Ugh!! Seasonal mood changes. Hate it. Anyone else have it?

Sigh. May and June, December and January, seem to be my worst time where it comes to depression. I feel like I'm at the bottom of a hole and can't dig out.

I can think of millions of things to do to "treat depression," I've read and heard it all. I would love to hear from others of you who suffer at this time of year. How is it going and how are you coping?


I mean it's like, I exercise, meditate, use a light box, have plenty of therapy, reach out to people, work, take my meds, consult with my pdoc regularly. I'm doing everything under the sun.....

Yes, I have seasonal mood changes - January is usually the worst and to a lesser extent, July-August for some reason (I blame the heat). I didn't really think I had a problem until we took a vacation to a sunnier place at the end of November/beginning of December and I saw a huge boost in mood that got me through the holidays. This year I was lucky enough to go somewhere south of the equator (NZ) for Christmas & New Years. I've been back over a week and can feel myself slowing down and things going gray.

So I know I should be exercising, like taking the dog for walks or just taking myself for a walk, but I haven't gotten around to doing that yet. But I am considering getting a full-spectrum light to use - I've been really skeptical of them in the past but have talked to a few people who do get a big boost from them. The other light-related thing I did was switch one of the lamps I use often from a harsh compact florescent bulb to a softer more yellow LED light. I think studies have been shown that blueish lights interferes with circadian rhythm & mood and that yellow(er) light is better - that's one reason why iPhones have the Night Shift setting now.

If you find something that works well or if you get one of those lights, please post!

EK

I just read here *mod edit* that light therapy can cause mania/hypomania for people with BP. So much for light therapy - I don't think I want to risk it or blow money on something that either may not work for me or that'll trigger hypomania.

EK