Seirende
Washed Up Paramedic/ EMT Dropout
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Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is something that has been part of my autumns and winters for years. I called it "the cold getting in my bones" as a teenager, before I knew what SAD was, and treated it with remarkable success with lots of coffee.
Last year I attempted to deal with a job, medic class/clinicals, relational responsibilites, other... stuff, and SAD which had worsened over time. That sucked. Thankfully, I was living at home and my family didn't need me to tell them that something was wrong in order to provide care. I slept a lot, thought about suicide a lot, ate a lot of carbs; it was fun. That particular episode was eventually managed by being honest with a counselor and getting in the habit of bringing a full-spectrum light to class, both of which actions went over much better and were more helpful than I expected.
This year, I started feeling exhausted and dysphoric shortly before the equinox. After days of worsening misery, I finally spent time in front of the HappyLight on my desk and holy cow, it made a drastic difference within hours. From what I've read, for some people light therapy may take a few days to make a noticeable difference, perhaps because it's still early in the season, less was required.
For myself, exercise helps, friendship helps, caffeine and carbs help as a bandaid measure (don't judge)
, light therapy helps the most, both because it's a more definitive treatment and because it does not require much energy to utilize. Before I read on the subject, I did not connect light exposure with feeling exhausted and cold; I thought it was the temperature. Light therapy may have to be titrated though... unlike caffeine. I've tried a supplement called Amoryn, which may have helped somewhat, I'm not sure. I've heard that antidepressants are effective for some people and would consider them in the future if this disorder becomes difficult to manage with my current resources. As is, I expect to have a near-normal autumn/winter this year!
Anyroads, that's my story of SAD. With my newly recovered mental energy, I thought I'd ask about others' experiences. Have you experienced seasonal changes? How have you coped with or managed them? What knowledge do you have of SAD and its causes? Do you have any other thoughts? And in particular, what are your thoughts on managing SAD as an EMS provider?
Last year I attempted to deal with a job, medic class/clinicals, relational responsibilites, other... stuff, and SAD which had worsened over time. That sucked. Thankfully, I was living at home and my family didn't need me to tell them that something was wrong in order to provide care. I slept a lot, thought about suicide a lot, ate a lot of carbs; it was fun. That particular episode was eventually managed by being honest with a counselor and getting in the habit of bringing a full-spectrum light to class, both of which actions went over much better and were more helpful than I expected.
This year, I started feeling exhausted and dysphoric shortly before the equinox. After days of worsening misery, I finally spent time in front of the HappyLight on my desk and holy cow, it made a drastic difference within hours. From what I've read, for some people light therapy may take a few days to make a noticeable difference, perhaps because it's still early in the season, less was required.
For myself, exercise helps, friendship helps, caffeine and carbs help as a bandaid measure (don't judge)
, light therapy helps the most, both because it's a more definitive treatment and because it does not require much energy to utilize. Before I read on the subject, I did not connect light exposure with feeling exhausted and cold; I thought it was the temperature. Light therapy may have to be titrated though... unlike caffeine. I've tried a supplement called Amoryn, which may have helped somewhat, I'm not sure. I've heard that antidepressants are effective for some people and would consider them in the future if this disorder becomes difficult to manage with my current resources. As is, I expect to have a near-normal autumn/winter this year! Anyroads, that's my story of SAD. With my newly recovered mental energy, I thought I'd ask about others' experiences. Have you experienced seasonal changes? How have you coped with or managed them? What knowledge do you have of SAD and its causes? Do you have any other thoughts? And in particular, what are your thoughts on managing SAD as an EMS provider?