Discombubulated (Experiment)

I'm not sure you would want it if you had it Pietro, I suffer with summer SAD too, the lethargy is terrible, I sweat so much, I lose to much salt and fluid, I get bloated because I'm drinking faster than my body can cope with. My head rings, my joints especially my knees and feet swell and are painful. I sometimes have difficulty swallowing anything and have to force myself to drink, eating can be difficult. Sleep can be almost non existant, I have an extra large cooling dog mat to put under my bottom sheet to keep me cool.

If all the above wasn't enough, people get angry with you, they want to go out and do stuff and I can't as it's to hot and I don't have the energy. Sometimes I'd like to do these things too and I can't, I can't even sit in the garden, the sun feels like hammer blows pounding me into the ground, my eyes ache, I can't wear sunglasses because they slide off due to the amount I'm sweating. I feel dizzy because my blood pressure crashes, I get rashes and everything bites me.

People and medical people in particular, even alternative practitioners don't believe you and everybody thinks its depression. Well wouldn't you be depressed if you had all that lot every year with no answers or treatments, only disbelief?

Then next person that tells me its really bad karma to react like this to sunshine, is going to learn exactly what bad karma looks and sounds like!

 hungry not a symptom, but weakness and feeling faint (having to drink or eat more to counter the effects perhaps). I’m feeling disoriented and a bit sad although the sun is shining at the moment.

pietro_21 said:

Please record and changes during this time. 

Monday am: Tired and headache (not unusual but probably worse than usual).

pietro_21 said:

I'm interested to know if other autistic people become extra sensitive, or irritable, or tired, hungry, or depressed?

Why hungry?  Is that affected by atmospheric pressure?

Aeroplanes are pressurised. But not to the pressure when you get in. When you take off they let the air out over 20 minutes or so.

Down to 750-800 mbar, same as the pressure at 6,000-8,000 ft. Way lower than weather changes.

I'll have some reverse SAD please

I don't usually fly much but its not a problem really. It seems related to weather systems - like I can detect storms sometimes. I used to thing it was vitamin d/sunshine related. Aeroplanes have pressurised cabins, with weather it seems gravitational your enviroment indoors is not really protected.

I would have plenty to say, about this, but they would probably be readacted; especially given the fate of Prince, once he said the same thing. ;)

Do you have the same problem if you go in an aeroplane or go up a mountain? The pressure change there is larger.

There is a 20-25% drop in pressure in an aeroplane as they are pressurised to the equivalent of 6-8000 ft. A long haul flight would this pressure drop in 15-20 minutes and the 6-11 hours at this level.

The swing in air pressure at sea level due to pressure systems is about about plus or minus 4%, so like going up or down 1,000ft from a neutral average position.

In the sea, going down 3ft (1m) increases pressure by 10%.

I'm not saying the pressure change due to weather doesn't have an effect, I am just curious, as if it does, then long flights should also cause problems.

I wonder if it is humidity and cloudiness (light levels) that also have an effect? I notice these more.

I have the opposite. I feel great in this weather. In the summer when it’s bright, warm etc, then my mood gets lower, I get more irritable and crave darkness.  It’s like reverse SAD.

Yes it was low all week until yesterday morning then it rose gradually until today. I have a sad box but that doesn’t seem to do so much when it’s like this. I’m seeing a lot of pressure correlations with those days I felt down or slept badly. For me I feel like my head is in a vice and I can’t concentrate at all. 

Was it low yesterday? I was irritable and a bit depressed then for no apparent reason, but I thought it was due to less daylight as I do seem to suffer with SAD.

Thanks you should feel some sort of of change around Tuesday this is the lowest it’s gone all winter. 

I'll try and remember, I do notice changes in my sinus's and sometimes get a thunder headache and also a snow headache which is totally diferent to a thunder one.

I don't get migraines but apparently this is a big factor between late Sept to March, sub 1000 in barometric pressure can trigger them for some. 

I get headaches.

pietro_21 said:

I know a lot of people experience migraines.

I hadn't realised it is known to be related to low pressure.

Interesting thread.