Solitary chicken - need advice

[buffie]

Just a reminder to all you folks who get those SAD symptoms over Winter (sorry but it's the perfect time to remind you)

 

Start to use your lamps from September the 1st until April to improve things. I've used one for a few years and it really does help. I use it on any dull days and today I have just noticed how dark it is, quite a shock but I am using my light therapy desk lamp anyway.

 

Lumie make a good range and if you buy direct you don't have to pay VAT , if you are treating SAD symptoms

 

Have a lovely sunny day

 

Buffie x

[Lesley]

I was just thinking about you Buffs - I had to put the desk lamp on this morning!

 

I love my Lumie alarm clock - I don't suffer from SAD but I don't like getting up early when it is pitch black and it really helps me to wake up in a refreshing way.

[Snowy]

Good reminder Buffie!

I don't have SAD, but I can't believe how dark and dreary it looks this morning. First day back at school as well - looks like summer is well and truly over

[Egluntyne]

We had to have the lights on in the house during the day yesterday......very depressing.

 

Thanks for the reminder Buffie.

[Karen & co.]

Thanks for the reminder I get it really badly Last year was particularly hard for some reason and I'm already worried about this year because we have had such a gloomy summer

 

Karen x

[buffie]

Just start the light therapy Karen and look forward, keeping busy and focussed. I know it's easier said than done but having been almost totally useless during the winter I've found I can function again I make sure I have things to look forward to and have got something nice planned now from September to March

 

Our Summer starts here as we always have breaks during Autumn /Winter

 

Buffie x

[Karen & co.]

Thanks Buffie I have my lamp ready, and only thin blinds so that every s"Ooops, word censored!" of light can get in

 

I also find I need to have achieved something, for example made something, baked, done some decorating etc. but that's probably just me

 

Karen x

[buffie]

No achievements help motivate and lift your mood, they give you a positive feeling, spot on

 

Buffie x

[mrsallen08]

Although I have never tried the lamps, we have an east/south facing bedroom to get maximum sunshine in the morning and light coloured curtains so lots of light can get in.

Like a few of you have said, just keeping busy and looking forward keeps you going. I try to plan something good for March/April to look forward to! April 09 will hopefully be a trip to New York! So thats got to have me smiling through the dark mornings!

[hillfamily]

Thanks for the reminder Buffie I was just thinking how grey it was this morning.

 

I bought a lamp and the alarm clock last year and found them a great help. In the mornings last winter I would pop the lamp on, brew a cuppa and log onto the forum for a natter whilst the lamp did it's job Great way to start the day

[buffie]

It is Pam, some really interesting research out there about our natural body clocks and the optimum time to take in light therapy. I am best to use my lamp at 5.45am Needless to say so far 6.30am is the earliest I am willing to use it

 

I use a dawn simulator too, it has helped

 

Buffie x

[chickenanne]

My sister has SAD, but she then moved to live in North America, and gets about 3 hours of dim grey dawn light in the depths of winter (wise choice, no?)

She has the light box thingy, and also makes a point of getting out in the middle of the day for an hour or so of really over-enthusiastic exercise, and TBH she doesn't actually get properly down anymore - no more than the fleeting, "urcch, grey and cold again" Monday-morning thing which isn't the same as SAD....

[redfrock]

thanks Buffie. I was only saying to Husband at the weekend that I was going to get one. I am currently 'teetering' at the moment and am determined to remain off my pills this year. The menagerie seems to have done wonders, and chilling with the chooks and bunnies each morning is the best therapy I can get, but already I am noticing it is not so light now and soon it will be too dark for us to have our 20 minute early free range before work.

I remember us all having a very open and informative chat about such things on the forum last year - sometimes I would be lost without you all!

[Jules.]

Thanks for the reminder, Buffie. My lamp is still at my parent's house from when we had our building work done here earlier in the year- I'm sure that my parents will be glad to get rid of yet another bit of the clutter I still have at their home.

I'm undecided where to put my lamp now that I have moved bedrooms- my lamp is quite big, about the size of an old stereo speaker- but it was a freebie, so I can't complain. I think that it will just fit on the side of the computer desk so I can forum surf while I get my therapy

 

Anybody any idea how much electric the boxes use?

[Jules.]

I have just put a wanted on freecycle for a new smaller SAD lamp or a Lumie alarm clock -you never know.

