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I tend to think most sufferers never realize they have the affliction. I never did until I was a freshman in college at the U of I, where the winter skies are much darker and cloudier than in Idaho Falls. My first February there was so bad that I began to notice the lifting of the depression as the spring progressed into March and April.
But it took decades longer to learn it was the lack of daylight that cause my melancholy. For many years, since I knew it would come, all I did was to prepare myself as best I could for its arrival.
It's very strange. I've never been able to understand why I'm never depressed going into the winter solstice or coming out of it. There's about 60 days of winter in that period when it's always the darkest time of the year, one month on either side of the solstice. My Feb. depression is almost like a delayed reaction or something. It seldom follows the calendar too- often it begins a week or so into Feb. and will last into the first 10 days of March.
In the past, it was always classic depression. I would lose weight, sleep way too much, and become very bleak.
Bright artificial lighting helped. When I learned about the daylight florescent lamps, which were developed long after florescent tubing became widespread, using them made a big difference to my mental state. Incandescent lighting also worked when I lit my house up very brightly, and both still help me.
But the lucky break of finding a home with a northern window wall in the living room, along with big windows throughout facing in all the other directions, was the best thing that ever happened to me. There is no dark room anywhere in my house except for a big storage closet in the basement, and it has a small window.
But in the bones of winter, even a clear day can be too dark outside. On those days, my lights are on throughout the day even though I don't need them to see anything.
Weirdly, the new LED bulbs don't help me very much. Flourescents and old incandescent lights work better. So, for me anyway, it appears the kind of light I get is as important as the quantity of light. I found using them all in a mixture tends to work the best.
But even so, I still get the blues in February. They're going to show up, but not so much that they really put a stop to my life now. There's always a time in that month I wish I was in California, New Mexico or Arizona for sure.
This was me. I didn't realize what it was either for a long time. February was the worst for me too. My spouse was often overseas and I was alone with the kids, the snow and gloom in my soul. We also would travel to western Canada in February to visit my family and after a few hours of driving things got greener and greener and in Vancouver things were blooming and Spring had arrived. Then we would drive back home to cold, clouds, brown or still snowed in. This was very difficult for me. And I seemed to be the only one in our family and huge extended family who suffered this way.
A few years ago we relocated for a short term job assignment to a state with significantly more sunshine. I didn't think much of it. It was just something we had to do for work. When winter came the sunshine stayed and the depression never arrived. I had no idea how bad SADD had been until I didn't have it. We have not moved back. And every winter I marvel at the sunshine when I remember what used to be.
My oldest son did a cross country trip this year and spent the entire summer in C'da. I love that he was able to do this. He took in all the amazing natural beauty our old home has to offer. In other years, he's been back for elk camp and bow hunting. He talks about possibly moving there after college and wonders if I would consider moving back. I get anxious just thinking about it and realize this amazing place can never be my home again. I am so glad I have family there and many reasons to visit. I love Idaho and NID, in particular, where we used to live. I just can't live there with them.
I tend to think most sufferers never realize they have the affliction. I never did until I was a freshman in college at the U of I, where the winter skies are much darker and cloudier than in Idaho Falls. My first February there was so bad that I began to notice the lifting of the depression as the spring progressed into March and April.
But it took decades longer to learn it was the lack of daylight that cause my melancholy. For many years, since I knew it would come, all I did was to prepare myself as best I could for its arrival.
It's very strange. I've never been able to understand why I'm never depressed going into the winter solstice or coming out of it. There's about 60 days of winter in that period when it's always the darkest time of the year, one month on either side of the solstice. My Feb. depression is almost like a delayed reaction or something. It seldom follows the calendar too- often it begins a week or so into Feb. and will last into the first 10 days of March.
In the past, it was always classic depression. I would lose weight, sleep way too much, and become very bleak.
Bright artificial lighting helped. When I learned about the daylight florescent lamps, which were developed long after florescent tubing became widespread, using them made a big difference to my mental state. Incandescent lighting also worked when I lit my house up very brightly, and both still help me.
But the lucky break of finding a home with a northern window wall in the living room, along with big windows throughout facing in all the other directions, was the best thing that ever happened to me. There is no dark room anywhere in my house except for a big storage closet in the basement, and it has a small window.
But in the bones of winter, even a clear day can be too dark outside. On those days, my lights are on throughout the day even though I don't need them to see anything.
Weirdly, the new LED bulbs don't help me very much. Flourescents and old incandescent lights work better. So, for me anyway, it appears the kind of light I get is as important as the quantity of light. I found using them all in a mixture tends to work the best.
But even so, I still get the blues in February. They're going to show up, but not so much that they really put a stop to my life now. There's always a time in that month I wish I was in California, New Mexico or Arizona for sure.
The Christmas season and all of the lights probably put a "delay" on your SADD. Think about it, they all come down in January.
