Light Therapy Box

Yes! I have SAD and had PPD and have been able to stay off anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds with the diligent use of mine (I have been on wellbutrin and prozac, and benzos and xanax for anxiety). I have a light visor by Feel Bright Light and I think it's more convenient than the box. I bought it off of Amazon and can't recommend it highly enough! I don't like meds but never thought I'd be able to avoid them, especially with something that I worried might be rather expensive and hoaky. It's not! I use mine from mid-September - mid-spring and it's been a lifesaver.

try looking on Amazon.... you can read the reviews there.

My Mom gets like that.... lighting does help.

I have no personal experience with one but I've heard something about angling the light at the back of your knees??? I believe I have also heard/read that too much can cause you to become more manic... Anyone out there know if these are fact or fiction?

I believe I've seen natural spectrum lamps at Costco before but I know you're specifically talking about the box which is a little different.

It's just a full-spectrum bulb in a fancy lamp. My dad made me one with a basic under-the-cabinet florescent light fixture. I keep it by the computer in the winter. I think it helps:)

I bought this one: http://www.amazon.com/Zadro-Sunlight-Portable-Light-Adjus...

I didn't use it at work cause the light was kinda obvious. I used it in the morning before I got out of bed for about 30 minutes. It helped with my post partum depression.

Most home improvement stores have full spectrum lamps that you could get instead of the box, and it will cost at least half price compared to most boxes.

talk to your dr.about it-i did this yr.hes checking into it-you can get these as a prescription-all the ones ive priced are well over a 100.00...

My mother used one when she lived in Conn.. It worked great for her..

I used oen for a while. I don't know that it improved my mood, but having it shine on my face in the morning did help me wake up.

I got one at the tail end of winter, and couldn't really tell if it worked. I'm going to try again this year.

I bought my light box about 6-8 years ago from Alaskan Northern Lights (they have an Internet site--mine cost over $400 and was worth EVERY penny.) when I was diagnosed with SAD. Yes, it was expensive, but it was the best money I ever spent. I've been taking Vit D-3 for the past three years now, so my Vit D-3 level is quite high. I have gone off all antidepressants and don't need to use the box as much as I used to.

For anyone living in the northern climates like those of us in the Midwest, a lightbox is almost a Savior when it comes to winter and the winter blues because we're not exposed to as much sun. A good quality lightbox, I believe, is still better than a lot of the full-spectrum lights, although I've heard for some people they work for them. In fact, I have three lamps in my home office that are full-spectrum, and I turn all of them on in the winter time (I don't usually use them in the summer months).

I will say, though, that the therapy lightbox light is BRIGHT. If you work around a lot of people or are out in the open, your light will bother others. If you have your own office and can somehow block some of the light's brightness, that might work. But the kicker is that it needs to be at eye/face level for the light to penetrate your eye/soak into your facial skin, so you can't "hide" it very well from others.

Good luck on your search. I did want to mention that the company I bought my light from has been wonderful to deal with, and they've never gone out of business. I've ordered new lightbulbs from them, as well as this summer I had to order a new ballast from them, after mine blew out. The ballast was a very old type of ballast, but thankfully, the company had them stocked.