Fall means SAD… looking for alternatives to SSRIs in alleviating depressive feelings

Question

Karen Fischer · Answer

The Sofa by Wolf Alice: I don't have grand recommendations for dealing with seasonal depression beyond SSRI's and exercise, but I did hear this song on a walk the other night and really loved it.

Maribeth · Answer

How to savor the Fall (and Winter)  season: Splurge on some fun pumpkins and weird ass gourds at your local pumpkin patch or grocery store. Get those small colorful corns because damn nature, how’d you do that!!! After Fall, swap for Winter decor! For me, that’s a Christmas tree, stockings, and a miniature Christmas village.

Light candles when the sun sets earlier than you want it to.

Put extra cozy blankets on the couch and snuggle up.

Invite your friends over for dinner. Don’t overdo it; no one needs to be cute and you don’t need to fret about a cute table setting, either. Put the weird gourd on the table and light a candle. Boom. For Winter, a jar of candy canes!

Go for a walk when the suns up if at all possible. If it’s raining, put on your gear and go on the walk anyway.

Drink cider and cinnamon tea and peppermint tea and sleepytime tea and hot cocoa.

Eat pumpkin bread and gingerbread and apple cider donuts and baked apples and ripe persimmons for Fall. For Winter, swap pumpkin with peppermint.

Buy bulbs to force indoors! An amaryllis (pictured) for yourself, and maybe one as a gift for a friend. Buy paperwhites. Buy spring-blooming bulbs like tulips and daffodils to plant outdoors if you have outdoor space. (Pots work fine!)

Learn about fall migration and the migratory paths of the birds in your area. Learn where the different species are headed. Think about the distances they have ahead of them when you watch them fly by. Wish them well.  For Winter, learn which birds winter in your area. Learn where they’ll go in the spring.

Remember that it’s just a season.  After a winter rest, the bulbs will bloom and spring will come and the days will get longer again. You can rest during this season, too.

(Linked to the book “The Year of Living Danishly” by Helen Russell so you can read more about “hygge” and how folks near the arctic circle handle the season.)

Jennifer · Answer

sad light: I bought one when I first moved to the PNW and used it every day during the sad season and it really worked.

Jes · Answer

Choose to like the ugly days: This sounds annoying, but I truly live by it: choose to like bad weather. Tell yourself you love grey days/ rain/ snow. Every time it happens say I love this and find reasons for it to be true. Maybe it’s the way the light looks in a certain room or the tea you make on those days or the special sweater you wear. Notice the thing you love on the worst days and lean into it every time. Eventually the feeling will just be true.

even*cleveland · Answer

Cold, cold water: My favorite mood-regulator. Awful at first, but exhilarating after. If you can't get to the shores of a great lake or wild river (something about the fresh air amplifies the effect), a cold pool works well, too. The trick is immersion, which offers a magic that showers lack.

Pictured: Au Train Beach on Lake Superior, where the water is never warm.

cee · Answer

yoga with adrienne: Unfortunately. Everyone was right when they said exercise does make you feel happier, make you sleep better, etc. which is a hard lesson I find myself learning every few months when dopamine chasing (aka poor spending habits) catches up to me. And it balances out my SSRI side effects. Horrible.

Anna · Answer

Fresh OJ: Not from a carton. Get yourself the whole fruit to squeeze, maybe throw in a little ginger and lemon. Yummy and sunshiny. If you live near a good juice shop that works too.

GK · Answer

Philips SmartSleep Wake-up Light: This alarm clock has been life-changing for me. As we head into darker mornings, this alarm clock mimics the sunrise and is essential for waking me up.