February is supposed to be the month where it starts getting lighter, but the old saying is "the darkest hour is before down" may ring true in your case?
This was me. I didn't realize what it was either for a long time. February was the worst for me too. My spouse was often overseas and I was alone with the kids, the snow and gloom in my soul. We also would travel to western Canada in February to visit my family and after a few hours of driving things got greener and greener and in Vancouver things were blooming and Spring had arrived. Then we would drive back home to cold, clouds, brown or still snowed in. This was very difficult for me. And I seemed to be the only one in our family and huge extended family who suffered this way.
A few years ago we relocated for a short term job assignment to a state with significantly more sunshine. I didn't think much of it. It was just something we had to do for work. When winter came the sunshine stayed and the depression never arrived. I had no idea how bad SADD had been until I didn't have it. We have not moved back. And every winter I marvel at the sunshine when I remember what used to be.
My oldest son did a cross country trip this year and spent the entire summer in C'da. I love that he was able to do this. He took in all the amazing natural beauty our old home has to offer. In other years, he's been back for elk camp and bow hunting. He talks about possibly moving there after college and wonders if I would consider moving back. I get anxious just thinking about it and realize this amazing place can never be my home again. I am so glad I have family there and many reasons to visit. I love Idaho and NID, in particular, where we used to live. I just can't live there with them.
The Christmas season and all of the lights probably put a "delay" on your SADD. Think about it, they all come down in January.
February is supposed to be the month where it starts getting lighter, but the old saying is "the darkest hour is before down" may ring true in your case?
I don’t have SADD but I do think the lights make me feel more cheerful. Since we are soft cityfolk now , my husband has a company come and put Christmas lights on our house and they do it in late October since they have so many to do. I’ve stopped calling them Christmas lights. Now they are “winter lights” and those suckers are on from November 1 thru early February when they come take them down.
The neighbors say they like them too.
I don’t have SADD but I do think the lights make me feel more cheerful. Since we are soft cityfolk now , my husband has a company come and put Christmas lights on our house and they do it in late October since they have so many to do. I’ve stopped calling them Christmas lights. Now they are “winter lights” and those suckers are on from November 1 thru early February when they come take them down.
The neighbors say they like them too.
If I lived in a darker climate, I'd do the same!
As for SADD, it's one of those maladies that manifests itself in "degrees". Some people get just a touch of it, and can manage. Others are plagued by it, and it does a lot of psychological damage.
Some have it from a young age and live with it their entire lives, while others develop it at a certain point in life.
I think a lot of it has to do with body chemistry (and the changing thereof), genetics, hormones, and the related levels of absorption of Vitamin D.
We live in Georgia. And we're getting ready for power outages from hurricane Michael
I spent my high school years living in East Cobb County in GA.
I used to love driving up into the north Georgia mountains in the fall to buy boiled peanuts and check out the foliage in Dahlonega and visit Helen, GA
I'd love to be able to sit through just one hurricane in my lifetime! ...just to watch the power, the rage and the glory.
I grew up in NJ, and still have fond memories of our experience with a smaller hurricane that came through the Jersey shore when some friends and I happened to be down there one August. We got up in the middle of the night and went out on the beach to experience it first hand. I still remember the wind picking up the sand and scouring our legs.
The storm cleared out pretty quickly - the next day was glorious with the most amazing surf I think I ever experienced there. We were the only people in the water. There was a heck of a rip tide, so we would walk up the beach a ways, head on out to try to catch a wave, and you either caught one or had to swim back in before the tide swept you too far down the beach. On one of my walks back up the beach I passed by the lifeguard and he told me he wanted to trade places.
We were in Boston, visiting, during Hurricane Bob. Nice party in the backyard, but all of a sudden they started packing everything up and carrying it inside. We asked why, and they all answered, "Bob is coming!" So we thought it would be like Black Bart in Blazing Saddles: Get out of the way! But it was the hurricane coming. And it was not a small one. We sat inside the house as it passed over us, and we all lost consciousness/fell asleep. It felt like oxygen was being sucked out of our lungs! We all woke up a few minutes later, and watched the storm tear up trees and roofs in the neighborhood.
Boston airport was closed. All buses and trains were stopped. Main roads into town were closed. In short, Boston was closed. We were due in Washington the next day, but had to postpone our departure, so we had a chance to stay another day with our friends, which was the upside of the event. Their house was okay, but a huge tree had smashed a roof down the street, and all roads were a mess.
In retrospect I'm glad I've experienced a hurricane, but it was nerve-racking while it was going on! So I have no wish to visit anywhere during hurricane season...
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, my husband has a company come and put Christmas lights on our house and they do it in late October since they have so many to do. I’ve stopped calling them Christmas lights. Now they are “winter lights” and those suckers are on from November 1 thru early February when they come take them down.
