-
Seasonal Affective Disorder and IPF
For my fellow Canadians on this site, January has been a hard month. Typically speaking January is a challenge for a lot of people; bills start coming in after Christmas, there are no statutory holidays to look forward to and the days are long and dark, to name a few. Many people in Canada have been experiencing an unprecedented number of days without any sunshine as well.
Recently I heard that in December and January combined, Ontario has only seen 30 hours of sunshine, which is a record low! I find it challenging to have so many gloomy and cloudy days in a row and I was wondering if others are feeling the same. Here’s a link to something called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) if you want to read more about it.
The reason I share it on our forums site is because living with IPF can be challenging enough and oftentimes, our mental health can suffer. With SAD layered on top of this, it can be hard to manage and I’m a big advocate for ensuring we care for both our physical and mental health needs. Here are a couple of strategies to take care of your mental health from the World Health Organization:
6 ways to take care of your mental health and well-being
In periods of prolonged difficulties or gloominess, how do you keep yourself busy or take care of yourself?
-
6 Replies
-
There are full spectrum lights that help with the seasonal issues.
-
We live in Tasmania the southern most Australian state, winters here are long & gloomy, but not really cold by northern hemisphere standards.
We usually pack up our caravan ( “trailer”, US spelling) and head up to the tropics for 3 months.
Cheers Mal
-
When covid hit I formed an online bridge group using BBO. It’s a free bridge website. We played 7 days a week for ~2 hrs a day and socialized via conference calling. It was a godsend for many of us and we continue to play now, but only 5 days/week. If you’re a bridge player and want to join us, let me know. If you’re not but want to learn I may be able to help with that. Best of luck to you and to all of us who are dealing with this disease.
Don
-
Hi Charlene,
I don’t like the gloomy weather either, but I try to offset the effects by going to the Gym at least twice a week. It not only helps me get the walking in I need but also gives me the interaction with other people. We sometimes get into social isolation if we don’t have a schedule or a plan which can be difficult on those bad days, and you know the ones I refer too. Anyway at least get out and move going shopping always helps me. Staying at home is not the answer for me although there are days when we just need Sunshine in our lives. 😎
God bless,
William Burnett
-
Same weather in Vermont, USA. My dear husband has replaced all the light bulbs in our home with full-spectrum bulbs—overhead lighting and task lighting. I need to be in them 12 + hours a day to experience a difference in pain and mood but they definitely help. The Wellness Recovery Action Plan https://www.wellnessrecoveryactionplan.com/ is another tool I use which has transformed my life with major depressive disorder. It’s available as an 8-week long workshop but also as a free app. There are also some free downloadable PDFs available online. It’s basically a self-care tool.
wellnessrecoveryactionplan.com
Home - Wellness Recovery Action Plan
Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) is a wellness tool anyone can use to get well, stay well, and make their life more the way they want it to be.
-
I’ve found bright lighting in the house , staying mentally active ( even if it;s on the computer) and when I’m really bummed , taking a long hot shower
Log in to reply.