Anyway, my city is great in the summer and spring but absolutely not fun in the fall and winter. I have a history of Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is basically depression caused by lack of sun in those two seasons. My symptoms in the past have been severe enough for me to leave college (twice!) and require medication. It has been so bad in the past that I have started to dread the approach of autumn and even start getting a little anxious towards the end of August, knowing this season is coming.
2008 was the first time in many years that my SAD was bad enough to require antidepressants. I was in bad shape, barely able to leave my bed. It was hard to find motivation to take a shower, let alone pay attention to my diet and exercise. This bout with SAD started my weight gain last year, so yes, for me SAD is aptly named indeed.
2008 was the first time in many years that my SAD was bad enough to require antidepressants. I was in bad shape, barely able to leave my bed. It was hard to find motivation to take a shower, let alone pay attention to my diet and exercise. This bout with SAD started my weight gain last year, so yes, for me SAD is aptly named indeed.
This year I decided to fight SAD before it started. One of the main things that have made a HUGE difference is this SAD sun lamp
I was very skeptical when I ordered it, showing restraint that I didn't exhibit when I bought sea monkies, Crocs and countless other rip-offs in the past. But after two months of sitting in front of this sucker for 30 minutes a day, I am a believer.
Comparing this year to last year is like comparing Carole King to Brittney Spears. I feel incredibly great. My energy level is way up and my cravings for awful foods are down. I knew something was up when I went for a walk mid-October and looked at the leaves on the trees changing colors. "Wow, it's really pretty," I thought, and then nearly had to call an ambulance because I was so shocked. Leaves changing in the past have meant that they were dying and winter was coming, and all I had to look forward to was six months of feeling blah. Seeing beauty in that? This autumn has been a whole new world for me.
I haven't gone through a winter with this lamp yet but so far it works way better than I imagined it would. Combining it with regular exercise seems to have combat the symptoms I normally have experienced by now, so fingers crossed it works when Chicago is covered with 13 inches of dirty frozen snow. And no, the lamp doesn't work well enough that I look forward to that, but this year I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, which is definitely a positive.
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