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Post by GregR on Apr 1, 2013 9:15:13 GMT -8
I've got a week off from school and thought I'd get the board up and running again with a new post. We don't post much during the winter months cause we have little to complain about. But sadly, winter has officially ended, and I'd guess that many of us are starting to contemplate the next 6 months.
For me, April 1 signifies the start of the bad weather (no foolin'!) For us in CNY, the cold is departing, the snow has melted, and there seems to be nothing but endless months of heat, humidity, and misery ahead. While most people view the first crocus' popping out of the lawn with joy, the return of the robins with smiles, alas, I do not. I can't say the clouds of summer SAD have started to affect my moods, but I sorta feel their presence, just beyond the horizon. IOW, it's coming but it's not here yet.
Does anyone else get this almost imperceptible sense of oncoming depression this early? I know that for those of you in more southern or western areas it may have already been with you for a while, but whenever it happens, does it happen to you?
This year I hope to brainstorm ways to expand our membership beyond the 30 members we have now. In previous incarnations there were many, many more members, and I'd love to bring them back and reach out to fellow Summer SAD sufferers who are unaware of this message board.
I hope you all had a great winter. Let's make this message board a cool emotional respite, available whenever we need it.
Peace!
GregR
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Post by ginger on May 4, 2013 20:15:30 GMT -8
Greg, I feel the "dread " of the upcoming heat too, usually around the end of March . This year has been SO much cooler here,outside of Chicago, so it has been quite nice thru March, with cold and snow flurries till the end of the month. April has been rainy with over 8 1/2 inches for the month, so it's been cloudy and cool. But I know the HEAT is coming!! Already the noise outside has started with lawnmowers,trimmers,leaf blowers, and motorcycles going full blast. I miss the quiet of the snowfalls! We finally had our snows in February and beginning of March ,better late than never! Looking forward to September! Ginger
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Post by Brenda Briney on Jun 14, 2013 17:00:53 GMT -8
It was so nice to see your email and to know that we have support through the coming months - thanks! It hadn't hit me too hard until this last week when it got very hot and humid. But now it is cooler again, yea! I am enjoying the cool as long as I can. My problem is that even though I really loath the heat, I like to grow things, and things don't grow well without heat. Blah.
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Post by ginger on Jun 14, 2013 19:58:19 GMT -8
Nice to get a "Hello" from you,Greg. Summer here has been hot then cool and rainy, but it has been turning warm and humid and rainy in the last week. I once again hate cutting the grass with all the bugs attacking me! Also getting all sweaty by the time I'm done,doesn't happen shoveling snow! A week from today is the first day of summer and that means the days are going to be getting shorter! That's something to look forward to!!
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Post by gregrflick on Jun 15, 2013 10:19:37 GMT -8
Isn't it ironic we celebrate the first day of summer, not because we love the summer, but because it means the days are getting shorter, and thus the climate is slowly beginning its annual return to better weather for us?
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Post by jackiet on Jun 15, 2013 11:56:55 GMT -8
Hello Everyone. I haven't been as active lately as I had been in past years, but it's good to see the site is still up and running.
It sounds like my winter here in Saskatchewan was quite different than yours. Our snow came on the 20th of October (very early for us) and was still here six months later on April 20th. We didn't have many of the -30 days we usually see in January but we did have record snowfalls. So if you were wondering where all your snow was, it was here in my backyard.
My SSAD symptoms were very apparent in May but seem to have subsided now in June. I go forward each day with a cautious optimism....waiting for the dread. Our temps. haven't been really hot in June so that has made life easier. Today is our third gray day in a row with intermittent cloud bursts.
So, that's my update....glad to have this place to touch base with everyone.
Jackie
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Post by ginger on Jun 15, 2013 19:40:41 GMT -8
Here's a question for everyone, " Are you married to, or have other immediate family members who love summer? My husband and daughters love summer and all hate winter! I'm outnumbered! My sister is like me and loves winter and cooler weather, so I have her to talk to , besides this site!
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Post by GregR on Jun 16, 2013 8:08:01 GMT -8
My wife likes the summer and dislikes the winter, our daughter has mixed feelings - things to like in both seasons, and I of course love the winter and despise the summer.
