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Original poster

Clocks going back, SAD and The Dark.

206 replies

OtraCosaMariposa · 27/10/2019 09:06

I know there are several of us on here who struggle a lot with the darker evenings so thought I'd start a thread to see how everyone is getting on.

Clocks went back today and this is usually for me the start of the gradual slide into crapness until the Solstice when we turn the corner and start heading back into the light. November is hell. The first three weeks in December is more hell. But I'm determined this year will be better.

I have my light box. Today in my part of Scotland is bright and sunny so I'm off out for a walk in a bit to get some sun on my face. I've been taking high dose Vit D for a month already.

(Oh and if you're looking for a thread to witter on about hygge and cosy and snuggling on the sofa with hot choc and the famalam piss off. This thread isn't for you.)

OP posts:
daisychain01 · 01/11/2019 20:41

February is the shortest month, but drags on like it's the longest!

hobnobsaremyfavourite · 02/11/2019 20:33

It seems to have rained constantly for days
I'm back in work next week and will struggle to see daylight
Determined to get out in my lunch break and to get as much exercise as possible

lynsey91 · 05/11/2019 13:19

So pleased to have found this thread. I definitely suffer from SAD.

I absolutely hate that it gets dark so early and I just find it very depressing. Nothing cosy about it at all.

I have a lumie lamp which seems to help a bit. I am going to get a light box and also some magnesium and vit D tablets.

I think I could live somewhere it is light all the time. Went to Northern Sweden last summer and it literally never got dark. I loved it

PearlsBeforeWine · 05/11/2019 14:20

I feel it instantly...

AutumnRose1 · 05/11/2019 16:35

I do everything I’m meant to do and it’s still hit me today.

My mum gets bad SAD as well and her blood pressure has gone low again, which happens every so often but I suspect relates to grey days as well.

My lamp woth extra bright bulb smashed today. Meh.

AutumnRose1 · 05/11/2019 16:36

I find ordinary stuff, eg cleaning, is like wading through treacle this time of year.

whoaherewego · 07/11/2019 08:31

This week is a struggle, so grey! I've just bought a new portable lamp though - a Beurer one from Amazon. Much cheaper than the Lumie (about £40 I think) and I think not quite as strong as my Brightspark but it's so light and portable - like a lighter version of an iPad. It's perfect to live on my desk and give me my light boost!

lynsey91 · 07/11/2019 09:12

Yes, this week has been awful. It has poured more or less non stop every day where I live and been very grey.

I feel tired and sleepy all the time. Last night I went to bed at 10pm and didn't wake until 8.30! I didn't even want to get up then. In the summer I go to bed around 11.30 and am up by 7am.

I meant to say in my earlier post that I am not convinced about house plants helping. I have over 70 plants in my house (DH says its like living in Kew Gardens) and they don't seem to help me at all

hobnobsaremyfavourite · 07/11/2019 09:21

Constant rain, dark going into work dark coming home
I'm not doing great
Have taken leave tomorrow and the weather is meant to be better so fingers crossed I can get out in some daylight
Energy levels already rubbish
It's going to be a long winter

wageslave · 07/11/2019 12:36

Me neither hobnob. It feels dark already today, amazing what a difference a sunny day can make. I feel like I wear the clouds on my shoulders on days like today

Bunnylady53 · 07/11/2019 12:43

I haven’t been diagnosed with Sad but I really hate it getting dark so early & oh my goodness the rain! Wish we could have double summer time ☀️☀️

Dowser · 07/11/2019 13:30

I’m lucky to be able to take my summer holidays in October, December and March
Otherwise I don’t know how I’d cope

AutumnRose1 · 07/11/2019 15:46

Today at least is sunny in London

I think tomorrow is meant to be more rain though. I’ve found a lot of the advice is just shit, and reducing the amount of going out I have to do really helps. I’ve got my last social thing on 29th, can’t get out of it as the person is visiting from up north. But after that I’m going out as little as possible! Have to spend lots of time at mum’s anyway, so for an introvert I’m over social already!

hobnobsaremyfavourite · 08/11/2019 09:02

Its sunny and I'm not in work
Bliss
Been out to get coffee and felt the sun on my face
Grin

museumum · 08/11/2019 09:09

We go to the alps skiing. Obviously not an option for everyone I know but we actually forgo a summer holiday in order to do this. The sun at altitude in the alps is so strong it has a big affect but by being in the cold environment somehow it doesn’t feel like running away to “fake summer” in the way a winter sun holiday would. This way we get to embrace winter but also get a huge dose of vitD and UV.

