Bipolar Support Group

ok. i know i've bitched about the weather and told you all how dark it is and how it snows every day (been snowing all week to different degrees) and how i'm getting depressed and fearful and blah, blah, blah. just call me broken record.

BUT i got my SAD light on monday and it's a gooseneck lamp that sits on your desk and you face it towards you and let it stare at you all day as you do your work. i don't want to jinx myself, but i think it's working. not only that, but i think i can actually FEEL it working! i know that sounds silly but it's true.

the other thing about the lamp is that it looks like that lamp in the pixar movies that basically comes alive and jumps around. know what i'm talking about? whatever it is about this lamp, i keep expecting it to talk to me or start inching closer to me. i try to think of it as a friend so in case that does happen, it will only have good things to say to me.

Zinnia i ordered me one of those on Wednesday i am glad that it is working for you mine should be here on Tuesday i think they said

hi z and trishy! i got a SADD light about 3 years ago. i really think it helps me. 30 min a day is supposed to be therapeutic. i swear i feel mellow after 15 minutes.

z - you're such a crackup! wouldn't life be boring if we didn't have our crazy imaginations?........i can never look at those little green plastic army soldiers as innocent children's toys after i saw this steven king movie about them coming to life. at least the little pixar light is cute!!!!!

Post edited by: Zoe42405, at: 11/21/2008 09:11

I am thinking about getting one of these...

Crap, I had a big response and lost it!! LOL

I'm so glad it's working, Zinnia!! My Pdoc is going to set me up with one next appt.

And I LOVE the little Pixar Lamp!

my pdoc asked me where i got mine. there are some really expensive ones out there that are just the same as the less expensive desk lamp ones. go on ebay. you're looking for 10,000 of something that starts with an "L". what a ditz i am.

My doctor has talked to me about the light issue with Bipolar. She tells me during those depressive moments that I need to expose myself to as much light as possible. "Get out in the sun" she says. She says it helps with the whole neurotrasmitter happenings in my brain and can help pull me from thoses deep dark crevices. When I am in a bad funk I do try and make myself see some light. It has seemed to help the past few months. Seemed kindof weird at first but when you're deperate you're desperate.

ok i don't want to be ignorant but in truth i am. i've never really wrapped my head around sad. Can someone give me the 411. one question that sticks in my head is the seasonal part. it seems that this is a winter condition but does it have spring, summer, fall aspects?

many thanks.

All I know (cuz he hasn't dxed me..probably will next visit) is that when winter comes, and it's dark more often, there is less sun, it's always cloudy and snowy and cold, I get more depressed. I crave carbos, I sleep more, don't want to go out. I hate hate hate winter.

Even during the other seasons I find it hard to do things unless the sun is out. Have a hard time when it's rainy and dreary.

I'm sure there is a technical explaination, but that's mine.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression or winter blues, is a mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience depressive symptoms in the winter or, less frequently, in the summer,[1] repeatedly, year after year. The US National Library of Medicine notes that "some people experience a serious mood change when the seasons change. They may sleep too much, have little energy, and crave sweets and starchy foods. They may also feel depressed. Though symptoms can be severe, they usually clear up.

I just googled and came up with this definition....