Top tips for SAD please and getting through winter.

[whatisforteamum]

Since I was as 20 I noticed I felt down and lost weight in the winter.I see it as something to endure
.I start off ok thinking this year will be different and positive.Then after my birthday in October boom! Low withdrawn, and just going through the motions.Last yr I bought a SAD lamp and religious ly used it and perhaps it helped a bit.I also started HRT which has helped enormously and my MH has been great all lockdown and I e improved my eating habits.
Please give me your tips for staying happy when it is cold and dark.What has helped you cope?I feel like a different person come spring.

@whatisforteamum It helps so much it makes you feel like a new person.
The side effects disappear after 4 weeks, you'll experience indigestion problems a dry mouth it does pass.
They've changed my life the GP should be able to wean you off no issues by reducing the dose as the season changes.

I know not everyone can do this but I always just book a week away in January to charge up the vitamin D.

I might risk it Emerald thanks.I just thought it made most people vomit and I can't cope with that.😃

Grab every chance to go for a walk in frosty sunshine. Invest in toasty coat, hat, boots and mittens and keep them ready.

When it gets really grim I hibernate. Log burner, throws on the sofas, toast & melty butter, red wine, fresh flowers in the house cheer me up. Embrace winters colours, get rid of grey - which just makes me feel gloomy.

@whatisforteamum

Mitzik I do do those things tbh.Maybe pj day when I'm off as I work 50 hour weeks so I'm shattered. Emeraldshamrock...really?😊I was described it but was dubious of side effects and getting hooked.Does it help you?

Yeah, DP's doing around that at the moment thanks to the lockdown backlog. He's the one who had the most disruptive SAD and won't accept SSRIs anymore because they frankly made him 100x worse, as he slept either 22 out every 24 hours or didn't sleep at all when taking them and had all the sexual function side effects from them, which really harmed his general self esteem all summer as well, as those effects last for long time after discontinuation.

Creating the effect of a day, rather than a permanent night, is what helped. He had the best winter ever last year as a result. Still got rough over Christmas, but having six weeks of it around Midwinter rather than half the year was a massive improvement.

Even on PJ days, outside is important - whether it's sitting on the back step with a big dressing gown, blanket or outdoor coat wrapped around for warmth or just looking out an open window several times a day (or washing the insides of them once a week to take advantage of any Autumn sunshine).

I'm sure it's one of the reasons why Nordic countries are so keen on outdoor activities throughout the year - they know all too well what the lack of light does to people and that they need every scrap of daylight and fresh air that they can get, even if it's not presented in a 'this helps reduce SAD' context.

@whatisforteamum

I might risk it Emerald thanks.I just thought it made most people vomit and I can't cope with that.😃

Sertraline didn't make me vomit at all. And I am a very easy to feel sick kind of person.

Other ADs make me nauseous but not this one. And never vomited due to an AD.

Great thread. The last three winters have been progressively worse for me, until just before lockdown I was wondering how much more I could take. I can't afford the special clocks and lamps though, and I don't want to go on ADs unless I really really REALLY have to. And I'm already starting to feel the symptoms...!

A holiday even a weekend away somewhere in late January or early February I have found helps.

Somewhere in Europe where the clocks are one hour ahead, so at least by then you have an afternoon of daylight.

I'm also on sertraline seasonally. Different for everyone I know but it was such a life changer for me. I wean myself on and off it really gradually so I don't get side effects now but when I didn't do that I had a few weeks of sleeping badly and then all ok.

Also really accept what's going on and try to be proactive. I plan time off in advance late October and mid Jan as I know that's when I'm worse and will crash if I don't give myself a break.

Place marking, some great ideas here!

I use a lamp for SAD.

But I also use bright colours which help for some odd reason

I’m feeling it already - the second half of August is very much autumn for me. I have a SAD lamp and start using it August bank holiday (which was recommended when I bought it - light levels now are equivalent to April).

Have also used a wake up light for many years and agree with vitamin D and getting outside in the daylight as much as possible.

