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...and here comes Summer


15 years ago 0 456 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hi Pete,
 
you have noticed something that is very true!  there is a kind of up swing in depressions in the spring... and I have not seen anyone hazard a guess as to why. 
 
Reverse SAD?  For me it might me a factor... Since I am bipolar and need to keep a rigid sleep schedual ... that late subset makes to tough to hit the sack at 8pm.  THen there is the whole nutritional thing, I really go all out and buy local fresh produce ... and DQ has a special that taunts me at the wee hours of the night 5 streets away....
 
THere were a few times I even lied to my family ... couldn't have the same vacation weeks... so I got to stay home alone while they had their vacations at their time and had a ball ... that I booked!!!  But that was a lot of anxiety back then!
15 years ago 0 910 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hiya Pete,

I wanted to say I understand your feelings. I used to have the same problem. I used to see summer coming with a feeling of gloom and dread! Summer was always so horrible. Nowadays I deal with summer so much better. I am not sure why. I just wanted to say there is hope out there, I used to be exactly like you about summer and now, this year, I actually believe I will get enjoyment out of my summer, despite the fact that it sometimes gets way too hot imho!
15 years ago 0 955 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Pete,   The weather can have profound effects on our emotions and well-being. There is actually research to suggest that reverse seasonal affective disorder exists. However, the cause of summer SAD is still unknown. Winter depression has been found to be linked with a lack of sunlight so doctors and researchers have assumed that summer SAD can be linked to too much exposure to sunlight. Unfortunately, research has not been able to establish or prove that this relationship exists.     You mentioned that the summer months bring upon feelings of disconnection. Perhaps this could be due to the changes in your routine or schedule that occur when the weather shifts? You have also experienced a number of other changes in your life recently. Take some time to reflect on these changes and what you can do to become the refreshed and strong person you wish to be. Are there goals you can set for yourself that you would like to accomplish this summer?   Members, any other suggestions for Pete? Have you ever experienced symptoms of reverse seasonal affective disorder?   Stay close to the boards Pete and let us know how you are doing. We are here-just reach out to us.    
Sarah, Health Educator
15 years ago 0 3043 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Well, Summer is on its way (in my part of the globe at least). Does anyone else round here find it to be the worst, most depressive time of year? Like SAD but in reverse? The sun, the heat seem so relentless and aggressive. Step outside my door and I'm under attack! And everyone else seems so cheerful about it, make me feel worse for hating this time of year, for rejoicing in the cooler, wetter days. Then the pressure to go out somewhere, take the family out, go on holiday. Too much. The Summer brings with it, every year, such a profound sense of disconnection. I'm stumbling through a communal hallucination, it feels. Am I dreaming the people or are they dreaming me? They move, they smile and laugh, they talk to each other, they step boldly on the surface of the quicksand in which I'm drowning.
 
For those who remember my forays into this forum from a few months ago, things haven't been too great - my father died fairly suddenly in March. Straight after his death I was so busy, so much to sort out but now there's just a quiet gap in the core of my soul. I feel scorched and stripped, an empty mask, a marionette.
 
The Spring, I remember, was going to render me a psychedelic butterfly, shiny and new, strong and real, but like so many butterflies I was crushed by a careless boot or eaten in the larval stage.

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