with that. Getting outdoors as much as possible during the day, even for just 5 minutes, helps too.
Using a light box is extremely common for many residents. I also have a less expensive trick: I set small lamps (25 watts) in strategic places in my bedroom and put them on timers. I have one that goes off at 5 a.m. and after a couple of days of waking up when it turns on, I get used to it and sleep through it. But, it alerts my brain to start waking up gradually. Another lamp goes on at 6 to add more light, and by the time my alarm sounds it’s much, much easier for me to wake up and I’m in a better mood.
In spite of our lack of daylight here I know that the Pacific Northwest is no picnic either. There’s a reason I don’t live in Eugene, Oregon any more – I prefer my precipitation to be of the frozen variety, rather than endless gray skies and drizzling rain.
Here’s to a happy, healthy Winter everyone!
Cheers,
Susan
I always love your comments. They are helpful to so many people. It would be great if you visited me on facebook. Julie A. Fast I can then interact and answer any questions that you have= people love to read the comments of others! But please don’t stop writing here. It means a lot. Please send me an email at bp@ speakeasy.net. I have a few questions for you. julie