[Katrina]

Hi Steven,

Good to hear you've been clean as far as self harm goes for a couple of months now. That's great, and I, too, hope that you'll continue down this path you're on now in regards to that. As far as your concerns with Seasonal Affective Disorder, the first thing I would say is just to be really careful with self diagnosis. If you put yourself into a certain mental illness, it's almost as if you'll start to mold yourself around the symptoms of this mental illness and they'll start to show up even if they were intending to in the first place...does that make sense? With that said, though, it does legitimately sound like there's something going on, and I do agree that you need to go ahead and get this sorted out with a medical professional before it gets worse. MayoClinic has a great resource on symptoms and signs of SAD and Reverse SAD as well as when you should know it's time to see a doctor. Again, though, please be very careful with this information and take it with a grain of salt - only a mental health professional will be able to properly diagnose you. (:

If you do end up going to a professional, there are treatments - light therapy (phototherapy), medications, and psychotherapy, and I'm sure that the professional can help you to find something that's right for you if they feel that it's necessary. MayoClinic (which I've been using as a resource when replying to this thread) also suggests a few "home remedies" that might be worth a try:

• Make your environment sunnier and brighter. Open blinds, add skylights and trim tree branches that block sunlight. Sit closer to bright windows while at home or in the office.
• Get outside. Take a long walk, eat lunch at a nearby park, or simply sit on a bench and soak up the sun. Even on cold or cloudy days, outdoor light can help — especially if you spend some time outside within two hours of getting up in the morning.
• Exercise regularly. Physical exercise helps relieve stress and anxiety, both of which can increase seasonal affective disorder symptoms. Being more fit can make you feel better about yourself, too, which can lift your mood.

None of these changes would be too difficult to make, and they may end up helping you, so I'd say that they're definitely worth a try! I hope things begin to shape up for you soon; keep us posted. (Quick edit: I've also gone ahead and merged your threads - please don't create multiple threads. If you'd like to seek alternative methods of advice or feel as though you're not getting replies as quickly as you'd like, feel free to try HelpLINK, Live Help, or the chat room. Thanks!)