AutumnRose1 · 08/11/2019 11:07

I find the cold a big problem too
On balance, if there’s more cold sunny days, it’s better if I can be indoors and worse if I have to go out a lot!

So there are no solutions really but I try to make winter pass as fast as possible.

prettybird · 08/11/2019 13:36

Just came across this thread. I don't like the dark months either and dh definitely suffers from SAD.

Interesting how many Scots are on here complaining about the clocks going back - yet supposedly the argument for continuing to move back to GMT in the winter months is "for Scotland's benefit" because we're further northConfused

UnaCorda · 09/11/2019 13:18

This (and the bloody incessant rain) is why I wouldn't move back to Scotland where I grew up.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 13/11/2019 21:19

Ended up with a referral to the crisis team and psychiatrist. Going to be a looooong winter I think.

The dark nights might not be quite so bad if it wasn’t constantly pissing down with rain.

FlamingoWingo · 13/11/2019 21:26

Can I join please?

I have bipolar and, despite medication, still suffer so much from beginning of October - although for me it starts to lift as we get to the end of January.

Have the sunrise alarm, daylight bulbs and try to get outside - but hard to do that when leaving for work in the dark and arriving home as it gets dark. Life just starts to feel a bit pointless - I know it will pass but it still feels rubbish and all I want to do is sleep!

I haven’t tried vitamin D though but will now after reading about it.

PineappleDanish · 14/11/2019 07:47

Wee thread bump to find out how everyone is doing.

Not great here, to be honest. Last few days have been quite grim, can feel my mood dipping considerably and staying positive is getting harder. It's definitely a combination of the darkness, the grey miserable days, menopause symptoms and general stuff about ageing parents, stroppy teens and the busy run up to christmas.

38 days to the solstice.

wageslave · 14/11/2019 07:58

Flat and really feeling the darkness, and quite overwhelmed. Things that usually I take for granted now take an immense amount of energy and effort. I too am menopausal. And anything remotely healthy is discarded in favour of carbs, especially haribos.
I've often thought that a SAD self help group in the winter would be a good idea, except I wouldn't be bothered to turn up!

PineappleDanish · 14/11/2019 08:08

On the clocks going back thing and Scotland - I really don;t think putting them back twice, or not putting them back at all, or tinkering with them in other ways would help. Because whatever time it says on the clock, the hours of daylight can't be changed. Today in Glasgow the official "day" is 8 hours and 21 minutes. Doesn't matter really if the day starts at 7am or 8am or 11am. You can't change the total number of hours of darkness.

Was thinking about trying St John's Wort but i'm also taking thyroid medication and apparently you can't take the two together. Really don't want to go back on ssri medication like last year, didn't feel they did anything for me and the dry mouth, aching jaw and insomnia were worse than the depression.

kaldefotter · 14/11/2019 10:38

Totally agree, PineappleDanish. Every year there’s debate about whether we should be on GMT or GMT+1 through the winter, and there never seems to be an acknowledgment that the hours of daylight are shorter regardless of what time the clock says.

As someone with 3 SAD lamps in the house, I think being on GMT in the winter makes most sense. We need the limited daylight more in the morning than the evening. It’s hard enough when sunrise is ~8am, but artificially chasing European time and having sunrise after 9am seems crazy to me. And it’s worse for those further north or west.

prettybird · 14/11/2019 11:09

The Icelanders take a different approach: they're effectively on Double BST in summer and BST in winter (to the West of us, but don't change their clocks in winter, so for the winter months they are on the same time zone).

As a result, in the depths of winter, the sun rises at around 11 and sets at about 4 in Reykjavik. This means that people are able to make effective use of the "daylight" hours.

I prefer that Smile