My brother hasn't mentioned any particular affection or antipathy towards either season, similar to my parents attitudes.
My observation is that it isn't our love of the winter that marks us as "odd" in other people's eyes, it's our dislike of the summer that makes us seem strange.
What do others think?
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Post by jackiet on Jun 16, 2013 21:55:19 GMT -8
I agree with that observation Greg. Disliking summer is akin to disliking ice cream or kittens to some people. I have to say though, I am not a winter lover....more of a spring/rainy day lover. Our winters can be harsh so it is hard to like them. My husband isn't necessarily a hot weather lover but he does like motorbiking so any weather that makes that possible is his favorite. I have bipolar disorder type II and have taken a mood stabilizer and an antipressant for years. This past January I saw the doctor to see about switching antiD's because my dose was maxxed out and I was feeling the early onset of depression. He suggested adding in a second antiD in a low dose and go from there. I mention all of this because I spoke to him about SSAD and told him how it is much harder in summer time to block out stimulation...sun, heat, sounds etc. He asked me if I had ever been diagnosed as hyperactive. I of course said no but was intrigued. He asked how I did in school...I said I excelled academically but was talkative etc. He said he felt certain that I should have been diagnosed as hyperactive. My daughter informed me that hyperactivity can manifest in many different ways and that it isn't completely crazy that he had said that. Ok, my question to all is this... Has anyone else ever come upon such a diagnosis or suggestion from a doctor or any reading you may have done? The overwhelming of stimulations seems key for some reason. Jackie
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Post by ginger on Jun 18, 2013 21:01:03 GMT -8
Hey Jackie, I read a awhile ago on the Mayo Clinic's website on summer s.a.d. and hyperactivity was one of the things mentioned in people with bipolar disorder. So what your doctor told you was right! Summer can be annoying with the heat and sounds. And yes Greg was right people do look at you funny and SHOCKED that you don't like or love summer. Sorry but everyone is different and has different tastes!! Ginger
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Post by jackiet on Jun 21, 2013 12:31:29 GMT -8
Thanks for that response Ginger. I will be seeing my doctor on Monday and plan to follow up the whole hyperactivity issue. You're right about everyone being different....where I'm from we usually don't get a lot of rain, the past couple of years being an exception, and when it does rain I am positively giddy. Even a gray overcast day makes me happy. While some people want to curl up with a book, those are the days where energy returns and I feel most productive. My favorite season is fall. The whole frost on the pumpkin....readying for the cold days ahead and the general slowing down of things restores order to my world. I guess this thread was really supposed to be about the Joy of Spring....sorry for the rabbit trail
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Post by brendabriney on Jun 25, 2013 17:56:31 GMT -8
I am married to a summer lover and winter hater so he does most of his summer outdoor things by himself, as do I in the winter. My dad also hates summer so I must have gotten it from him. I used to feel embarrassed when I told people I hated summer and heat, but not anymore. I am who I am, and it's nice to know I'm not alone
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Post by ginger on Jun 28, 2013 20:09:37 GMT -8
We had horrible high humidity with dewpoints in the 70's this week outside of Chicago. How can ANYONE enjoy this kind of weather? If anyone says beautiful weather we're having , I just say" no it's NOT"! Then I usually say I would rather have snow any day than this heat. Of course then I get the weird looks or NO! I guess when people are complaining about the snow and cold in the winter and how they can't wait for summer I should just say No and look at them weird. Well the days are getting shorter faster as July begins so that's one good thing for us cold weather people.
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Post by GregR on Jun 29, 2013 8:18:13 GMT -8
It's been pretty humid around here as well, but I just read that Phoenix had a temperature yesterday of 120 degrees. Sheeesh!
But as they say, it's a dry heat, (like a pizza oven), so it's OK!
GregR: happy he's living far away from the southwest)
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Post by ginger on Jul 1, 2013 19:03:35 GMT -8
It was 92 in Seattle , my sister lives there and she said "IT WAS TOO DAMNED HOT TODAY" ! She has no ac there either ,so I feel for her. Dry heat , just like a pizza oven ,good one! I feel sorry for the people that work making pizza's in this heat!!
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