Weird

[mdlbear]

Set out on my walk this morning, got to the top of the hill, and realized with total shock that I felt happy. It was the weirdest damned feeling.

Last night I was feeling vaguely ill, achy and tired; this morning I wasn't, but that doesn't really account for the change. Got some good news from a friend, but there was bad news from other friends to balance it. Got a few things accomplished, but I'm still up to my eyebrows in unfinished "to.do" items. It was bright and sunny and warm -- do I suffer from SAD? Probably.

Damned if I understand it, and that bothers me. How can I make it happen again if I don't know what I did? How long can I expect it to last?

Something is probably about to go terribly wrong.

Comments

[quadrivium.livejournal.com]

I think your regular walks are probably one of the more powerful weapons in your arsenal. I like working in my garden too, and that provides more opportunities to enjoy sunshine.

I can't say anything helpful, but....

[markiv1111.livejournal.com]

Seven or eight years ago, when under psychiatric care as I have been since 1981, I found myself feeling remarkably chipper and upbeat to the point where I referred to it as "manic." (I found out later that, in the absence of massive writing of bad checks, hitchhiking to Chicago at 4 in the morning, and comparable things, the word used is "hypomanic.") I was spending a lot of extra time at work and my work output just about tripled. (At that time, I was being paid by the hour, not the line as I am now; but it worked out pretty much the same, as I was putting in more hours.) I was smart enough to make an appointment with a psychiatrist (a new one -- I can't remember what had happened to my usual one). The psychiatrist asked me if I had had any previous such episodes. I said, "Flatly and absolutely never." He said, "Well, you probably did; you just can't remember them." A little later, at the end of the appointment, he said, "Next time you come in, I will need to give you something for your mood swings." I have never had mood swings in my life. This was the point where I had to realize that there are some psychiatric visits, and opinions, that are bonafidely dangerous to my health. You will be happy to read through to the end of this four- or five-day event: I came down to a level that was noticeably higher than where I had started, but did not have a "real" crash, and never did start to cycle. Here is hoping your end result is equally benign. And if you do have a real crash, or start to "cycle," there are any number of us out here that you can talk to (though I suspect Colleen will be the most helpful person in the world for you). I would hope you would not go looking for a psychiatrist unless it was just plain absolutely necessary; the world is a better place because psychiatrists exist, but some of them do snap judgments, and that can *really* cause trouble.

Nate

[mia-mcdavid.livejournal.com]

Do you take vitamin D supplements? Most people in the northern part of the country are vitamin D deficient, and it can affect mood. Your doctor can do a blood test . . .

[mdlbear]

I take multivitamin tablets (Centrum cardio) but no D beyond that. Take B12 and niacin.

[mia-mcdavid.livejournal.com]

You should check with your doc about D. They've found lately that the given RDA isn't nearly enough; I'm taking a multivitamin (with 400 mg) in the morning and another 400 mg in the evening.

Some people also can't process it digestively and have to get *shots*.

[mdlbear]

My multivitamins are 100 each, twice/day. Will check if I remember, but probably not an issue.

[mia-mcdavid.livejournal.com]

Are they 100 *mg* twice a day? That isn't even close to enough.

Are they 100% RDA twice a day? That might be a lot closer, but in a northern, rainy climate might easily not be quite enough. Remember that recent studies have found out that the standard RDA is really woefully low.

REMEMBER to get a blood test for this! Do I have to rat you out to the Cat?

[mdlbear]

misremembered. 200IU twice/day, making it 100% RDA. Plus what I'm getting from daily walks in the sun, of course.

[joecoustic.livejournal.com]

But you see, you need more data. Once is not enough to figure out a pattern (though it is enough to enjoy it :)). I hope it happens many more times and you keep feeling better.

*hugs* I'm glad you're feeling good today :).

[mdlbear]

Actually, I'm kind of hoping it's permanent, in which case I wouldn't get any more data but wouldn't need it either. I'll probably be disappointed on both counts, but I'm enjoying the effect while it lasts.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Time for some full-spectrum lights in your environment? The vitamin D might not hurt either..

[jilara.livejournal.com]

Your comments remind me of when, after a few years of chiropractic back in the '90's, I felt completely weird one day. And figured out that it was because nothing hurt. I couldn't remember a time when nothing hurt. It was probably back before when I was 11, when my back went out for the first time.

But I wonder if trying to analyze your happy place is counter-productive. I think that just being with the moment, however it comes, gives you better ways of accessing it later, because you now have it stored in the database. Of course, a nice day with warm sunny weather doesn't hurt!

[hsifyppah.livejournal.com]

The sun is a beautiful, wonderful thing, and darnit, it's normal to feel happy in the sunshine. I think figuring from there that you suffer from SAD the rest of the time is maybe a step too far. Maybe you do, but hey, the sunshine can cheer up anyone at all, without needing a pathology attached to it. Yay, sun!

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

It does not mean what you believe it means. (Z. Nyrond)

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

Enjoy it!

[mdlbear]

I am, believe me!