2025/26 SAD thread

@Northerndoglover Yes I’m also struggling to find any positives at the moment. About to go on yet another wet muddy dog walk sigh….

I hear you.

It’s really tough and when usually uplifting things don’t quite give us the lift we need I find that exceptionally hard.

xx

I normally just read on here and nod along with you all but I think I’m reaching the end of my tether with everything atm.

Winter always gets me down and I try to get to the end of January (seeing snowdrops usually helps) and then start to feel a bit more positive. This year however, it’s just relentlessly shit. We’ve had stress with the garden and dog and work hasn’t been easy (due to the weather) and I can’t see the light and the end of the tunnel. I’m a runner but I need my head “on” to run and get out of the house so I’m just lifting weights in the living room like a hermit and cleaning over and over again.

Each day is just grey, it’s like a reflection of the country’s mood which then makes it even harder to do those things that might make us feel better. Even on the last sunny day here (which was over a fortnight ago ), a run, walk and talk with a friend didn’t do anything for me by the end of the day.

I suppose I’m just writing for a vent. Solidarity ❤️.

Forgot to say

(because my brain isn't working)

The heavy eyes thing

I don't feel it, but my eyes look really weird when I'm struggling with SAD. They don't feel weird but they definitely look weird. Like they've shrunk or something.

We are almost there guys.Bought some daffodils for a pound and they cheered me up.I applied for PIP last Autumn for SAD panic attacks which get worse in winter ADHD and autistic traits awaiting assessment.
Not sure if I will get it.Winter is so hard for some of us Christmas is the worst.

Sorry everyone's feeling so bad

I'm in the same boat, floating to nowhere in the rain!

@Newyearsparkle oh my God, if you've lost 10 stone you definitely need your blood pressure meds checked. You may not need medication at all now?

they changed the parameters over the years (to get more people on medication IMHO). My blood pressure used to be considered low. I still consider it low.

They now consider it to be very healthy, but I would say that it contributes to feeling low. It's probably better for me if it's a bit more in that old range that was considered normal.

I totally agree. It's utterly draining and depressing 😞

So much rain..SO much rain. Fed up with it.

Not great here either
Head feels all fuzzy and I'm desperate to go back to bed
I think my blood pressure meds are to high ,as I keep feeling faint and they haven't been changed since I lost 10 stone .
I honestly thought my weight was causing all my problems
Yet here I am again ,still struggling,not coping,. desperate to get back in to bed and only just lunch time .
I've always had the fuzzy head feeling,wish i knew what it was ..I feel like you could slap me across the face and I wouldn't react

Thank you for meditation recommendations. I will definitely give it a go.
i also felt like crying this morning, due I think to waking up yet again feeling sick and full of dread. Also not helped by how dark, wet and grey it is here. I’m just longing for the days when I can take my morning coffee and sit in the garden again ☀️

Is anyone else feeling really sad today?

I keep crying 😔

I so wish this would go.

I do tend to feel like this in February and feel a bit better by the end of Feb but I still doubt I’ll ever feel better. I just want to fast forward to a time when I feel more like myself again.

I’m just thinking I think I do get heavy eyes at times, like I just need to close them. I think it’s fatigue and needing more rest and recovery time in winter. Nature has her eyes closed and is pretty dormant so I guess it makes sense.

Meditation wise I really love Tara Brach. https://www.tarabrach.com

It’s an American voice. She is so gentle and there are short ones, heart ones, open awareness ones and it’s all free.

Also there’s an app called insight timer that people often recommend. See which voices you find helpful. I always do guided ones.

Thank you for replies. Crikey - just me with the eye thing so far. Something else for me to start catastrophizing over. What with that and trying to get the courage to ring doc for blood test results, it’s not looking like a good day 😬🤪
I haven’t tried meditation as yet but willing to give it a go. Any recommendations?

Hi and a warm welcome 🤗

I’m so glad your GP has made the connection as it might just help with managing it.

I am using the Lumie mini typing this. I think it helps but I just long for the ease of feeling like myself and not having to work so hard at self care and managing my mental wellbeing.