For me the hardest time is from now until Christmas - once the shortest day is behind me I start feeling more positive.

I will never not hate autumn with a passion though! May - July is my happy time. Hate autumn/winter clothes too

Will never be able to relate to people looking forward to wearing boots and ‘snuggling up’ in things.

I hate winter but I love Christmas and I start early-ish with the Christmas treats and music

DD is crazy about Halloween so I try to make that special. It helps break up the monotony!

This thread is brilliant! I totally agree about SAD lamps. I also do the making-the-house-cosy thing. I like to have lamps lit around the house on wintery afternoons as the gentle ambient light cheers me up. A friend recently mentioned taking magnesium supplements and I keep meaning to look it up to see what the science is

Im going to suggest something a bit left field but several friends swear by it for lifting mood and i tried it last January and found it a boost.
Open water/wild swimming!
About half a dozen of my middlaged friends now put wetsuits on and dunk themselves in lochs regularly! I'm saving fir a decent wetsuit. Yes its freezing but the warm glow afterwards and the mood boost is lovely!
Im sure you'll be horrified si my other recimendation is Vitamin D.

Ditch the 50 hour weeks.
They are neither sane nor legal.
Change your schedule so that you can take at least an hour off in the middle of the day to catch some rays
ideally find an outdoor swimming pool
so you can top up Vit D and get fit at the same time

I found a lunchtime walk helped and eating a packed lunch outside

Also, I had flexitime, so I could start and finish work v early, to manage an afternoon walk

Arrrange to spend a lot of the weekends outdoors too

I retired 1 February and I found spending more time outdoors was ace, so I'm not worried aboiut future winters

@bearlyactive

Great thread. The last three winters have been progressively worse for me, until just before lockdown I was wondering how much more I could take. I can't afford the special clocks and lamps though, and I don't want to go on ADs unless I really really REALLY have to. And I'm already starting to feel the symptoms...!

Special clocks and lamps can be got for twenty quid or less on Amazon.

Just ordered another for DP for when he's working in the spare room - I went up the price bracket to £19.99 because I wanted something a bit larger.

Oh and if you can, book a winter break to somewhere warm and sunny
It's much more useful than a summer break, since the UK usually gets quite warm now

Ugh none.of these things sound appealing!! Im already going downhill. I hate it. Tend to cope.ok till.christmas-ish but even with the shortest day behind me, Jan/Feb/march are killers. My mum and dad used to go to the canaries for those 3 months when they were fit enough. Such a good idea.i hope I'm rich enough to do the same when my retirement comes

I embrace sleep, wake up naturally and go to bed earlyish.
Warm clothes, I’m always freezing so have the Uniqlo heatech under normal clothes plus cashmere or alpaca socks for around the house.
Try and go somewhere everyday to give me a reason to get dressed and put makeup on, agree with getting outside even for 10 minutes.
I take multivitamins, vitamin D and zinc
I have a SAD lamp it was fairly cheap off amazon and have had it for years.
Best tonic is going somewhere hot in dec/jan which won’t be happening this year.
Daily yoga makes a difference just 20 minutes.
Hot baths
Hot drinks
Don’t overeat, but equally I do need to eat more as I’m so cold.

This year is going to be tough as I usually go into winter a bit more upbeat but 2020 plus all this miserable weather is wearing me down already and it’s still August.

I would say get your vit D checked. I felt really down last winter, we barely got out because the weather was so bad and my toddler decided he didn’t want to leave the house ever.

Got my vit D checked in July and it was low despite being out at least 2 hours every day with DS since the end of March as I was furloughed. It made me wonder just how low it got over winter.

@byvirtue are the heatech base layers good then? Do they fit ok under normal clothes? I’m asking because my workplace is bloody freezing and I really struggle with being cold at work. I always have a vest, long sleeve top, and sweatshirt on and it’s still cold!

Exercise. It is so hard and cliche but absolutely vital. I use Popsugar videos, Joe Wicks or the free FitOn app. 6 days a week of half an hour makes a big difference. Oh, and psychiatric drugs but mostly the exercise.