SAD and ADHD
Ever since I was little, I’ve gotten really bad SAD (or Seasonal Affective Disorder).
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons — seasonal affective disorder (SAD) begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you’re like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. These symptoms often resolve during the spring and summer months.
I mentioned this to a coaching student recently, and they pointed out that because sunlight generates dopamine, less sun means less dopamine when our brains are already starved for it.
I’d never connected the dots between ADHD and SAD before. It was a real lightbulb moment for me.
For the last week or so, I’ve been feeling like I just can’t get my ADHD brain into gear. My Adderall helps, but not as much as I’d like. It just hit me over the weekend that it’s probably SAD kicking in.
It’s time for me to listen to the signals my body is sending me and do something about it.
Short of running away to sunnier weather in the winter (which I have done in the past!), I should probably look into a light lamp.
I’m curious if this is just a “me thing,” though, or if a lot of folks with ADHD also experience this phenomenon. What about you?