Sorry for the quiet; Kevin's sister is visiting, and I'm also feeling a bit under the weather, so in between running around with her (we browsed counter stools yesterday, because she said we needed some, and she's probably right) and trying to deal with the most urgent work, I've mostly been reading and resting. It's remarkably overcast right now, appallingly grey, and while it's also surprisingly warm outside, the lack of light is just making me want to curl up under a blanket with a book. Luckily, I can do that.
I may get out this afternoon though -- there are are vague plans to meet Ms. Groppi for lunch and possible museum-ing. We'll see.
Only after leaving Chicago did I realize that I probably have SAD – it just seemed so natural to be unhappy in winter there. The lights are remarkably inexpensive, and even risk-free. There’s a place that will let you return it after 30 days and pay only s&h.
Hmm…can you give me more details? Like the name of the place you mention?
I’m guessing you’re talking about full-spectrum light bulbs?
I’ve been using at least one full-spectrum bulb in my living-room light fixture for a couple years now; I can’t tell for sure whether it helps, but I did start having less winter blahs around the time that I started using them. But that’s entirely anecdotal evidence, and possibly false; the correlation wasn’t strong for me (which is why I never went out and replaced the rest of my bulbs). But a bunch of people swear by ’em.
I’m not talking about full-spectrum, this is a high-intensity light. Here’s the web page of the place I used (there may be one in Chicago that you could try out, however).
https://216.119.88.124/
I have the sunlight jr., worth every penny of $200.
I like this guy partly because he was one of the original creators – back when Norm Rosenthal was doing his research (“Winter Blues”), this guy kludged together a bright-light, and found it so changed his life, it became a business.
Personally, I found it effective IMMEDIATELY. I LOVED sitting next to it – I can leave it on next to the computer for an hour. Tried giving it to family, they said the brightness bothered them to where they were unhappy within 10 minutes. I tried to convince them to start small and work up to 30 minutes, but it seems likely that they just don’t need it. I’m sure there’s some store in Chicago that has one that you could sit at for 10 minutes in the store to see what your reaction is.
Good luck.
I should also put in a plug for the book – I went to a lecture by Norm Rosenthal, and that also convinced me that I had a problem and how to notice signs that the light was helping. He talks about a pyramid of problems that develop over the course of the winter and how using the light helps you “walk down” the pyramid, one symptom at a time. The earlier in the fall you start to use it, the lower on the pyramid your symptoms get. The light is also useful on days when I don’t spend much time outdoors or when it’s gray but not winter. Knowing the theories is also powerful incentive to make a habit of exercising outdoors in daytime if remotely possible.
Thanks for the info — but hey, can I make a request? If you don’t want to post under your own name, could you just make one up? Because when various people post as anonymous, it makes it a little harder to keep track of who said what. So you could be Mr. A, or some such. 🙂 Just a thought.
point taken.