Roll Call Oct. 3, 2009 & Depression

[Leeaelle]

Hi Everyone ~ Sure seems to be dark later and later in the morning. I'll be glad when we change time again later this month.

This is the time of year when MANY of us fall into a nasty depression due to S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Of course most of us are depressed anyway, but it gets even worse when the fall and winter months come upon us. I know it does for me. I take medication for depression, but even with that I can still fall into a nasty dive. So far, I seem to be "okay" but I'm staying alert.

I found a reading from "Days of Healing, Days of Joy" that seemed to hit the spot for me:

"Many of us adult children think and feel we have nothing to give. Our self-image is so stuck in low-self esteem that we hide from others rather than seek others out, we repress our ideas and opinions rather than express them, we discount our own experience as unworthy of anyones' interest or profit.

But the quality of our lives is determined by the gifts we give. And we do have gifts - gifts that no one else can give. Who understands the binding power of shame better than we do? Who can reach out with more compassion to newcomers who are convinced they are flawed to the core? We can turn the straw of our failed relationships into gold by befriending those who haven't learned yet, as we have learned, how to break the destructive cycle of failure feeding upon failure. We're safe; we know.

Our gifts are precious beyond price. If we are willing to give them, we can change the world."

Hope everyone has a great day! It's cold and raining here so I'm staying INSIDE!!! LOL. Stay warm everyone. Hugs, Lee :D

[teddiebears]

Hi Lee - it's so nice to see you posting roll call today. :)

I chuckled to myself when I read your comment about it being dark later and later in the morning because it getting dark earlier and earlier in the evening is actually a much bigger problem for me. LOL ;) I'm not really looking forward to the time change coming up.

I agree with your thoughts on depression and S.A.D. Recently I heard on the news that they are finding out there are some people who suffer with S.A.D. during the summer months as well. It sounded like they're learning that the lack of sunlight, believed to be a big part of the problem, isn't the only determining factor. :rolleyes:

I also use anti-depressant medication and I have a small light box that I use to treat S.A.D. too. Unfortunately, there are a few other factors (some biological, some emotional, some environmental) that add to my level of depression. In all honesty, I'm actually depressed all of the time but I'm able to cope with it better on some days than others. :(

Thanks for the reading - it was definitely appropriate. It states: "Our self-image is so stuck in low-self esteem that we hide from others rather than seek others out, we repress our ideas and opinions rather than express them, we discount our own experience as unworthy of anyones' interest or profit."

I thought about this and realized that I sort of used the 'opposite' approach. Even though I had (have?) low self-esteem, I actually did spend a lot of time seeking out others, expressing my ideas and opinions rather than hiding and and I still discountied my experience as unworthy of their interest. I never really felt "better" for having done those things. Unfortunately, doing these things really didn't lift my self-esteem or alleviate my depression.

This is just one of the reasons I'm planning to attempt to change my 'treatment' plan in regard to depression. I think it's time to find a better approach - a better outlet for my feelings. Maybe - just maybe - in the process I'll find a little respite from the sadness/depression.

It's rainy and dreary here too. I thought of going shopping but this weather is just too 'yucky'. lol

Hope others stop by. Have a peaceful night!! ;)

[batsinwonderland]

SAD has always been a problem for me, too. I live in Seattle, so the dark times are long and wet. I am on Welbutrin now for ADD. It is supposed to help with SAD too. This is my first winter on it, except the time I took Zyban to quit smoking. I liked the way it works. I have also found exercise works for me too. I was depressed over my daughter last Wednesday, so I went to the YMCA. While there, I participated in water aerobics. It helped! Today I went to Al-Anon. I am working on not letting my daughter's addiction make me depressed. I also find that a diet with enough protein and not too many carbs helps me along with taking prescription vitamin D plus all my other vitamins and minerals. This time of year I drag myself out of bed, rather that the spring I have in the summer. Coffee is my friend in the morning. I put a scoop of Whey protein in it sometimes to give me the benifit of protein without having to eat, which I don't like to do so early. Well, enough from me.;)

[Phil]

Hi everyone,

I am also depressed the majority of the time. Zoloft does help with stability. I don't like it when it is light outside until about 9PM. I don't like it when it gets light outside early because it interfers with my sleep. I was recently prescribed Trazodone for sleep and it's done nothing at all. I'm really disappointed.

I was going to try melatonin but I couldn't remember the name of it when I was at the pharmacy. I think the usual dose is 3 micrograms.

My Doctor prescribed Restoril but I don't want to use it every night thus I was looking for some alternatives.

Phil