Do You Believe in SDS?

[Yorio]

Do you believe in Sun Deficiency Syndrome? My wife says that when the weather turns colder up north, I get grouchy, fall silent, and hide behind books. I think it's because I can't play tennis outdoors or play golf more often. My hearts do light up when the days come closer to departure to TV. She likes me better in TV. What think? Is there such a thing as SDS?

[CaptJohn]

i think there is something to it. I've not lived up north but on cloudy days around here I simply do not feel as bright or perky. I would hate to spend a whole winter that way.

[pooh]

There is indeed.....it's known as SAD...Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) - MayoClinic.com (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder/DS00195)

[Patty55]

Whoa, I thought this thread was about Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), my answer would have been ... Not so much anymore.

Sun deprivation? I've experienced it. Before I moved here I lived for a short time upstate NY. In the winter I got so depressed that I actually saw colors muted, kind of like living in a black and white movie.

[NotGolfer]

Yes! I think while living up north I had a tinge of it...though not to an extreme. My daughter has it as well as several friends of mine. I have 2 friends who bought the special lamp to sit under (you do it for a certain lenght of time). One friend built a house facing South with LOTS of windows to get more natural light.

I had never thought about it before someone pointed out to me that passive solar homes that were a rage back in the 70's and 80's didn't work as well in the northern states as in the winter the sun is generally under clouds much of the time. I took note and she was correct in this. Days are short and grey thus making folks a bit "blue".

[applesoffh]

Absolutely true...the grey winters of NYC were very depressing to me. Glad to be here in the sunshine!

[jblum315]

It's actually the lack of light, not necessarily sunlight. Days are shorter in winter and many people suffer from seasonal depression.

[Villages PL]

Do you believe in Sun Deficiency Syndrome? My wife says that when the weather turns colder up north, I get grouchy, fall silent, and hide behind books. I think it's because I can't play tennis outdoors or play golf more often. My hearts do light up when the days come closer to departure to TV. She likes me better in TV. What think? Is there such a thing as SDS?

There is such a thing as "Sun Deficiency Syndrome". Whether or not you actually have it is the question. Don't let someone else tell you what you have; go by how you feel.

If your heart lights up when you think about TV maybe you are suffering from "Fun Deficiency Syndrome". :icon_wink:

Do you take a vitamin D3 supplement? Have you ever had your doctor check your D3 blood level? As we age, we often need this.

[YouNeverKnow]

I don't know about SDS but I am up in Michigan right now waiting to move to the Villages this summer and with the days already being cold, dark, and rainy I have SMS. (Severe Mole Syndrome!) My eyes are getting smaller and I can only see in the dark! I also have an uncontrollable urge to dig tunnels!
I am hoping to be cured when we move down to TV!

[ugotme]

Not really sure if that is what it is called.

When I lived on Long Island, after a while of dreary, wintry days and not spending a lot of time outdoors I got "the itch" and my mood turned gloomy.

[senior citizen]

Do you believe in Sun Deficiency Syndrome? My wife says that when the weather turns colder up north, I get grouchy, fall silent, and hide behind books. I think it's because I can't play tennis outdoors or play golf more often. My hearts do light up when the days come closer to departure to TV. She likes me better in TV. What think? Is there such a thing as SDS?



Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) - Causes and Risk Factors (http://www.webmd.com/depression/tc/seasonal-affective-disorder-sad-topic-overview)



Click the hyperlink above............



For further info, then click the links on the left side......



We know several folks with S.A.D.; diagnosed when young. Also, later diagnosed with BiPolar, etc. Not everyone would be diagnosed with that......but we do know quite a few who have been.


Not to say that everyone would be that extreme.......... Most are helped with the �light� therapy.



As they say in Vermont, if you don�t like the weather.....just wait a day and it changes.


People who are creative and like to do crafts, art work, build things, write, compose, etc.........do fine in the winter months.


Ditto for those who enjoy the winter sports. However , we actually know people who live up here who HATE SNOW.


Hate shoveling and snow blowing.......etc. and they do get extremely depressed during the long dark winter months.



Sunshine definitely makes one feel cheerful...........but I would think extreme heat would make one as uncomfortable as extreme cold.........and constant grey skies. Actually, we've had quite a few of those lately with all the rain......



Luckily, as we get older, the winters seem to pass very quickly........and soon it will be springtime again.

[jojo]

[QUOTE=Patty55;570040]Whoa, I thought this thread was about Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), my answer would have been ... Not so much anymore.

:a20:

[hotrodgirl]

I used to live in Tonsberg, Norway! In the dead of Winter we had just 3 or 4 hours of daylight, but in mid summer, 22 hrs of sunlight, 2 hrs of twilight! The first year it took some getting used to, but by the second year it didn't affect me too much. People there have various ways of coping and use solar lights. Also they keep busy with winter sports and skiing to one another's homes. Weekends away in the mountains and trips further south. Some cope better than others...

