Canadian winter and depression

DX'd - Other
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My depression always gets worse when our horrible winter comes around. I love living in Canada but not going to lie our weather is sh*t.

Can anyone relate? Does your mental health decline with cold weather?

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Have you tried a mood lamp? :melon::melon::melon:

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@GrayBear - No i have not! Maybe I should try one and see if it helps.

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I live in Ontario. I can’t say the winter makes me depressed but it puts me in a bad mood. I don’t like having to go out and do things, and get hit with a blast of freezing cold air, or having to drive on slushy roads or in white out conditions.

I also get nervous during winter. There are a lot of new Canadians that come from more temperate areas of the planet and have never driven in the winter before and it make me nervous they’ll crash into me because they are not use to driving on slippery roads, with slush, black ice, snow, etc…

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I live in Ontario also! When winter comes be careful on the roads out there man, some horrible drivers.

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My depression doesn’t seem to be connected to the weather. It kinda just chooses to arrive when it wants summer or winter

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@LevelJ1 - I hope your depression improves!

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Thanks it does Improve. Sometimes it improves too much :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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I just had my Wellbutrin upped, so, yeah.

■■■■ this ■■■■.

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I don’t live in Canada. But it snows, where I live. I do get more depressed when the weather is very cold, usually.

I prefer summer, with all the summer events and activities. Winter is so dull and boring. I don’t do any winter sports. I might go tubing, like once every few years.

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@TheCanuk

This is called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). It’s caused by a lack of sunlight. Being so far north you get a lot of sunlight in the Spring and Summer, but a lot less in the Fall and Winter.

You may want to look into a lightbox.

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I like going for walks in the winter. I like the smell of the crisp air. But I live on the milder side of canadia. It rains a ton in the fall winter and spring though.

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I use light therapy glasses every morning. I just use it to reduce grogginess and keep my sleep pattern good.

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@LevelJ1

I had SAD so bad I moved from New York to Florida. I light my office with 3 daylight bulbs, 2,300 lumens each.

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I’ve read that in some cases SAD can be linked to a lack of vitamin D (The sunshine vitamin) during Winter. Maybe talk to your doctor and try a Vitamin D supplement.

I’ve heard about Vitamin D being recommended for a lot of people in the Northern hemisphere during winter, apparently many of us are low on it.

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@Headspark

You’re right.

I’m good now because I live in Central Florida (I might move to South Florida), but when I lived in New York I was often depressed in the Winter.

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I get sick of winter around February or March. I have to fight hard not to go under

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I read that in Siberia they get 6 months straight of no li light so lots of ppl are on antidepressants there.

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Yeah, I’m not in Canada either but I don’t like the reduced daylight time either. There just isn’t enough daylight hours in winter. I also don’t like it when we have a particularly cold winter. Unlike like a lot of people on this forum, winter is my least favorite time of year.

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Thanks for sharing all the opinions/advice/personal experiences guys!

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