Posted by IsoM on January 25, 2002, at 21:03:34
In reply to Is light therapy effective for Cyclothymia?, posted by manowar on January 25, 2002, at 17:47:18
Tim, I've read & heard the same thing about sunlight affecting moods too. I do believe there's something to it.
My experiences with a light box doesn't show a big benefit but I have trouble sitting under the light for 1/2 hour when I first wake up. I need to get busy doing something or I'll just want to go back to bed. Also, the amount of light (10,000 lux) is equivalent to a overcast day, bright enough apparently to benefit a person, but not anything like a sunny day.
A friend I have who is seriously down in winter found something interesting. One summer, she spent almost all her time outdoors, unlike what she usually does. She was putting in a large garden, renovating her yard. When that winter came, it was the first time she wasn't seriously depressed. She wondered why & tried to think what might've been different. the only thing changed was the loads of sun during the summer. Her own hypothesis was all the sun changed her brain chemistry enough to last her though the winter. My plan this summer is to do the same & see what the results are. Generally I garden in the cool of the day as it gets darker. Not this summer!
>
> I ran across this old article from Medline below (very short). It states that light therapy can be beneficial for Cyclothymia. I've never heard this before. At the end of the article it also claims that, "Bright-light treatment is also effective against depressive disorders in non-seasonal depressions."
poster:IsoM
thread:91597
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020124/msgs/91620.html