Has anyone used a bright light therapy regime for treating depression or bipolar disorder?

My uncle uses it. Only in the winter. I guess it seems to work. He says he doesn’t really use it that often though, but I’ve heard good stuff about it.

My doc suggested I use a light box in the winter, and he said it’s very helpful for seasonal depression related to not getting enough light. I haven’t tried it, simply because those damn light boxes are so expensive. I will tell you though, that when I make an effort to ‘soak up the sun’, I definitely notice that I feel better.

I have never heard of these “Light Boxes” for sessional problems, but my interest has been peeked. I am about to click on the link and look into these, as they may GREATLY help me, I hope, and if I decide to take the plunge and try it out, I’ll let you know what happens, and on those words, I would enjoy hearing about your experiences with it too.

Yeah, I’d be interested in hearing how it works out for you Buster. If it’s a significant improvement, I might just take the plunge, too.

Are they supposed to work like sunshine?

@cdwccrn: Yep. I think it has to put out around 10,000 lumens to have a therapeutic (sp?) effect.

I tan in the winter to combat seasonal depression. I miss the sun, but the bed seems to help.

I believe it is important to get the full spectrum light, not what we usually get in any of our light bulbs. And the full spectrum reproduces (in a small way) the sun. Experiments with light have shown this full spectrum is needed for some plants to grow, and it is hypothesized that we humans also require the full spectrum for our health. John Ott, who used to photograph flowers—time lapse photos—was the first person I read who talked about how important full spectrum light was.

@skfinkel: I believe you are right about the full-spectrum thing, but the Ott Lights don’t put off enough lumens for therapy. You have to buy ones made just for that.