I love the Autumn - I like the cooler weather, the changing colors of the leaves, Halloween in the air etc…
What I dont like about the Fall season are the shorter days and this means an increase in my depressive symptoms.
For the last couple of days I have been feeling down again, I just hope I dont hit rock bottom later.
I will be talking to my pdoc, because with depression comes more irritability as well - and other problems 
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I get the same problem with summer approaching and longer days. Well, I don’t know if I can call it depression, but its feelings of sadness. Spring time means less night time hours which I love, and more day hours to get bored in. I do not like summer, so I feel sad that winter is over and spring is here.
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my pdoc…when i was down he simply said…’‘ride the waves’’
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Yes, acceptance is an essential part of the answer for dealing with depression.
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in autumn/winter months most humans need more vit d which we normally get from the sun…
lack of it can give people sadness/depresion.
take care
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When I was getting periodically down, my Dr helped me adjust my antidepressant and dose. When I hit the right dose I haven’t been depressed since. 10 years ago?
I do get mild mood swings without lithium. The two together solve the problem for me.
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I feel the same way in the Fall. I want to sleep and eat more. Hibernate. I just kind of go with it, but keep excersising indoors. I do not like winter, but determined to stay warm and find something fun about it ugh!
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The short days and cooler temps make me want to crawl under a rock until springtime. The only saving grace is On those still, grey, drizzly days, that smell of burning firewood makes me think of my two favorite things: the beach and bacon.
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I swear to you my pdoc said the same thing to me! That is strange 
Thats interesting, I seem to have a decrease in depressive symptoms when autumn hits, then its back in winter, then in spring it decreases again then summer it comes back
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I have a hard time coping with summer… the energy spikes, the heat, the noise, the lack of sleep do to longer days and more people out. The paranoia due to more people out.
Fall I feel I can breathe. Now… it’s finally raining and now I really fell like I can breathe and calm down. I do hit a week of exhaustion. All that activity and then shorter days and less everything… I do crash a bit and that feels like a wet blanket.
But after some rest and readjustment… I get back into the rhythm of things.
Hope you feel better soon.
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Usually once September hits, my mood starts going downhill slowly and I can feel the days keep getting shorter and shorter and start feeling tired around the time the sun sets. The more it gets closer to winter I start craving carbs and eat a ton through out the fall and winter. It’s very hard to get outside during the winter days. I sometimes have to force myself to especially if it’s a sunny winter day. During those months my energy is zapped, always feel like takin naps or sleeping all day. All this lasts until April then it lifts and gets better through May-Aug. Then it all cycles again.
To keep from really feeling depressed, especially in fal and winter I take 4000-5000 iu of vitamin D and eat lots of fish to get those omega 3’s, it definitely eases the depression through those hellish winter days.
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When I am on the depressed side of things my cravings for carbs increases - carbs act as an antidepressant/tranquilizer or something
Yeah. Carbs raise serotonin aka the feel good hormone and it lasts usually around 2 hours then it drops again and your mood will also drop as well until you eat more carbs or eat em with protein your mood will lift again. If you eat carbs like in the evening you can get that relaxed kinda feeling. I always liked that.
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For years… living here in the rain city… there has been a lot of talk about light therapy to raise the serotonin levels and prevent Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.)
And for years… I thought this was hooey hippy nonsense and to be avoided… how can some silly light bulb change anything?
But my sis who is always open to this sort of stuff decided to talk me into giving it a try. I have to say… this last winter felt a lot better as far as mood then previous winters.
When we had almost two weeks of thick fog I went a bit off the wheel.
But for the most part… the light therapy worked out a lot better then expected. I still had some glitches, but all in all, I felt a bit more level and Ok.
If you have the curiosity… Look up S.A.D. and light therapy lamps and it’s an interesting read.
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My current doctor mention light therapy for me once - I may bring it up with her again - thanks J
My only concern with it would be the possibility that light therapy could swing me into mania
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I don’t know much about light therapy. However from what I have read it is exposure to light that acts like sunlight. It would be like getting out in the sunlight more.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/light-therapy/basics/definition/prc-20009617
Dr told me to walk outside in the sunshine. It does seem to help. It even elevated my vitamin D levels…
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I think I will be going out and soaking up some sun more - cant go wrong with that 
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You might have meds side effect of increased sun sensitivity. Sometimes the drs won’t tell you that. I got bubble wrap blisters all over my arms and legs after a boat trip when I started my new meds. It was really unpleasant 6 weeks waiting for it to heal so I try to keep sun to 1 hour, 90 minutes max at a time daily…Just a warning. Sometimes we don’t know all we should…
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