[dnc19694339]

This was on the news here a while ago. (new york) They say its the winter blues, but now it actually has an official name. We average 121 inches of snow every year here in my town in New York. The sun rarely peaks out during the winter months. I think I have it. Only moving to Florida will cure me !!!

[DailyJournalist]

I have that same disorder, only moving out of Florida will cure me!!!

[tilli]

I have read up on this, and apparently there is also a less common "reversed" version of seasonal affective that effects southern residents in the months of relentless heat and humidity. Since SAD is related to lack of light in the winter they must not be directly comparable, but both produce a seasonal depression in the susceptible.

[Granny Sue]

Originally Posted by DailyJournalist

I have that same disorder, only moving out of Florida will cure me!!!

And I hope you get cured quickly.

[markhunt]

Reverse SAD.

For some, too much sunshine may bring on the blues - Los Angeles Times

[TANaples]

Originally Posted by markhunt

Reverse SAD.

For some, too much sunshine may bring on the blues - Los Angeles Times

That really describes me to a T. The quotes of that woman are exactly what I have said, even right here on this Florida board. I will have to research it more, but the longer I live in Florida, the worse it gets. The first time I lived here I lasted 6 months and moved back in December. I literally went ballistic when my husband got a job here. We almost divorced because of my having to come back here.

If SAD can be real for sunlight deprivation, why can't it be true for the reverse? There was a thread a while ago where some of us told how we were coping, even though we had no "name" for what we felt. Come Fall we would blast the AC, shut all the blinds, put on Fall scented candles, and try to recreate what we had up North. Reading that article now, maybe that was our coping mechanisim for what we needed? That, or get out of here.

Right now I find myself going into a panic mode when I have to be outside in the Winter sun. I wear long pants and sleeves and TRY to find shade to be in. I have even thought about walking around with an umbrella to keep out of the sun. It is really that bad. My older daughter had panic attacks from being BiPolar, and I find myself experiencing similar feelings now in the winter Florida sun. As much as I hate the extreme heat and humidity of Florida summers, I have also said they don't bother me as much as the Florida winters. Yes, it is summer all over, but then I realized something else. Florida summers are also the RAINY season. We do have days with clouds and rain, unlike the Florida winters. I may get a respite from all this sun in the summers here.

Also, I wonder if those figures they quoted may be higher, for both seasonal depressions, then they think. So many people who move to Florida are almost manic about the cold winters and "lack of sunshine for months". Let's face it. Florida would be heaven for those with winter SAD. Maybe they have it and just don't know it? By the same token, there are also many people in the most extreme climinates up North, who you couldn't pay a million dollars to live in Florida. I know two men like that; one from LI and one from Buffalo. Neither has any desire to visit or move here. I wonder if they might have summer SAD? The happy medium is probably just vacationers who come here for a week or two in the winter.

Anyway, thank you. Most of the people on this board sometimes make me feel like I must be out of my mind to hate living in "paradise". Perhaps to somebody with summer SAD, Florida would be a living nightmare; just as Minnesota would be for somebody with winter SAD.

[doggiebus]

Since October the weather has been great with the exception of this week back in the 80s ughhhhh...... But prior to that I had plenty of almost year round summer weather of the 80s and 90s. I hope we get a few more cold fronts before May. People in Florida get the "summer, spring and fall blues" for 8 months out of the year if not more like in 2007, because its just way to hot and humid to go outside to get some sunshine. People for most of the year run from the house (airconditioned) to the car (crank up that aircondition) to the office, stores, etc (airconditioned). Its just like what people up north do during the winter months. Yet we do it for more months out of the year here in florida.

[gordongibbons]

I lived in Hawaii for three years, I didn't get the winter blues even once! I'd love to return to warm weather living.

[dnc19694339]

The daily shoveling and plowing of snow has probably put me over the edge more than the lack of sunshine. Although the sun, when it appears, seems to make everybody up here a little more happy.

[tilli]

If SAD can be real for sunlight deprivation, why can't it be true for the reverse?

I assume this is in reference to my comments above, if not - my apologies for the assumption.

The material I read indicated that reverse SAD occurs in the summer and is most common in areas with very humid summers (this increases the sensation of heat because sweat does not evaporate well in high humidity and so cannot cool the body). My comment is that they are unlikely to be truly a reversed condition but rather two different conditions with similar symptoms. Because the mechanisms in the body which respond to decreased light are not the same as ones which would respond to extended heat and humidity. Doesn't mean it's not real though. Just thought I'd clarify.