Anyone with SAD feel the darkness creeping in yet

[whatisforteamum]

Always get down in the winter with severe depression Dec to Feb.
With the cooler summer I feel sluggish and drained already.
Getting autumn ready with new clothes ,cosy fleeces and candles.
What are you doing to combat the darkness.?

For me I HAVE to get up and walk. I have a dog for this reason (among others!) but yeah if I don't walk in the mornings I feel shit for the day.

Keep hydrated and dress for the weather.

I have an SAD lamp next to the computer. I take vitamin D, iron & b12.

For me it's the routine that makes or breaks my mood. I have to treat being outdoors like medication. It's so shit feeling down. I wonder what it would be like to live somewhere sunnier in the winter.

Anyway in the meantime im embracing the outdoors rather than trying to be inside and comfy.

Yeah, I've felt it over the last week. It just feels like autumn. I can't even understand what changes, but it has definitely changed.

It looks like we might have a better week weather wise which might go some way to making up for the shit show of the summer we've had, but yeah I'm definitely feeling the darkness.

I wish I could stop it as spring summer I am full of beans.
Getting a good healthy regime helps a bit though.

Yep me, I'm so anxious about it 😢

I bought one of the special SAD alarm clocks last year from Boots

It has really helped me in the mornings and it'll be out again soon I guess

If you've never tried one, give it a go. I wake up in the dark Winter mornings feeling great, I've probably been more impressed with this clock that anything else I've ever bought

I try to look at Autumn and Winter as periods of rest/recuperation. The world prepping for Spring and Summer. So instead of the downward spiral into darkness, I try to reframe it as Spring approaching. It's tough, though.

Ive been thinking about buying one. Is it a Lumie?

Yes I hate the autumn and winter. I like long days where I can go to the beach after work.
If I could afford it I'd live the other side of the equator for half the year and have a constant summer.

For me it’s about right at the moment. Not light too early or too late. I absolutely hate when it’s light until 9:30/10:00 at night. I must have the opposite of sad as it makes me feel a bit down.

I have this so mildly that I'm almost ashamed to mention it. But yes, I'm just starting to notice it....

I have a sad lamp while working from home and a lumie alarm clock which both help. Despite that, the biggest difference has been painting my living room a dark colour (dark green). It sounds weird but leaning into the cosiness of a dark room helps me sleep and wake up earlier for the bit of extra daylight we have at the moment. My bedroom is still a light colour. Im not a morning person so I need the brightness to help me wake up.

I sympathise I can imagine the chill in the shadows and the gradually descending darkness would feel really claustrophobic if you had sad. It does feel quite oppressive when it gets dark at 4pm. I think more people will be able to empathise this year with the atrocious summer. Never ending murk.

Me too, I absolutely hate it. Just looking outside now, and it is almost dark.
HennyPenny1234 would you have a link to the Boots alarm clock please. TIA

Just starting the effort towards keeping DP functional. He has work, which definitely helps, as he has to get up, go outside, travel through a more 'green' area and then sit in front of a large window in full daylight all day.

However, the Lumie is also being used again from Monday, the daylight bulbs are plugged in and on timers, gym visits are going to be actively scheduled and the full on eating a shedload of vegetables with every meal, taking Vitamin D and 'just doing stuff' is about to hit full swing.

And I'm moving offices to one with large windows, as I'm not doing another winter in the literally windowless hole where other people complain that my lightbox is too bright for them.

I'm focusing on the fun of Christmas. Writing present lists, planning days out and am also thinking of booking our summer holiday soon for next year. Having nice things to look forward to.

Do you have a link for this please?

I really struggle waking up in the morning when it's dark.

I've noticed a very subtle change in the weather this past week or so. Dew on the grass and my car, berries on the trees, the slightest hint of colour change in the leaves. As yet, it's not affected me but I think that's because it's still daylight in a morning when I have to get up.

I LOATHE it.

The very mention of "cosy fleeces and candles" makes me want to shoot myself.

As for the "fun of Christmas": I have no words.

I am basically putting my head in the sand and my SAD lamp on, and waiting for January to roll around. I do take Vitamin D supplements and make sure I'm outside when it's light.

I'm feeling it too. I spend from late sept to december feeling anxious about SAD and hoping I will avoid it, when even that anxiety is also a sign of it starting to hit. December to March is fucking bleak and then I'm full of beans again in the spring to summer. I wish there was a way of completely combating it which didn't involve spending the winter in a warm country. I feel like it wipes out about half of each year

I love Autum/winter it's my favourite time of year. Nice crisp cold days, candles, I love the dark early nights maybe I'm stra ge but I hate being too hot in the summer!!

Yes.

I never used to notice it.

I think i was about mid 20's the first time I actually stopped and thought it was really dark for the time of day.

It didnt used to affect me mood until I got really bad postnatal depression.

And since every autumn and winter I watch the days get shorter and will them to get longer.

It's not too bad until the clocks change and then even during November and December the festive lights help.

But January is really bad, February not so good, but then the days start becoming longer

I was just thinking last week it had got dark really early around half 8 and that the days were gon a start getting shorter.

I dont have SADS. But just get really down and a bit anxious about the dark evenings.

I am much glad I found this thread
i think everyone thinks I am crazy when I talk about my mental health plummeting having to put the lights on at 8pm now

I absolutely hate autumn/winter and the dark and the cold and even more so cos I feels like we have been cheated out of summer this year ☹️

I am doing everything I can to try and prepare for it so I have made sure I have booked the time off work to attend my bereavement support group once a month, I need to make my own self go to the gym every day even if I no feels like it, and I have recently started attending a women talk support group session also once a month after work/gym

I never feel like I will survive winter the dark nights on top of trauma feels much dangerous to me sometimes

mumsnet is kind of a lifesaver I read threads of an evening like now and I helps me focus my mind on something else

Oh yes. I'm currently battling my depression anyway, and the nights drawing in has not helped :(

Last year I went to Florida at the end of October/start of November and had a much better winter because I'd got some sun. No chance of winter sunshine this year though :(

I need to start doing this, not really to do with SAD more a long term issue and at each stage, different things going on in my life which probably caused or exacerbated things. But unless I have a reason to go out I won't, might sound weird because there are quite a few reasons, and obviously then one would think that is easy. But it's weird like years back I would stay in but then somehow get out for a night out, but the rest of the time build up this anxiety.
Now is not great either, when my DC is not with me I can go a couple of days of not going out.
Then my anxiety gets worse and I look and feel groggy from being stuck in and catching up on too much sleep, and then i don't want to go because I feel people will be looking at me it's a terrible vicious cycle.