Summer SAD

Did you know there are portable air conditioners? I didnt until I googled around tonight. There are also narrow ones that would fit into a cracked window. And there are ones that connect to the outside by tubing that can be fed up to a windowsill as well.

Those of you out there without decent AC-friendly windows are suffering needlessly!

look at this

and this

and there's a few in this group too

The point is, just check around before resigning yourselves to stuffiness and heat-induced insomnia. I know it's hard to think clearly during these times, but maybe there's something that will greatly help.

It's hot. Triple digits hot. Today, tomorrow... maybe the next day. I am miserable. Short tempered. I feel like I am being roasted alive. I don't want to do anything, go anywhere or even talk. I can't seem to think clearly enough to make decisions, even little ones. The a/c in the bedroom keeps the room more ok than the rest of the house, but it's old and not up to the task of creating the polar conditions I would like (or even as chilled as it used to, I think it's on its last legs). The basement has warmed up. I have that suffocating "I can't get away from this" feeling that I get in the summer. I feel uncomfortable in so many ways that I'm bad company. I don't even want to be around myself when I'm like this.
Sorry this isn't a helpful post, I just felt like I needed to vent to people who understand.
How's everyone holding up?

While I was cleaning up my desk area yesterday I decided to decorate a shelf with Halloween-esque and Fall-ish things to remind me of the things I'm looking forward to.

For years I have disliked the summer.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being outdoors and the beach on occasion, but I long for Autumn during these dog days.  I didn't even know that this condition existed!  I always thought I was just a dreary person who enjoyed winter and cool/cold weather.  Now that I know about and strongly believe that I may have it (my suspicions have not been confirmed by a doctor), I would like to do something about it.  I have to say that I do not like the idea of anti-depressants, so what are some of the ways that you all manage to not become totally irritable and anti-social hermits during these summer months?

the sky was beautiful
the weather, my God, it was glorious today

I did not squint.
I breathed in the smell
of sprinkling rain on warmed asphalt.
I kept my eyes open all day
except when I was relaxing
naturally
leaned up against anything handy
at it didnt matter what angle.

I was more me again
because today was grey and calm
and I was safe to come out
and walk and play and think thoughts
inside
that didnt have to fend off outside.

my day was alive inside my eyes and my head today
the way only this kind of weather can
get across into the lands in me.

How do you explain Summer SAD to friends, SOs, family, etc.?

Sorry this is so long! Maybe it will help you guys fall asleep! =)

( the experiment )

( product review )

And since July 15 brings me to my rather arbitrary 'halfway' point of the summer, of course I had to revive my countdown to the autumnal equinox, which is when the misery is largely past, here in Minnesota...



It's a fun website to make tickers to count down or up to nearly anything (it zooms into to counting down days at the event draws nearer). Try it out! =)

Hi everyone,

So I've discovered that I made an equally wonderful and poor decision by budgeting to resign from my job three weeks before moving cross country. Getting away from stress and a long commute has been wonderful, but now I find myself with vast, open days, my only commitment being a two-hour/week volunteer shift. I want to keep my mind and body active, but I hate how leaving my apartment and trying to enjoy walking around town involves all the sun and heat exposure. If I end up walking in the sun for more than twenty or thirty minutes, I feel it impacting my mood, and the more time spent outdoors, the worse my mood gets.

I don't like spending time at my apartment, but the weather makes it hard for me to feel I'm enjoying my time unless I am holed up reading in air-conditioned coffee shops.

Suggestions on how to beat the heat but still stay active? How do people deal with it on their days off? Also, I know at least one other person here lives in Portland, OR, which is where I'm trying to combat the sun at present. City-specific tips (such as good, cool places that won't mind me lounging for hours) would be much appreciated!

Portland summers really get going right after the fourth of July and usually last until mid-September. Which means that it's heating up around here in a consistent way and I'm trying to deal with things as well as I can. The worst is yet to come.

So, in attempt to buoy my spirits and yours I bring you something for your ears, something for your belly and something for your wardrobe. Ta-da!

The link is to a great little site that has all kinds of soothing background noises. What's so great about that? One of them is a really nice rain sound. It's lovely. Honest. Just having it on quietly in the background is very soothing for me right now... I thought someone here might like it too.