[Ripcord13]

I "suffered" up north with SDS (some delicious sea food) on the coast of Ma and I don't have it here in TV

[Count'n the days]

I do experience SDS and although I live in Houston now where the temps are very mild in the winter, I never see the sunlight when the days are short. I'm at work before the sun comes up and it is well on the way to setting by the time I get home. I'm down to 13 work days to retirement and we'll be on our way to our new home in TV. Hopefully, I'll make the time to get out every day and get my vitamin D naturally.

[asianthree]

When our son and his wife moved to Fairbanks everyone told them to get a light to avoid sds and illness, however since both are Doctors, they ignored the wisdom..Six weeks into the forever night both were ill and moods were not at their best..bought the light used it as instructed and admitted that the locals were right...you need light

[Virtual Geezer]

Live in northern Ohio and you will get a real taste of SDS. Here we you would think there is a total solar eclipse that last from Nov 1 to April 1. The lack of sun really gets to a person. Here we can go for weeks with the hint of sun and add to it cold damp rain and snow. There have been many times when I have been in Florida and the temps were in the 30's or 40's but the sun was out and it still brightened up your day.

VG

[jojo]

My energy level correlates with the sun. In Ohio I definitely was affected by the long cloudy winter. Here my tennis game improves when the sun comes out.

[senior citizen]

Live in northern Ohio and you will get a real taste of SDS. Here we you would think there is a total solar eclipse that last from Nov 1 to April 1. The lack of sun really gets to a person. Here we can go for weeks with the hint of sun and add to it cold damp rain and snow. There have been many times when I have been in Florida and the temps were in the 30's or 40's but the sun was out and it still brightened up your day.

VG

Sounds like Vermont weather. We had a bit of sun yesterday after a very long stretch of the cloudy, damp, rainy, HUMID weather.........doesn't seem like our typical "autumn crisp cool sunny" weather at all.

When my brother was stationed in Korea after the Korean war, he would write home complaining about the constant rain, damp, cold, etc.
I think I know now what he was trying to say............

[Madelaine Amee]

Do you believe in Sun Deficiency Syndrome?

Absolutely - We spent our working life in Massachusetts and the weather did not seem to have too much effect on us while we were working; but, we retired to Northern NH, and then it hit me very hard. My husband was not bothered and absolutely loved October and November. I, on the other hand, went into deep depression in late October and it only got worse as the winter went on. I guess I am a summer person.

[2BNTV]

It's actually the lack of light, not necessarily sunlight. Days are shorter in winter and many people suffer from seasonal depression.

:agree:

I don't know about SDS but I am up in Michigan right now waiting to move to the Villages this summer and with the days already being cold, dark, and rainy I have SMS. (Severe Mole Syndrome!) My eyes are getting smaller and I can only see in the dark! I also have an uncontrollable urge to dig tunnels!I am hoping to be cured when we move down to TV!

:1rotfl:

For wannabees, not being in TV is a depressing thought. :smiley:

[Yorio]

If I am reading this correctly there are more depressed people in the north than in the south? It follows that generally speaking, more people in the north are industrious and productive but more are depressed while as souther hemisphere people may not be as wealthy but they are less depressed therefore more happy?:)

[senior citizen]

If I am reading this correctly there are more depressed people in the north than in the south? It follows that generally speaking, more people in the north are industrious and productive but more are depressed while as souther hemisphere people may not be as wealthy but they are less depressed therefore more happy?:)

It might seem that way based on a few posts, however, not everyone in the north is depressed........some people actually love the winter time.

It's a time when they no longer have to mow the lawn, weed the garden, have all the children underfoot..........although soon the leaves will need to be raked and the snow shoveled.

To many folks , FOUR SEASONS is a great option.......as when you get sick of complaining about one season, the next arrives. Seriously.

The winter season , once the holidays' busyness is gone...., can be a great time to be creative in any way the person enjoys being creative.

So many people up here have turned to burning wood (due to the high cost of home heating oil which has become astronomical in cost), so they keep busy keeping their woodlots stocked with wood during the months leading up to winter and then keep the stoves burning all winter.

When one is working out of the home or raising children, keeping busy is a given.....so the winter blues might not even be noticeable. Once people are retired and each new day is just like the one before, then perhaps the grey dismal days might start to "sink into a depressive state".

We are barely two years into retirement and have been so busy with the various grandchildren.........we look forward to a winter HIBERNATION.
After almost 50 years of marriage (50 years of being together total), we actually enjoy the winter ..........it goes by pretty quickly and then spring will be here once again.

But I do know numerous folks who get very depressed in the winter time and have been diagnosed with S.A.D. and other things to coincide. The light therapy was suggested for them after the drug cocktails did not work.......which had been prescribed by the docs and the hospital. They will always push the pharmaceuticals first...........when maybe just a winter in THE VILLAGES would have worked much better for those experiencing sunlight deprivation.

[Number 6]

Whoa, I thought this thread was about Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), my answer would have been ... Not so much anymore.


Me too! And for those who though SDS was extreme, there was YAWF! Ah, yes I remember it well.