I am 9 weeks into an increase in my antidepressants and I think that is helping too.

Still, I get IBS and anxiety and low moods and tearfulness.

I don’t think I get the eye thing but it’s funny what struggling does to our bodies isn’t it?

It’s great you get back to sleep but if you are ever awake just know you aren’t alone and many of us may be awake with you!

Do you do any meditation? I know it can be hard if you are feeling wobbly.

xxx

New here so hello everyone.
I visited my GP last week as I’m suffering, yet again, with gastro issues and anxiety/depression.
By looking back through my records she pointed out that
my health issues appear to occur in sept/oct/nov and again in Jan/Feb and had I heard of SAD?

I know that I hate winter, that’s for sure but hadn’t actually made the connection as I feel that my problems are related to health anxiety but can one trigger the other?

Anyway, I’m at my lowest when I wake up (apparently that’s when cortisol levels are at their highest) and usually get slightly better as the day goes on, so I go to bed with the hope that the next day will be better - it isn’t 😔.

I wake about 4 times during the night and usually manage to get back to sleep - eventually, but once I get up I’m feeling nauseous, shaky and the dreaded feeling of doom! Sad, afraid, ‘jelly’ legs etc. I’m finding it so difficult to eat so I get anxious over that. It just seems never ending.

Sorry this is turning out longer than intended but, I’ve read through all the other messages and recognise that others have a lot of the same symptoms so can understand, and I don’t think my family really do at all.

Does anyone get very heavy eyes? Like just closing them is the only thing to do? Not just at night time but all day?
I know that anxiety, constantly being in fight or flight mode is exhausting but the eye thing is a new one for me.

I already take propranolol and sertraline and have just bought a therapy light so fingers crossed that helps 🤞

I like the idea of accepting where we are at right now, it's too easy to demand more of ourselves and wanting to achieve everything we think we should be capable of. Instead perhaps we should be just be nurturing ourselves more and judging less?

I identify with all of that!

Sometimes it’s easier than others to be gentle with myself. A work in progress.

❤️

I do worry about my capability and resilience never returning. Over the last year I've worked really hard at trying to change my thought pattern to one more centered around acceptance at who I am now and that being OK, and that I'm doing all the things that need doing and that's good enough. It doesn't stick all the time though. It's complicated isn't it. And the rain has returned so now I'm back to woe and misery. And feeling useless and rubbish.

Oh I hear you.

I can get quite tearful with frustration at taking such good care of myself and finding it doesn’t give me the boost I need it too.

It’s a lot of acceptance sometimes isn’t it?

The sun here was really lovely and I had a long walk in it. But I am sooooo tired and need to work tomorrow.

Are those of you working able to be productive at work? I don’t feel I am able to give what I would at other times and sometimes it’s quite a lot less than my hours are.

If I am WFH it’s easier to take breaks, lie down, have a cry etc but I feel guilty I’m not able to do more. I always get a bit worried my resilience and capacity won’t return 🥹

@mrsdiddlydoo we had sun today too! I think it's going tomorrow

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding yes it's really annoying isn't it?

In terms of the supplement, it was maybe a really stupid choice. I don't know. It combines my omega oils, the ingredients of my green juice, and some B vitamins. Why they had to stick ashwaganda in there I really don't know. But it was a low dosage of that bit so I thought I'd give it a try because it saves on two other supplements and the green juice. It's in a dual capsule.

I presume that is why I've been feeling so bad the few days I took it? It's complicated because this dark grey weather attacks my brain so then I get confused about what's going on.

But I should've looked more into ashwaganda because there are a lot of stories saying people feel really low in the same way I did, and it's been banned in Denmark. There was apparently a call for information here but I don't know what information they got

And there was a really low amount in there - the average that seems to be on sale if you take it as a separate supplement, is about 4 to 10 times higher than what was in this capsule!

I have actually reported it to the seller because that's how bad I felt, I genuinely thought it was worth reporting.

now I need to stock up on the green juice powder! I genuinely find that helpful in winter. It is all about getting me to baseline functioning though. Nothing really gets a better result than baseline.