The next thing is a cold pasta salad recipe that's really easy to put together.
What's great about this is that you can cook the noodles at night or in the morning and throw this thing together and have it in the fridge for whenever you want it.
This is what's needed: Noodles (curly ones work good for this), feta, a cucumber, radishes, olive oil, garlic, basil, olives, lemon juice.

Directions: cook the noodles - I use two 12oz packages because the leftovers are delightful for snacks and lunches etc... crumble the feta in a big bowl - how much feta you use would depend on how much noodles you're making and how much you like feta. when using both packages of noodles I use an 8oz block of feta. chop up radishes and cucumbers and throw them in the same bowl, add the olives too. drain the pasta and dump it in the bowl with the other stuff. mix it around so the feta melts all over the noodles. for this next part I use a blender, but you don't have to. Mix 1/2 c. olive oil, 2 T lemon juice, 2 cloves garlic, and 1 t basil. either blend that up or press it or whatever you have to do to get the garlic small and the flavors mixed. now pour this over the noodle veggie mix. I think it's good semi-warm or cold. It tastes just as great the next day. it has a great pesto taste to it, which I really like.

Oh, and I almost forgot. I found this really cute community appropriate T-shirt the other day. Enjoy!

How are you all doing?

I just spent the morning trying to summer-proof my home and thought I'd share here what that involved.
I fixed up a bed in the basement on the floor, put dark coverings over all of the windows, devised a fan arrangement so that one is pointing up from the basement and one is at the top of the stairs blowing into the livingroom and one in the livingroom window blowing outside (we'll see how this works, fine tuning may be in order), and filling the ice bucket in the freezer. I also remembered that while it is tempting to stay up late and wait for it to cool off that it's better for me personally to wake up early and get the cooler morning air into the house for the day and use that time to get things done. By the end of the day I'm too wiped out to do anything even when it cools down a little bit at night.
I'd love to hear about anything you guys have done to your homes too.

So, I was wondering, everyone... your eating habits this time of year. I find that I have the strangest appetite, if I have any at all. I find that I don't feel at all like eating during the day, when the sun is up. But as soon as the sun goes down, I'm ravenous. I can't get enough to eat!! I'm not sure what it is, but holy cow... I'm loosing weight still, but I just can't believe how pronounced the urge to eat is after dark. I think if I could eat all 3 meals after the sun goes down, I would!

And the second question. My partner and I are starting to make plans to move somewhere more cool and cloudy. We looked at Seattle, and I adore it, but we really want to move East due to land prices, and our desire to eventually emigrate to England (we're in Colorado now). We'd looked at Pittsburgh to as an alternative, but I've been using the weather.com averages to compare the average temperatures between our possibilities and where we are now and found that Pittsburgh has about the same averages as where we live now. So... my question is, does anyone have any favourite cloudy spots in the Northeast that might be comparable to Seattle? I was wondering about Maine... anyone have any experience, favourite places they'd like to share?

I'm Christina and holy cow, I am SO incredibly glad to have found this community! So glad I nearly cried. I've suffered rSAD for years now, and found out I had it in the same way described in the information here. I hated the summer, had panic attacks and such in the summer, and on and on. I started joking that I had the reverse of SAD, and finally found that there really IS such a thing. I've been seeking treatment for the past 3 years, but I've been through several psychiatrists. None of them know what I'm talking about, and all think I'm making it up. I have printed out every article (Including the NY Times one listed here) and taken them in. I live in Colorado, which has an average of 300 days of full sun per year. Ugh! After being given the "cheery" prognosis of either moving (which I can't do due to sharing a young son with his father for another few years) Or just locking myself in my house with the blinds pulled and air conditioning at the maximum from May to September, I made the choice to begin taking medications for both my rSAD and my generalised anxiety disorder. It's obviously difficult, and I often feel like a guinia pig since they don't know what's going on. I've finally found a psychiatrist who is now taking a bit more of an agressive approach, supplimenting the medications I take with coping stratagies.

Anyway, long story short, I am SO incredibly glad to have found this community. This diagnosis can make one feel SO isolated, particularly this time of year. So how are you all coping out there, now that things are beginning to heat up? I just watched the weather forecast a moment ago and nearly burst into tears. Again.

