Anyone know a good cure for S.A.D.?

Seasonally Affected Disorder, or S.A.D. gets me every year sometime around October, and it seems to be getting worse with each passing year. I can literally feel my energies drop. Any suggestions as to what I can do to alleviate it?

First gather energies in some way. Maybe use some frequency conditioners to become aware of where the energy is and goes. Iv not listened to this but my friend says it helps him adjust to the change between day and night, because he works at night.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZWoWJ8x9ck[/youtube]

I believe we are theoretically disposing over all the nuke energy in our cells. I got this from some yogi guru who said yoga can withstand the nuclear bomb. Its not that I then think oh wow he says it so it must be true, I think the boldness on this guy, where does get off staying this, to himself I mean. How does he get so strong willed that the can have this opinion. Maybe there is something in his technique. His technique is krya yoga which I never learned because I once sat next to an old lady doing it and it sounded like a demiurge was regurgitating a cosmos. I went outside and decided the world was good enough without too deep of a meditation. But I kept the idea and applied it to raising energy in myself and it works.

Also gather the fire. Use cold showers and then runes.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI0c5iL3Ocw[/youtube]

Kenaz or Kaunaz consists of two line pieces meeting together in slightly less than 90 degree angle pointing left, opening right. This is the rune of Fire.

Thanks. I’m actually quite familiar with runes and Runic Yoga, in which one reproduces the shape of the rune with one’s body. Usually a sequence of runes, in fact, for specific purposes. I like runes because of their simple, angular shapes, which I can easily recognise if they’re carved into wood, for example.

This:

…because we become aware of our energy output, and in doing so start using it more efficiently, because we begin to waste less on unuseful habits and actions.

Try Kira hypericum supps from Boots as they’re the best, but you can get other brands, but I’ve found them to be less effective - I took them when grieving (rather than prescribed meds) and I felt bloody fantastic. :slight_smile:

Also… a 20 minute walk is meant to release endorphins, or any other exercise done briskly enough, and you’ll find that your mood has greatly elevated - I started doing so, and the endorphin rush was much appreciated. :smiley:

I find it helps to be outdoors and active as much as possible, which is a good thing in my job. Doing nothing, on the other hand, drains my energy away.

I don’t know about a cure, but better lighting is a well-attested treatment. Relatedly, vitamin D supplements are said to help.

As I understand it, the theory is that SAD is an adaptation to life in northern climates where daylight is shorter and less direct in winter months, which was great when the best thing a person could do in the winter was hunker down and conserve energy (hibernate, essentially). And in modern society, it’s become less adaptive. So you trick your body into thinking it’s summer by giving it more light (or its biological products, e.g. vitamin D).

That fits with what you’re saying about being outside and active: more light and non-hibernation, and your body responds by not going into hibernation mode.

I suppose that when it’s dark in winter I’m not getting any benefit, even though I work outdoors most evenings at the leisure centre.

It depends. Dim sunlight may have more light in the relevant frequencies than artificial light, so being outside may expose you to parts of the light spectrum that you aren’t getting otherwise. Blue light in particular is mostly absent from artificial indoor lights, but dominant in natural light even when it’s cloudy. And blue light is most effective at treating S.A.D.

But I have to think there’s something to just being up and about. Exercise is a good way reduce many kinds of depression.

During the winter months the sun has already set by the time I get to work.

Eat salmon. I crave it every October due to it being about the only food that contains ample vitamin D.

ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/nutrients/ … easureby=g

Ideally we should get sun between 10am and 2pm in order to receive UVB and UVA in balance and we should avoid sun exposure outside that band due to UVA dominance. There is no sense is receiving UVA damage without the benefit of UVB vitamin D generation.

All indoor lighting probably extends into the UVA (since UVB requires more energy) and probably contributes to cataracts (A/B imbalance).

Blue lights (daylight bulbs) are pretty, but have more energy which causes more damage than yellow light. This is a big deal right now, especially with regard to public safety. gunnar.com/do-environmentally-f … blindness/

Well that last bit isn’t a worry for me, since I’m already blind.

Maia, I remember you were trying to be a neo-pagan at some point. Have you abandoned it?

No, not at all. I’ve become even more serious about it and hope to be able to train as a priestess.

Well then, perhaps you can incorporate it into your worldview and try to somehow work with it, instead.
Your pagan ancestors most likely also experienced it, but they may also incorporated it into their spirituality and world view as part of their adaptation to their environment.
And their ancestors probably had it even worse, to the point where what mattered the most was not just upholding the psychological well-being, but actually just surviving through (especially long) winters. Starvation was a real concern and possibility in winter even in not so distant past. Perhaps back then just knowing that they had enough food to last through the winter (a good harvest) may have been enough to keep their spirits up (especially if you know that you might not make it through).
Granted, today we live on an artificial schedule, with different energy demands, but maybe some kind of synthesis or compromise could be attempted. That could be your challenge. For example, there are some diets which encourage eating local seasonal foods. So, the emphasis is on available local fresh fruits and vegetables in summer months and meats, nuts and fats in winter months. Some activities that focus on solitary inner work may also take priority during winter months. The idea is to go with the natural flow and also try to incorporate it into modern lifestyle (as best as you can).

I don’t know how I feel about pagans suggesting using sun lamps. As a pagan, how comfortable are you in tricking your body into thinking it’s summer? I feel like something valuable would be lost in the process (even if it’s not pleasant).

I would never consider using a sun lamp and always try and avoid drugs or suppliments, even if they are supposed to be natural or herbal (real herbs don’t come in capsules, for example). I’m a great believer in the idea that a healthy humam body shouldn’t need such things because it’s already perfectly adapted to its environment. I would go even further and say that everything we need to cure ourselves of anything can be found around us, growing in the forest for example, and we can take such things in the form of herbal teas, as our ancestors did.

That’s the theory, anyway. But none of us are perfect and I fall short of that ideal. In particular, while I would very much like to get into a natural routine of spending the daylight hours outdoors, given that I work in the evenings, this is not always possible, as I have other things to do in the afternoon. If I’m to train as a priestess I would have to give up my job and begin a totally new daily routine, which is one of the reasons it is so appealing, but as of now, I am still reluctant to give up the sense of independence having a regular income gives me, even if that independence is ultimately spurious.

I agree with both you Maia, and Pan, on not tricking the body with artificial stimuli, as who knows what repercussions and effect they can have on the body over time.

Hypericum tea, made from the flowers from the Hypericum plant, is the natural alternative to the capsule form, and is covered in the most stunning buttercup-yellow bowl-sized flowers - I have one in my garden, and a smaller variety in a shady corner, but I have not ingested from them due to unnecessty.

If it grows naturally in England I would certainly consider it.

Hypericum Perforatum and Hypericum androsaemum are both native to Britain.

That’s definitely the sort of thing I would use then, rooted in our native soil.