Spring is finally here!
This is kind of a winter wrap up.
I took SJW this winter, combined with flaxseed oil pills and a light box. This was the first time I've ever tried treating my SAD (I wasn't diagnosed until a few years ago), and I wanted to see how I would react. I was nervous about the effects the SJW might have on me, but last winter was brutal on me (symptomwise), and I knew I couldn't go through that again. Plus, I couldn't put my person through that again, either.
I wasn't looking for a "cure". I just wanted something that would take the edge off of winter. In that regard, I succeeded. Between the SJW, the flaxseed oil, and the light box, I was able to manage my bad days a lot easier than the previous year. It also helped to know that if I was having a really bad day, there were things I could do help myself feel better (or, at least, feel less horrible).
Based on a journal I kept this year, I cycled into SAD in the second half of September, and came out of it in the latter part of February. I used my treatments pretty much every day during that time. I didn't really how regularly I was taking them until I thought about it in January, then it totally suprised me. (My sense of time is different in winter. It felt like I had been taking them for only a few weeks, at that point.)
I liked my experience with the SJW and flaxseed pills this winter, but next winter I want to try something FDA approved. (Plus, I'd like to be under a doctor's care when I'm being treated.) In light of that, I found a doctor, and we've already talked about me starting an anti-depressent in September.
All in all, this winter was easier than the past few, so I've acheived my goal for the season: Be less symptomatic. (Next year, I'll probably have the same goal. ;-) )
I took SJW this winter, combined with flaxseed oil pills and a light box. This was the first time I've ever tried treating my SAD (I wasn't diagnosed until a few years ago), and I wanted to see how I would react. I was nervous about the effects the SJW might have on me, but last winter was brutal on me (symptomwise), and I knew I couldn't go through that again. Plus, I couldn't put my person through that again, either.
I wasn't looking for a "cure". I just wanted something that would take the edge off of winter. In that regard, I succeeded. Between the SJW, the flaxseed oil, and the light box, I was able to manage my bad days a lot easier than the previous year. It also helped to know that if I was having a really bad day, there were things I could do help myself feel better (or, at least, feel less horrible).
Based on a journal I kept this year, I cycled into SAD in the second half of September, and came out of it in the latter part of February. I used my treatments pretty much every day during that time. I didn't really how regularly I was taking them until I thought about it in January, then it totally suprised me. (My sense of time is different in winter. It felt like I had been taking them for only a few weeks, at that point.)
I liked my experience with the SJW and flaxseed pills this winter, but next winter I want to try something FDA approved. (Plus, I'd like to be under a doctor's care when I'm being treated.) In light of that, I found a doctor, and we've already talked about me starting an anti-depressent in September.
All in all, this winter was easier than the past few, so I've acheived my goal for the season: Be less symptomatic. (Next year, I'll probably have the same goal. ;-) )
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