I can't thank Jen enough for throwing this opportunity my way.  The interview turned out great--I have an entire page with my transcript, podcast, and four pictures!! 

Check it out...Summer SAD on national radio, hooray!!  For some reason it's not letting me post the website...go via my blog:

http://seasonalsad.com/?p=125

I got an email this morning from a public radio program that airs on NPR across the country on Saturdays. They're wondering if I might be interested in talking to someone in a segment about changing seasons and summer SAD. It's not for sure, but I'm excited that this is even a possibility.

I just wanted to let you guys know because I think it's cool that summer SAD is gaining some recognition out there in the world.
It wouldn't be happening unless folks found, joined, and participated in communities like this one and the others that are listed in the links on the main page of the community journal.

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for helping to support this community. I honestly appreciate it.

***edit to add***

I was contacted by Marc Sanchez from the public radio program, "Weekend America," which is a news and arts show that airs on NPR stations across the country every Saturday. He's working on a segment for this week's show about the change of seasons, from spring to summer, and thought it might be interesting to look at Summer SAD. I spoke with him this afternoon and he seems like a great guy. He's looking for more input, so if you would like to share your perspective with him email him at americanpublicmedia.org with the time that would be best to reach you. He tells me he's on a deadline, so hop to it! You can also call him at 651-290-1222.

How's everyone doing?
Are you prepared with your gallons of water, fans, sunglasses, darkened windows, and ideas for light, cool, nourishing meals?
I'm almost there.
Here in Oregon we've had a few days of hot, but this morning I wake up and it's raining. It feels like a gift.
Something I wanted to mention here is that my partner and I just purchased a new futon. Why does this information belong in this community? Because when trying to decide which futon to choose my decision wasn't based on price, by testing them out, or word of mouth recommendatons. My decision was based on the description of the mattress on the website:  "A fluffy layer of high quality wool is the final layer, which enhances bodily warmth in winter and coolness in summer".  Yes, indeed.
It's still a little too soon to tell if this promised "coolness in the summer" will actually happen, but I really hope so. We bought ours from Cotton Cloud and they do ship anywhere in the continental states. This is the one we bought. It's an excellent company and I highly suggest using them if you're in the market for a futon.

I wonder if anyone here has experience with trying different kinds of materials for bedding? Is this wool thing a long shot or does someone here know if it'll actually work? Have you found something to sleep on that improves your quality of sleep? Are waterbeds nice to sleep on in the summer? I've never had one, I'm curious.

Also, I haven't forgotten about posting ideas for no-cook and cool meal ideas. I don't want this community to evolve into a cookbook, but it seems like it would be a super helpful thing to put together. I've been a little swamped lately, but I'm getting there, I promise. If you guys have recipes to share please feel free to post them! It doesn't have to be fancy or gourmet or anything at all.... your favorite sandwich, things to put on the grill, smoothies, all ideas are welcome!

Oh, I also wanted to say hello and welcome to people who have joined recently! Thank you for posting your introductions, I'm so glad you're here :)

Okay, here's the recipe for a cold soup I enjoy during the hot summer days.

Emerald Soup

1 pkg of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 soup can of milk
1 clove of garlic

Put all ingredients in blender on liquefy setting until smooth and well blended. Turn off occasionally and stir with spoon. Serve cold.

Personal notes:
I put in just one can of soup first and blend everything up before adding the last can, because it fills my blender up to the top with everything in there.

The 'hit or miss' for this recipe is the garlic. Too small a clove, and it can be a bit bland, too large/strong, and you might kill someone with your breath. ;)

Since I've basically cut meat out of my diet, I now substitute cream of mushroom for the cream of chicken. It does taste better with the cream of chicken, however.

It keeps for a few days in the fridge, especially if you use fresh milk rather than stuff that's past the date on the carton (I'm guilty!).


Let me know if you like it!

