Yesterday I took part in a HuffPost Live segment about
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). I
suffer from the Summer Blues, rather than Winter SAD and I wrote an article
about this last year (Melting to Death in the Sun – Life as a Reverse SAD Sufferer). My ME/CFS symptoms have been really bad
lately, thanks to a recent cold and with lots happening in my personal life (I
will be moving house this year – HELP!) so I have to admit that when I received
the invitation from the HuffPost Live segment producer, I really did not want
to do it.
On any given day, I feel much more comfortable with the
written word rather than the spoken. But
my recent brain fog had me worried that I would not be able to keep up with the
conversation let alone reply in a coherent manner. Also, I look and feel so ill, that I didn’t
want to be seen on a video. So I was all
set to say “Thanks, but no thanks” but I thought about the reasons I wrote
about SAD and it was for the same reasons I write about ME/CFS; to raise
awareness and help sufferers know they are not alone. So I agreed to do it.
The segment had not been on for long before I realised that
I was probably the worst example they could have picked as a Summer SAD
sufferer, because I also suffer from ME.
The two complicate each other and I would not have the same options
available to me as a standard SAD sufferer.
The doctor who took part in the segment also made some suggestions about
what Summer SAD sufferers could do, but the painkillers and meds that I take to
help my ME symptoms prevent me from trying these out.
So, in hindsight, I fear I came across as this weird freak
that abhors the sun and doesn’t really try to get any help, when honestly the
complications come about because of my ME.
You can watch the HuffPost Live segment here
Do you have ME/CFS and also suffer from SAD? Do you find that one makes the other worse or
that some of the treatment options are not available to you because of other
meds and symptoms?