Do you suffer from S.A.D.?

Regular exposure to light that is bright, particularly fluorescent light, significantly improves depression in people with seasonal affective disorder that presents during the fall and winter. The light treatment is used daily in the morning and evening for best results. Temporarily changing locations to a climate that is characterized by bright light (such as the Caribbean) can achieve similar results. Light treatment has also been called phototherapy. Antidepressant medications, particularly those from the serotonin selective reuptake inhibitor family (SSRI) family, have been found effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder that presents during summer as well as that which tends to occur during the fall or winter. Examples of SSRIs include fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), and citalopram (Celexa). Common side effects for this class of medications include insomnia, nausea, diarrhea, and decreased s ex drive or performance. As with any other mood disorder, psychotherapy tends to accentuate the effectiveness of medical treatment and therefore should be included in the approach to addressing this disorder.

I have been battling this for many years and I wish there was some easy way overcome it. I usually go on Zoloft for about six months and then I am ok in the spring/summer months. It's a totally up and down hill battle for me. I guess what helps is my spouse is pretty understanding of this and will try his best to get me through it. I wish you lots of luck getting through it!!

My friend suffers from it and as the winter is coming in she tried to look into a lightbulb for 3 minutes a day as this can temporarily trick the brain to believing it has seen the sunlight and once it is winter she goes for sunbeds as it can get rid of the S.A.D On her days off she sits out on her front steps for a while regardless of how cold it is and she seems to get on fine. S.A.D can be very difficult as sometimes it can not be taken seriously but I think if you find the right combination for yourself then it doesn't ahve to affect your life too much.