Seasonal Depression

Every year about this time I seem to get in a bad mood. I have always just associated it with not liking the holidays. But this year I really noticed that it started the week after the time change.

After some research on the internet, I see that I may be suffering the symptoms of Seasonal affected disorder or SAD. I find that starting in the fall, I start to carve carbohydrates and begin “bulking up for winter.” I also want to sleep much more than normal. And this year I have especially noticed that I want to withdraw socially. Many of the activities that I used to enjoy just don’t seem as fun anymore.

I notice that when I get home and it is already dark, I get really sleepy or grumpy. Walking the dog in the dusk just does not give me the same mood boost as it does in the summer.

I have noticed that I do feel better when I work in my barn in the evenings. I call it Jeep therapy. However, the last few nights even the Jeep therapy has not helped as much.

I decided to do some research on SAD and I found one of the treatments is bright light therapy. That is when I had a light bulb go off in my head. Normally when I work on the Jeep in the barn, I have my two big Quartz Halogen lights right by my head most of the time. They help keep me warm in the cool nights as well as helping me see what I am looking at.

For the last couple of nights, I have been learning how to gas weld and have not been using the lights. Could that be why I have not gotten the normal mood enhancement that I normally get from working in the barn?

I have been dong Heart Math coherence sessions for a couple days but they have not yet helped me feel much better. Working on the Seasonal Affected Disorder theory, I am going to now try some B 12 vitamins and use my bright lights in the barn to see how that affects my mood.