 Today is the first day of the warm season here in the Pacific Northwest. It's 79 degrees right now & they're saying that it will likely be an especially warm summer this year. Oh dear. I'm pretty sure we'll see some more rain before the summer officially kicks in, but today is the day it all starts again.
 While I've been trying to mentally prepare for what is to come I've also been trying to catalog the nice things about the weather warming up this spring. For example, it's been nice to sit on the porch and enjoy a nice cool beverage. It's nice to have the windows and doors open and feel the breeze flowing through the house. I feel myself shifting my scent preferences from woodsy and musky to more citrisy and light, change is nice. It's enjoyable to be outside and smell b.b.q's and hear people talking and playing music. I'm looking forward to seeing the seeds I planted come up and bloom.
 On the other hand, I'm a little sad to see some things go. It's hard to enjoy a nice hot cup of coffee in the summer. So long  funky layered outfits, putting a heating pad on sore muscles, and moss. I really like to cook, but it's impossible for me to bake or cook warm meals when it's warm. Last summer I began searching for no-cook and cold meals, and I will continue to do that this year. If anyone has recipes along those lines to share I would love to see them. If this is something anyone else would find useful I'll post findings from my searches here.
 
 It was interesting to be out and about today. I noticed that many people were venturing out earlier in the day and they seemed more cheerful. It's like while I'm getting ready to hunker down and try to survive everyone else is getting ready for a marvelous party.

 I just wanted to let everyone know that the community here is alive and kicking - and ready to get through another summer as best as I can with you all.
 I would welcome anyone who would like to to post about things you might be enjoying this spring and anything you might be strategizing to do differently this summer than last. I'm sure we could all use the encouragement and the tips!

Hello!

I just wanted to express how happy I am to have found this community, and introduce myself.

I've hated summer, and especially summer heat, for years. 2005 was absolutely killer for me, to the point where I was so worn down from sleep deprivation and poor appetite that I was having memory blackouts and even an auditory hallucination or two, as well as a panic attack when I feared I might not make it to September. Scared the crap out of me, so I came up with coping mechanisms for following summers. I sleep on the floor during the summer now--it's less comfortable, but a couple degrees cooler down there. I leave the wall ac unit on during the hot nights, despite the electricity bill or my unhappy conscience. I take a sleeping pill once a week on the weekends, and that seems to make a big difference--just one night where I can get a half-decent amount of sleep during the summer heat helps me cope. This summer I'm going to try eating my main meal at work over lunch, since my appetite dies when I'm home in my overly-warm apartment, and my department now has a microwave nearby. Work's been a lifesaver the past few summers already, since it's so cold there--I wish I could just live there permanently on the hottest weekends!

But I didn't know what I had until last December, when I went to my doctor in part because of an incident of severe depression I'd gone through; I wanted blood tests to rule out thyroid or vitamin deficiency. I was talking about what it had been like, and then I had an 'in' to bitch about how much I hate summer and what it does to me. And she offhandedly mentioned I might have summer SAD. I'd heard about the 'normal' winter SAD, but I'd never known there was another kind. I got online and looked it up--and so many of the symptoms fit me! It was a huge comfort learning I'm not just a 'freak,' and that there are other people out there who dread the hot months like I do.

So now that the awful time of the year is bearing down again =( I decided to step up my summer SAD research online to get more ideas for coping, and that was how I found this place. It really is a blessing feeling like I don't have to go through this alone.

I found my way here via a Google search I made after reading a small snippet at the end of a news article about traditional SAD.

I'm not officially diagnosed, but this describes me perfectly (better then my mom's definition of my being a "vampire") I'm both physically and emotionally more sensitive to the sun and heat, and pretty much like the weather that everyone else hates and vice versa.

I expect this place to get more traffic in months to come (Sorry if my comment appears to overlook non-North Hemisphere-ians) For now, I hope everyone is doing well... Where I live there is lots of snow. It's overcast and cool, and the normally bare trees are covered in snow, looking as peaceful as I feel.

I love how the slight hill by my house seems to gather and hold fog on these winter mornings. The trees form soft silhouettes, the sky and the wet pavement seem to blend together - it feels like a dream. I've tried taking some pictures but they haven't turned out quite right yet. Maybe I'll go try again...
Just wanted to check in with everyone.
I'm  enjoying my  "good" season when I have more energy, unfortunately there are also more things that consume that energy (holidays, birthdays, etc) that need to be done. I guess that works out well, but it's also kind of a bummer because I would really like to be doing more Me things (creative, cooking, artsy stuff) instead of Required things. I'm not complaining though, I'm just going to go take pictures of the fog.
How are you doing?