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Has anyone used a light box for SAD


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I searched the archives for "SAD" and "light box", but then gave up ;) Sorry if this is a repeat of anything recent.

 

It's a long story for me, but in the past month I have become more and more depressed and I didn't really know why. Then I remembered a discussion I had with a psychologist last fall. Besides the Dysthymia, which I have suffered with all of my life (literally), she Dx me with SAD and suggested that I buy a light box. At the time I couldn't really afford one and pushed the idea to the side.

 

Fast forward to the past month, and I am convinced. I have gone from being relatively happy (w/o AD meds, but I am on a low level of Cytomel, a thyroid hormone, for the depression) to severely depressed. Daylight hours are down to about 10 hours/day, from 16+ in the summer, and will go down another two hours by December 21. I can't take this awful feeling another day.

 

So, I just bit the bullet & ordered a 10,000 Lux therapy light. I've done all of the research, etc., but wondered if any of you have personal experience with using light therapy to combat SAD. Did it truly help? What are your thoughts?

 

Thanks so much!

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Yep. Been there, done that. Was told never to live further north than Virginia (where I was at the time). So what did I do? Move to Seattle. Yes, Seattle. Land of "Twilight" it's so dark and sunless.

 

I used a lightbox. It helped. I found that I could only use it in the morning, and had to experiment with the length of time and intensity of lights (how close I sat to the thing) because not enough, I was a wreck. Too much, I was so hyper and wired I couldn't sleep at night.

 

I also have a diagnosis of dysthymia.

 

I live in Texas now. My only concerns are summer time when I get too much sun. The nasty little flipside of SAD is that you can (and I do) get manic and have insomnia in the summer if/when you get too much sun. I tend to just stay in more then to minimize sun exposure.

 

HTH!

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...Was told never to live further north than Virginia (where I was at the time). So what did I do? Move to Seattle. Yes, Seattle. Land of "Twilight" it's so dark and sunless.

 

I used a lightbox. It helped. I found that I could only use it in the morning, and had to experiment with the length of time and intensity of lights (how close I sat to the thing) because not enough, I was a wreck. Too much, I was so hyper and wired I couldn't sleep at night...

 

Thanks! glad to hear from a real person (and not just a statistic - although I realize that they are real, too :) )! I forgot to mention that in addition to the lack of daylight hours that we also go weeks without the sun. We had a tiny bit yesterday afternoon (like 5 minutes, and it was very hazy) but other than that it has been over a week with no sun.

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I have used one for years. Thanks for the reminder to get it out! It helps, but only if you use it. I wasn't always diligent about doing so (partly because I was to tired to remember it:).) I found that if I used it for 20 minutes while I ate breakfast, I had more energy during the day. The problem for me was where to store it during the day so that I would remember to take it out in the morning.

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It made a remarkable difference in my energy level when I started using it. I usually start the day sipping tea and doing computer stuff (read the paper, check email, 1-2 blogs, a quick skim at TWTM). I keep the light in a bin next to the desk. In the morning I pull it on top of the desk and turn it on while I read. Generally 20-30 minutes is a good amount of time.

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I'm in the same situation. I grew up in AK (didn't have a problem when I lived there, but I think it would kill me now!:D) and live in MI, which is sometimes just as cloudy as Seattle. The lightbox has done wonders. I use it in the AM while I'm reading. I've also replaced all the lightbulbs in the house with daylight bulbs; they are much more expensive, but worth it!

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I lived in Alaska for 13 years and wish I'd bought my "happy light" years earlier than I did!!

 

I would turn it on and my little boy of 6 would say, in his sing-song voice, "The sun is shining! The sun is shining!"

 

I would purposely sit next to it and read for a good amount of time in the morning and put it on my kitchen counter while cooking all meals. Mine had a handle and was easy to transport. And it worked great!

 

Now, in the middle of CA near the bay, I am thinking about one for those evenings where it is dark early and I just want to go to bed... at 5pm... lol

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