Anyone here with SAD / inverse-SAD?

Pawnless Endgame

Pawnless Endgame

Pawnless Endgame

Soldato
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I'm posting this as an informal discussion, not to break the medical threads rule, so no diagnosis / inb4 see your doctor etc :-) It's more to discuss how you cope with the changes in seasons.

SAD stands for seasonal affective disorder. People get this around September time when day/night are equal, and the days becoming shorter affect their mood. A common treatment is to accompany yourself with a light box which substitutes some of the missing light associated with the darker months.

Inverse-SAD is the opposite version where you prefer the darker months and your offset for SAD is around March time. Again day/night are equal around now and the days become longer.

I think that I have the inverse version as I'm sensitive to light, will wear sunglasses outside starting now if it's sunny otherwise it's a recipe for migraines. Inside the house, I use thick (black-out) curtains to limit light. Oddly enough Mar/Apr is when I get a lot of my nightmares too, although that might just be a placebo effect. Then of course the summer comes and I'm not a fan of the heat either, so there is that element too even if it's only a British summer. Just not a fan of it.

I'm interested on how you Overclockers (informally) cope with either versions of SAD :-)
 
I can't stand the winter, I hate the cold, and I genuinely feel sad when the clocks go back at the end of October.

Knowing that in just over a week's time we'll gain an extra hour of daylight in the evenings is as good as a lottery win in my book! :D
 
Plenty of sad people here. :p

But seriously. I live north enough to have 24h dark and light in winter and summer.

How do I cope? Dark is hard. You know how in the uk you complain in winter when you finish work at 5pm and it's dark... Boohoo. Multiply that by 3 months 24h a day.

Northern Swedes have basically evolved to find the dark cosy and comfortable rather than an oppressive nightmare. I think this is why nearly every one wears glasses too.its actually a blessing when the snow settles, at least some light is reflected.

I have 140w equivalent bulbs in our kitchen cos it's the one room I refuse to be "mysigt" I often burst into fits of hysteria trying to do basic DIY tasks in light conditions equivalent to a 11th century Norman castle.

Light is easy. Good curtians. Easy. Clocks go forward in 2 days? That's gonna be a 4am sunrise getting about 10mins earlier everyday until 24/7 ....yippppee.
 
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Pawnless Endgame said:
... I'm sensitive to light, will wear sunglasses outside starting now if it's sunny otherwise it's a recipe for migraines. Inside the house, I use thick (black-out) curtains to limit light. Oddly enough Mar/Apr is when I get a lot of my nightmares too... Then of course the summer comes and I'm not a fan of the heat either...
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How are you with garlic and crucifixes? Do you get the urge to bite people on the neck?
 
My best non-medical advice, as an SAD sufferer myself, is find a reason to go out for 30mins or more daily. For me, in the last ~15 months, it has been fitness cycling.

As per most years, the last few weeks have been tough, going through a hypomania phase. The longer daylight hours and earlier sunrise results in me suddenly wanting to do more and "hibernating" over the winter, but I'm tending to stay up later and still getting up at the same time around 0500. So while I want to do more, I'm fighting tiredness more than through the winter months, due to less quality sleep. I've been planning "big" cycle rides in the South Downs, but through the recent weather and my extreme fatigue, only one of many have actually happened (which really gets me down).

The clocks going forward this weekend does not help me one bit in the short term, as I need to be up by 0530 for work, which during March has meant I tend to wake up naturally before the alarm. But come Sunday morning, that time will be plunged back into darkness until late April, with technical sunrise at ~0700 and falling by ~2mins each day.

On the flip side, the clocks going forward will help me around mid summer, due to my common extreme sensitivity to light... Without the time shift, I would be getting poor quality sleep (if any) from ~0330! :eek:
 
I hate the cold and dark of winter. I just want to hibernate until spring. Just this week the sun has started to show itself, it's still bitterly cold but the bright sunlight has cheered me up considerably.
 
Moses said:
SAD not being real and inverse SAD being real? Or is sad a completely different level of issue... one where people choose to get appropriate light boxes installed which provide light?
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Fixed :p

As for the vampires ref, I did play a warlock character in World of Warcraft many (full) moons ago.
 
Winter - too dark wake up tired cause its still night
Summer - too light wake up tired at 5 cause it feels like middle of the day

My problem all year sadness
 
stuie said:
Winter - too dark wake up tired cause its still night
Summer - too light wake up tired at 5 cause it feels like middle of the day

My problem all year sadness
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Have you tried blackout blinds for your bedroom in summer? I use Gro Company Blackout Blinds for our room and the difference is incredible.
 
Vargas said:
Have you tried blackout blinds for your bedroom in summer? I use Gro Company Blackout Blinds for our room and the difference is incredible.
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Ive got lined blackout blinds already but the light comes in around the edges. I also keep the bedroom door open at night as well so it comes in through there from other parts of the house.
 
inverse sad wtf, or just eyes are sensitive to light, have you told your optician.

stuie said:
Winter - too dark wake up tired cause its still night
Summer - too light wake up tired at 5 cause it feels like middle of the day

My problem all year sadness
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proper black out curtains/blinds or both. installed properly, so you don't get light around the edges.
and one of the light bulb alarm clocks which comes on gradually.
and mechanical ventilation as blinds block all airflow essentially.

only have part of that solution at the moment.
 
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My wife gets SAD (ha!) but really, she does. Winter times she struggles. I think she needs more vit D or some crap. Either way, when they drag on it's a mission.
 
randomshenans said:
My wife gets SAD (ha!) but really, she does. Winter times she struggles. I think she needs more vit D or some crap. Either way, when they drag on it's a mission.
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I think my fiancée has it as well. She works from home, but we now have Philips Hue bulbs and the 'Energize' setting seems to help her a bit in winter.

I'm not a fan of really hot weather - 20-25°C is about my comfort zone but I really don't get people who prefer winter here. It's cold, dark and miserable.

I love walking the dog and feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. Not a freezing wind from the east making my face numb.
 
really don't get this

yes winter is not as nice as summer but really don't buy into all this syndrome stuff
 
I struggle massively in the mornings during the winter months. I like to get up early and workout but I really lack motivation from about November through to February. The last few weeks I've felt as though I've got my motivation back as it's not been a struggle to get up early and I don't feel like I haven't slept when I wake up. I've tried everything from having the radio coming on early, having lights come on gradually to wake me up but during the winter I feel like I just want to hibernate.

enkoda said:
Knowing that in just over a week's time we'll gain an extra hour of daylight in the evenings is as good as a lottery win in my book! :D
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It's the best time of the year when the clocks go back! :D
 
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