Does anyone else have seasonal depression?

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Fall is coming up... I hate fall and winter.

I've noticed I've been a lot more agitated lately with people in general. Last night I snapped at someone at my son's church at a social event due to the lack of organization and fairness to the little ones. It was a family event, so they should have had little ones included in it, but they did not, and when they did include them, they made them stop anything they started doing within seconds it seemed.

It seems I'm unintentionally shoving everyone out of my life lately... well, some are intentional. Granted I don't have many at all to begin with.

During season changes, I just always know I'm more angry and unwilling to listen to others, more ready to just move them out than talk things out, and I wonder why it is.

Could it be sensing a change in the atmosphere that triggers it-a change beyond my control that I cannot stop? A change that is life changing every few months... new activities, new schedules, new times for the sun to rise/fall... new clothing I have to wear to adapt to the temperature... just new everything, and there is nothing that can be done to stop it.

Has anyone else ever felt that they take these changes-their bodies take these changes-a lot more seriously than others with regular seasonal depression? Or have you wondered the same things I am wondering? ...or am I just nuts and need to get more rest? lol.

I have SAD (seasonal affective disorder) in addition to a pretty unhealthy "regular" sort of depression. Yes, SAD is a real thing, and yes, it affects some people pretty severely. For me, it's mostly a lack-of-daylight thing: the days get shorter, my mood gets worse. I have a light that I use in the mornings, and it helps somewhat. It's something like this:

http://www.consumer.philips.com/c/energ ... MER%3Dtrue

Over the last few days, I've had the thought that it might be time to start using it again. My mood isn't great, and I feel like hibernating. This is happening awfully early....

I was thinking it was starting super early as well in comparison to other years. It's very odd. I think it has to do with our drastic weather changes lately, though. I'm not sure where you live, but here it's back and forth constantly... a bright sunny, hot day, to being gloomy and chilly the next day. I can just feel it coming already, and my mood has been as unstable as the weather it seems.

Yes, SAD is what I think it is I have... would be the technical name of it.

For me it could very well be the lack of daylight. I was googling it all, and found information about that, and that would make sense. It's the gloominess of the fall/winter that I don't like, and it literally makes me want to hibernate. I've already started sleeping my days away essentially, leaving me wide awake at night.

I just called a doctor to try to schedule something of an appointment to get something for it. It's been pretty bad. Just constantly feeling overwhelmed by everything in general, and anxious..... very very anxious about anything that has to do with dealing with other people. I normally don't like it, but this is just over the top anxiety... like feeling I could just break down and cry at any moment, or just snap on people out of the blue. I hate this feeling.

Does the light help much? What do you have to do with it?

I have struggled with depression since I was 14 & it has never really gone away although it is worse in the winter months. In the other months even though I am unmotivated and don't see the point in doing any activities, it's in the winter months where I seem to have most of my suicidal thoughts and struggle to do the most basic tasks like wash my hair and put bread into the toaster, simply because I don't have the energy & don't see the point.

I used to have a very strong SAD - when I lived in Northern Europe, water and soil are naturally radioactive there.
Plus they built our house on radioactive ashes, what affects thyroid.

But SAD can be a symptom of undiagnosed under active thyroid.
Thyroid needs sun. Under active thyroid can be hidden condition, so you can’t diagnose it with the blood test.
Our doctors only do blood tests (The same doctors have never heard of Asperger’s), which is wrong.

All the SAD lamps don’t make me feel better, only sun bed helps, that’s why I think i have under active thyroid behind my SAD.

SAD means more anxiety, frustration over nothing, mental weakness. Such a waste of life.

A good SAD forum
http://www.lumie.com/forum

I suppose I have it but, I'm not affected by the darkness of Winter.. but by the cold:\
If Winter would be slightly warmer I'm pretty sure I'd be able to get through without many problems.

I don't know but in general I'm more depressed during the winter at least last winter. I don't think it has anything to do with the sunlight but maybe the cold. It's a very cold and very snowy long winter where I live. I think the holidays probably has something to do with it too. I just don't get much joy out of any of them and more than likely just a bunch of stress. Fall and winter were always times I associated with going back to school too.

I find I'm most inspired and alive during the winter. I hate the summer here. I loathe hot weather. I do love going camping, though. That's the only thing that keeps my spirits up when it's horribly hot.

Only in the winter and early spring. I can tolerate winter up until the middle of February. After Valentine's Day usually. Then, I'm melancholy through the middle of April. However, this year there's an El Nino, which might ease my mood some if our winter is mild. However, El Nino might make our weather warmer, the days are still short and I get sick of not seeing the Sun and not feeling it. You can have a sunny day in winter and not even feel the Sun. It just looks nice.

However, I must say since we replaced most of our lightbulbs with CFL's, my mood is better in the winter. I don't know why. I guess CFL's give off some UV light, but I'm just guessing.

Does it help much... well, let's see.

I think it does. It helps keep me from sleeping until 10am, and helps me get up and going in the mornings. This is good.

Everybody's routine is different, but I sit at my computer from 6:00 - 6:20 every morning with the light shining on my face. That's it. Nothing too complicated. I notice that I awaken with my alarm clock in the mornings, instead of having to drag my butt out of bed, and yes, my mood is somewhat brighter.

YMMV.

I may have to try one of those. I have found myself sleeping in until literally... 4-5 pm. embarrassingly since I have 2 kiddos o.O

Luckily, my little one just lounges around with me and watches her movies, plays her DS, plays educational games on the computers and things of the sort, but I still hate sleeping the days away.
I'd also like to be awake for my son to tell me about his day and such.

Really sucks to not feel capable of doing so on some days. I'm not sure why, but night time is easier for me during this time... wonder if it is because it is gloomier and more depressing during the day, but you can't see that gloom at night, so it feels like any other day in the evening sort of...

I spent most my youth in Aberdeen (Scotland) and apparently 40% of people there have SAD. All I know is when I'm up there, I get depressed. But they don't call it the granite city for nothing...

I'm not sure. I just know that my mood is 100x better when I enjoy the weather. I typically enjoy the weather in autumn the most, so I'm quite happy right now.

Oh yeah I get SAD. Seattle skies are gray like 9 months a year. It is insane. I've lived here 16 years and it started really getting to me about 3 years ago.

So Cal weather and geography are great, but I don't like their culture.

Florida? Ditto.

I guess I should move to Kauai or something. Oahu is too touristy.

I get depressed when I can't go outside, but that's easily fixed because there's no problem with going outside during winter. I may end up going out in a negative 5 degree day (that's Fahrenheit, not Celsius), but by golly I will have my sunshine!

I guess it's not really "depression". It's not like the episodic major depression I've gotten, when I couldn't think straight or plan things or sometimes get out of bed. It's more like a fuzzy-headed sort of half-anxious, half-annoyed, mostly-tired state. Sunshine is vital for me. Thankfully I live up north far enough that my pale skin doesn't automatically mean I will get burnt to a crisp, because I hate sunburns and the smell and feel of sunscreen about equally. I still try not to stay out longer than an hour at a time on cloudy or wintery days, no longer than a half hour in direct sunlight.

I think, maybe, that getting enough sunlight does fight real depression even when it's not the seasonal kind; but it could also be the moderate exercise I tend to engage in when I'm outdoors--walking, usually, or messing with my flower beds. I haven't been on a long hike in such a long time... I'm probably out of practice. I really miss it. I used to go all the time when I lived near a lot of trails, but now I'm in this town where you get nothing but paved bike trails (boring!), anemic patches of trees, and farmland.