[VT Josh]

Hello,

4 years ago my wife was diagnosed with Biopolar Type 2. She is 41 years old and in retrospect we see patterns of this condition as far back as to when she was 16 years old.

She ALWAYS goes very low in September and the depressive event lasts through mid-November. She goes high in late April for a shorter period of time. Throughout the winter she does also experience lows but no highs.

The pattern of LOW-HIGH-LOW follows the seasons, and more specifically the amount of sunlight in the day.

Has anyone had this experience in a northern climate, MOVED to a sunnier climate and experienced a reduction in depressive symptoms due to being in a sunnier climate?

Anecdotally this makes sense, but we are wondering if anyone has actually experienced positive benefit from such a mood.

Thank you.

[Moose72]

Some people use artificial light to trick their body into thinking there is more sunlight. And yes, it can follow that one is manic in the spring and depressed in the winter. Its not always that way- I've had manic episodes that were not in the spring (though my last one was). No, I have not moved. However a friend of mine moved from New Hampshire to Florida and her physical symptoms got a great deal better. She is not bipolar, however.

[Rick7892]

Moving south, if feasible, sounds like a way to reduce seasonal depression.

However, I have no experience with moving south to reduce seasonal affects of depression or BP. I use light therapy among other things to cope with it.

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Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and Seasonal Bipolar Disorder both occur and may require different treatment, though it seems they are not easy to tell apart:

* SAD: Is seasonal affective disorder a bipolar variant? | MDedge Psychiatry

* How Seasonal Depression Affects Bipolar Disorder | Everyday Health

* Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) - HelpGuide.org

[~Christina]

Lots of people use light boxes and they swear by them.

Some people follow a cycle but Bipolar is shifty and sometimes comes out of no where.

I have bipolar type 1, not 2, but I doubt there is a major difference when it comes to light as a trigger for mood change. Definitely more light does bring on my mood upswings and/or mania. I tend to have my highest moods in the spring.

I have mostly lived in the NJ/PA area. We actually get sunny days a lot here, but obviously the days are much shorter in the cold months. I once lived in Berkeley, CA for a couple years, where it's often sunny, except some fogginess in some mornings. I wouldn't say it improved my mood situation. I recall mood elevation and depression. I also once lived in Taiwan, which lies across the Tropic of Cancer. I had both mania and depression there. Both were quite problematic. I was taken to a hospital for the depression. Then I quit my job (when manic) and went to Hong Kong and Thailand, both at a similar latitude. I was manic there until a mood crash. Situational triggers were responsible in most all cases. So, there are more factors than just light and climate.

I will say that my husband is from a central European country that tends to be cold, dark and cloudy most of the fall through spring. Many Czechs are a rather negative and depressed type bunch. My husband loves the more numerous sunny days in our area (not far from NYC and Philly).

[neverending]

For me I feel the answer is yes, sunlight can make a difference. My diagnosis up north was major depression. When I moved to Florida I had my first hospitalization for mania. Diagnosis is now bipolar 1. And I rapid to ultra rapid cycle. I blame the sun for the drastic change in my mood swings. Not completely. I m sure other stuff is going on.

And looking back at my decades long deep depressions, a lot of it may have been mixed episodes.

My depression would deepen in the winter months. But I never experienced stability or mania/hypomania up north.

North being both New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.

[VT Josh]

Originally Posted by neverending

For me I feel the answer is yes, sunlight can make a difference. My diagnosis up north was major depression. When I moved to Florida I had my first hospitalization for mania. Diagnosis is now bipolar 1. And I rapid to ultra rapid cycle. I blame the sun for the drastic change in my mood swings. Not completely. I m sure other stuff is going on.

And looking back at my decades long deep depressions, a lot of it may have been mixed episodes.

My depression would deepen in the winter months. But I never experienced stability or mania/hypomania up north.

North being both New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.

Thanks, this is helpful. Potentially trading depressive episodes (north) for manic episodes (sunny south) sounds like a tough decision!!

[Sometimes psychotic]

Does she supplement with vitamin D which we get through sunlight, I’ve dodged winter lows since starting it.

[Fuzzybear]

[*Beth*]

I am BD1, but for me, the sun has an enormous affect upon me.

As soon as the first week of November arrives, no matter what, I plummet into depression. That week is when our (Calif.) temperatures drop and the sunlight is low. Horrible anxiety and depression and mixed states. Med increases. Med changes. I'm at my mental health clinic they might as well give me my own room.

With the first bit of spring in March my mood stabilizes; by later spring I feel manic-y. Summer can get intense. If I was not on meds, I know the entire cycle would be far more intense.

Even now, with the dreariness of COVID I feel much more energized and jumpy.

Anyway, my point is that I am very much affected by the sunlight. I have come to dread fall and winter.