I suffer with S.A.D. and I feel very down this time of year due to lack of sunlight in dark january.
I cannot do sunbed makes me ill and have no access to light box as it is not considered a bad enough condition to warrant having one in doctors
I have been told fish tank lighting is good anyone with any tips to combat this depressing condition
Mari

aww Mari :( Off to look for links for you

Sara xx

sent you an email Marie

I think i suffer this too, i have a sunbed and only seem to use it in the winter on dark nights, if i dont go on my sunbed for a few days i get depressed and down, but then when i go back on my sunbed i start to feel better.
i hope you get the help u need.

DEBBIE

thank you Saraw Debbie
Saraw am browsing the sites you sent me . I wilL let you know how I go.
Mari

Mari, have you tried any of the lightbulbs designed for an indoor garden? (aka "grow-lights") Those will work quite nicely under the same principle and fit in a couple of your regular lamps. They're not expensive and gardenshops usually carry them. Mom has them throughout her house and swears by them. The other thing to do is to get outside walking around noon...even if there's a cloud cover, your body will pickup some of the vit. D and it helps to raise your endorphins :)
regards,
toodles

We give our children flinstone vitamins in the winter because they r not outside enough and getting the sun they need. They seem to help lots, could this help u too. Did u know that u can actually tan in the winter, the sun still comes through?
ttfn :)

Mari there are numerous fish tank lights for various needs such as plant growth, marine tanks etc.

I have a fishtank with a plant growth light in and have to say this is the first year I've not been as miserable as usual - even with my other health problems, I also take St Johns Wort during the winter mths too.

It must be dreadful. I do get down with the dark days but don't think its as bad as saying I suffer from SAD. I just have problems with my legs they hurt more in the cold and damp weather that gets me down. :rolleyes: Hope you feel better soon. Julieann xxx

Hi Mari
Sorry to hear you're feeling down - it's amazing the number of people I know who seem to be suffering from this condition at the moment.
I hope you find something which will help - hopefully you will start to feel much brighter as the daylight time increases.

Best wishes

Joyce

Poor Mari. I dislike all these dark days too, but I've noticed it gets dark at 5pm now not at 4 so things are looking up! I find the only way to get rid of depression and fatigue is exercise. Not the boring gym or ridiculous jogging, but stupid things like taking up a new sport like trampolining (It made me laugh so much I've got a full size one in my garden! The dogs love it too!) We've got the Wiltshire school of gymnastics here and on a Monday I go down there and throw myself into the sponge pits doing somersaults and all sorts - it sounds silly but the exercise releases those good feeling endorphins that keeps us going. You feel great afterwards!

I even went down to my swimming pool the other day and joined in with a class of geriatrics doing "HypoAqua". You strap on a bouyancy aid, put on some webbed gloves and splash around to music! I did a great impression of a drowning whale whilst all the sleek coiffed 70 years olds looked very elegant!

Give it a bash!

Lady G

Good suggestions, Lady G ! :D I've always thought that there should be parks for adults as well as kiddies - with swings, roundabouts, see-saws, slides etc. It'd be a great way to release frustrations and stress, and a lot of fun as well ! :D

What a great idea Joyce! I shall go down to my park immediately and throw off all the 5year olds demanding to have my turn!

In America they have those de-stress offices where you go and bounce on tramps, throw darts at a picture of your boss and sit on bean bags listening to whale music. I think the Yanks are onto something with this!

Lady G

I'm amazed you're allowed to bounce on tramps :D So that's what they do with the homeless, is it?

ooooo!! heeee!!! :p Julieann xxxx

ps hope your feeling OK today?

Mari,

My daughter (10) suffers from this, I got her a daylight simnlation light bulb (most rooms in the house) and keep her occupied with cross stitch and various crafts to keep her mind off things - it works wonders !

Donna

Hi Donna, has your daughter been diagnosed by a doctor as having this as I have always said that my son suffers with this but according to my doctor children dont get it ( I think he means that it is not recocnised in children) Doc told me to just give him vitamin suppliments, my son is now 12 but as a small child of 3 and 4 he used to crave the daylight and on winter mornings would pull open the curtains as far as he could and sit on the window sill most of the day :( he still suffers now but not as bad as he used to. Sarah

Mari
Sorry to hear that you are feeling low. My mum also suffers with this and after a couple of years arguing with her GP she has now had it confirmed. She has been given advice and help through excerise. Ask your GP about it I think it's called excerise on prescription. Good Luck and hope the sun comes out soon :D
Kelly

Thanks for all the tips i have the bulbs recommended to me by toodles and one in the lamp here on pc.
I am amazed since i mentioned it how many suffer from it , It is also called January syndrome .
I do take lots of walks and try to get out mid day with the dogs , I guess i would be climbing walls at this stage if I wasent excercising. I agree roll on spring.
Mari

yes I wish Spring would hurry up too ;) I hate the way its dark before 5pm. :( Hope your OK today? Julieann xxxx

The light boxes work really well, my Mum's had one for the last few years. She has it on at the breakfast table for an hour or so each morning and it's improved her SAD no end. You can buy them now, rather than having to go via your GP. I notice you can get them from www.wellbeing.com quite cheaply. A bedside light which increases the amount of light gradually is about £60. The full sized one is £250. If you type SAD in the search field, it'll show you what they have.Might be worth a look?
Nic :)

Hi Sarah

Sorry for the delay in replying, I've only just come back to this thread - as I had other issues with my daughter i.e school refusal (being bullied) and lashing out at everyone, breaking things in temper etc. my doctor refered her to a child psycologist, after seeing this lady for 3 months - this is what she came up with - it came to light that my daughters temprement changed drastically in the winter - in the summer she was fine. It was suggested by the psycologist that she suffers from SAD - i was also told by her that doctors do not like to 'label' childeren with some disorders like SAD or 'mental ilnesses' like depression etc. so won't do so. It was so bad at one stage that my daughter tried to commit suicide and we had to get the police out as she completely 'lost it' the doctor refused to come out and the police were not happy at all as they said she needed to be sedated - doctors would not help at all - we had major problems for about 6 months with no help from doctors / hospital / social sevices at all - no one wanted to know. She is a lot better now but it is very difficult when in that position
Donna

Oh lord Donna I can really sympathise. My own daughter has gone through some traumatic times over lat 18 months, and I have a very hard time with her at the moment as she is a real rebel and won't accept any authority. It is just grit your teeth, I know how worrying and frustrated you must be. {{{{{{{{{Hugs}}}}}}}}}

Hi Mari

Just an idea, but we have an iguana and she must have direct sunlight all day every day or at least have the correct lightbulb in her vivarium which simulates the sunlight - in particular providing vitamin d. You can either buy strip lights or high power sun bulbs and can be bought from most pet shops. Hope this helps.