Is it still SAD if...

[HelpingHand]

...it's sunny outside?
It's also -38?C (-36?F) with windchill. :yuk:
So is it still considered SAD when you can get the sunshine if you don't mind standing out in the freaking cold?

I'm honestly curious.

 

[Halo]

Hi Helpinghand,

Well I personally dont know much about SAD personally but I have found these articles that were posted on the forum that you might find interesting.

http://forum.psychlinks.ca/showthread.php?t=3159&highlight=Seasonal+Affective+Disorder

http://forum.psychlinks.ca/showthread.php?t=1288&highlight=Seasonal+Affective+Disorder

I am sure that there may be others that have information or personal experiences that may help.

Take care

 

[ThatLady]

I think there's more to SAD than just the lack of sunlight, Helpinghand. Winter is limiting. It's cold out, so you have to bundle up to go out, and you can't do the things you can in the springtime or the summer. There's snow, or sleet, or ice to deal with. Sometimes, it's just too darned miserable to set foot outside. Those kinds of limits can really tend to bring people down; even those who don't suffer from depression. We're stuck in the house with little to do and we get the heebie-jeebies. I really think that's a good part of it.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Two other points:

1. Even on a sunny winter day, the number of hours of daylight is reduced. For example, at the moment in Ontario we have daylight from about 7.20 am to 4.20 pm (about 9 hours) as we move toward the winter solstice (shortest day of the year) in about 3 weeks. By late March, we'll hit the equinox (12 hours daylight, 12 hours darkness) and by late June we'll hit the summer solstice with about 15 hours of sunlight.

2. Some people report experiencing a summer SAD as well as or instead of a winter SAD, although that's less common, so it seems it's not purely about hours of sunlight (I'm not certain this is truly SAD, mind you).

 

[ThatLady]

Mid-summer, to me, is a lot like winter. Who want's to go out in 100 degree weather? You hide in the house and wish you could be out and about without sweltering.

 

[Into The Light]

tl you can come visit us in canada when it gets too hot we'd be glad to have you over!

 

[Halo]

Do you really think that she wants to put up with our humidity on top of the 100 degrees No saying that she isn't welcome....the more the merrier

 

[Into The Light]

lol well i wasn't thinking ottawa exactly.. a cooler region of the country would work better

 

[Halo]

True, I forget that not everyone else in Canada gets the same humidity as us Ottawans

 

[ThatLady]

We've got plenty of humidity here in South Carolina! I'm used to it.

I'd love to visit Canada one of these days. If work ever allows me to stick my head out long enough to do so, I will!

 

[HelpingHand]

Come to Alberta! Everyone's doing it!
If having a place to live is important to you, then maybe not.
All this oil money, and a low vacancy rate.
Gotta love it.
Ha!