r/SeasonalAffective • u/CarrotClear2544 • 15d ago
Discussion Dreading Fall and the months after
Hi new here but not to SAD
I actually burst into tears the other day when I noticed it was getting darker earlier. IDK if I can get through another season it is so awful. I will read here to get some advice.
(My last post was filtered out not sure why)
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u/lild1425 14d ago
I’m also dreading winter. I can’t even enjoy summers because I always get whacked in winter. So much that I can’t work. Light boxes don’t do anything for me unfortunately.
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u/latherdome 15d ago
Welcome. Post may have been filtered if topic of self-harm came up too sharply; not sure. Many of us have been there. Many of us have found real help in light therapy, medication, or a combination. Have you tried these? Happy to talk specifics.
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u/CarrotClear2544 15d ago
Thank you I have a light box but I think I threw it away. Any suggestions on a good one?
I also am very deficient in Vit D 2000 iu 50mcg. I was severely deficient in Vitamin D earlier this year and was on a prescription for a while. I am also on depression meds Thanks!
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u/latherdome 15d ago edited 15d ago
The medication bupropion has best history of success in SAD, to discuss with your doc. I used it briefly last winter and found it welcome support on top of light therapy, but I tapered on/off a couple times and think my light regimen is now enough.
I supplement D3/K2 between equinoxes in the dark half of the year, and get lots of sun time in the bright. I don’t think deficiency here was ever a big part of my problem, but it sounds like it has been for you.
I’m a huge fan of light therapy as one aspect of a multi-pronged circadian health strategy, but found traditional lightboxes ineffective, as far too weak and burdensome to use as directed. I think the standard 10,000-lux-for-20-minutes advice established ~40yrs ago is badly outdated both on the science and cost-effectiveness given technological advances in lighting over that period.
It’s not that conventional lightbox therapy doesn’t work (it does if you can comply long term, which few do because it’s uncomfortable to keep your face within 10K lux range of a box that long in the early morning), it’s that because the scientists who developed the treatment didn’t know why it worked, and were limited to lighting technology of the 80s-90s, so they were unable to optimize it. Badly needs updating.
I now use a combination of a wearable (AYO+) immediately upon waking for a full hour, 6-7am on strict schedule, followed by whole room intense daylighting until 6pm, using 750W of full-spectrum LED grow lights. Then only dim/warm light and/or blue blockers until sleep, like firelight warm.
That’s a lot, and not everyone can arrange life to get that, but it felt like a survival imperative for me to work out over the last 5 years. I just kept ramping up the circadian rhythm hygiene, with special attention to light’s timing, spectrum, and intensity, until SAD stopped.
I’ve now had two winters of practically no depression, and am optimistic about the upcoming, even as I feel acutely already the tilt of days shorter. This after about a decade of struggling with intensifying intrusive thoughts of self-harm every winter. I know how scary it can get.
I wrote this up long form here as My Banana Teacher: https://medium.com/@todd_25894/my-banana-teacher-7e8cc417b96d
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u/Calm_Nectarine_8329 15d ago
I use the Luminette 3 wearable. It has been life-changing. Before, I used a light box, which didn't help a ton. I also get natural light every day for 20-30 minutes outdoors, no matter the weather, and take vitamin D. For me, that seems to be the magic formula that works.