[buffie]

This is from sada the organisation providing info for SAD sufferers

 

Light treatment should be used daily in Winter (and dull periods in summer) starting in early Autumn when the first symptoms appear. It consists of sitting two to three feet away from a specially designed light box, usually on a table, allowing the light to shine directly through the eyes.

 

The user can carry out normal activity such as reading, working, eating and knitting while stationary in front of the box. It is not necessary to stare at the light although it has been proved safe.

 

Treatment is usually effective within three or four days and the effect continues provided it is used every day. Tinted lenses, or any device that blocks the light to the retina of the eye, should not be worn,

 

Some light boxes emit higher intensity of light, up to 10,000 lux, which can cut treatment time down to half an hour a day.

 

Lumie lamps are 10,000 lux so only require 30 mins a day although I use it much more. Check your lamp lux so you get the right dose. After 6pm you may find it stops you sleeping so please remember that. You also need to have a chat to the GP or Pharmacist if you're on medications or use aromatherapy oils that make you photosensitive. We can keep this bounced up for support if you like

 

Get plenty of fresh air and natural daylight, I also think gym lighting just adds to the problem so outdoors activity is ideal

 

Buffie x

[theherd123]

I have never regretted buying my Lumie alarm clock

 

Love it to bits esp trying to get up at 5.30ish on cold dark winter mornings - brings me to life without too much agro.

 

OH had a Hulk alarm clock before which used to roar and sound a siren - i hated it and always used to wake up a real grumpy bum!

[dancing cloud]

Having got really "down" last winter, to the point that I went to bed before 8.00 one night because I just couldn't do anything else , I really don't want to go there again and this sounds just the thing . I'm thinking of investing in the basic bodyclock to wake me gently and the desk lamp, so I can get my daylight fix at work (might as well do something useful while I'm here ).

 

Would this do the trick, or should I be looking at other lightbox-type products instead? Any recommendations?

 

I'm so glad to have found people who not only know what I'm talking about, but have also experienced it and (hopefully) found something that works. Thank you to you all

[buffie]

Sounds good to me, we have 2 deks lamps and I use a light therapy box with clients and also have the lumie dawn simulator to wake me gently.

 

Buffie x

[SamSandwich]

Fot all you SAD sufferers - bad time of year for you

 

Reverse for me, I'm happy it's Winter. I think I might suffer from what's known as Summer SAD. I get depressed during the summer months where the days drag on and I can't get out of bed. It's a mild form though, I don't need any medication and I've never had to see a doctor (depression wouldn't stick in my family, let me tell you) This summer has actually been better. Last year was awful ~ I didn't get out of bed. And the year before I was tense and fraught with worry all the time. I hope it will continue to become milder as the years progress.

 

My thoughts are with you.

[Bootscooter Nell]

Hi

 

Well, this has convinced me to invest in one of these lamps.

 

I get very down in the winter months and have suspected that I suffer from SAD but was never sure if the lamps really worked or not. What doesn't help me is that I also have MS and suffer dreadfully in hot humid weather with fatigue.

 

Spring and Autumn are my favourite times of the year, especially Autumn but come January, February and March I hit rock bottom and then again in June, July and August if the weather is particularly hot and humid.

 

This post has made me realise that I am not the only one out there that finds it difficult to get through certain times of the year and that no I'm not imagining it. It's one thing telling myself to snap out of it, but it's not always that easy!

 

Thanks everyone.

[jlo]

My old lumie clock went belly up It kept going off at all sorts of times so I had to bin it. Mum bought me a new Philips one for my birthday. I start to get really sad at the end of June when it hits me that summer is on the way out! How sad is that?!

 

This year, I am feeling slightly better in that I am not having to get up so early to let the girls out. Another good reason for getting chickens

[Ms Marple]

What are the typical symptoms? I often have bad days like today for example, when I feel really down and unable to concentrate on anything much. I blame the grey Mancunian skies that we get so much of and have always assumed it is because I grew up in South Africa where the sky was almost always blue at some point every day.

[buffie]

Look here http://www.sada.org.uk

 

Buffie x

[Steph101]

I think I could have it. Or maybe it's the fact that I've just got back from two weeks on the Amalfi coast and now I'm stuck at a desk working at a place I hate!