Tanning and Depression?

Hi everybody. I have bipolar pretty severely, and it's always far worse in winter than in summer. I was wondering if going to a tanning bed would help at all? I'm pretty fair complected so I don't tan normally, even in summer I don't lay out. But I'm curious if light tanning maybe once a week would help with my depression?


Thanks!
Tanning and Depression?
No. Tanning beds ruin skin. You are thinking of a light box for SAD, which is not the same light as tanning beds. That is safe, it is like natural sunlight and will help your mood.





Also, try taking vitamin D and calcium, sit outside in the sun for about 15 minutes a day, even if it's just your face. Watch what you eat, carbs can really make it worse (breads, etc.), and no sugary foods (sugar is a depressant as is alcohol).
Tanning and Depression?
going Tanning definitely helps! trust me!
Reply:Bipolar can be treated with therapy not by tanning.
Reply:Only for a couple of years. Then the depression will settle in again as you go to the dermatologist every 6 months or so to get the skin lesions either frozen, burned or cut off.
Reply:yes having a tan will cheer you up ..that's for sure...but use the creams not the tanning beds....there are some sophisticated tanning lotions about
Reply:oh please please don't go into a tanning bed. it will make you a lot more depressed when you have skin cancer. do you want to be a wrinkly old bag when you're 40?
Reply:I am not too sure if tanning will help or not, what I know does help is getting a full spectrum lamp.. it is actually normal to get like that in the winter! Tanning may help, I just am not too sure.
Reply:I wouldn't do that. Tanning beds are very bad for your skin health. Maybe find other ways to combat your weather-induced depression....turning on bright lights, lighting a fireplace, burning a candle....etc.
Reply:S.A.D. is from the lack of sunlight in the winter there is less %26amp; you generally stay in more.





A friend has arthritis real bad %26amp; tanns in tanning salon %26amp; says it is good not only for pain but for the SAD disorder as well.
Reply:You need to check with your health practitioner to see if you have Seasonal Affective Disorder. If you do, the tanning might help. But why expose yourself to skin cancer without knowing why you're doing it? :) Good luck! :)
Reply:Give it a go, it's not like its gonna get any worse!
Reply:Why don't you try it? I can't possibly hurt! I hope you feel better. Take a good friend with you. It is important to have a good friend you can confide in and share your feelings with!


Good luck to you!
Reply:It helps but there are better ways. Light boxes(light therapy) is a better way. It's no more expensive than tanning sessions and much better for your skin.
Reply:I hope you are seeing someone for this. A good MD/ Psych can help you a lot.
Reply:tanning is great for anyone whether it's from the sun or the tsnning booth. don't forget to cover up your scamper so it doesn't get sunburnt. why not send me a pic of you and your tan so i can see how terrific it looks on you?
Reply:I'd say that a special 'light box' would be better for you. Sounds to me like you have SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).





They're not sun beds, but they stimulate natural sunlight. Have one on by your desk and one by your bedside table for at least an hour a day.





I'm not sure where you live, though. I've got results for sun lamps from the UK
Reply:Why do you think that by getting a tan will help you with your depression?
Reply:Being in the UVA and UVB rays weither it is in a tanning bed or out in the natural sun helps you process Vitamin D, which helps process a hormone that regulates depression. Not getting enough of these *rays* makes for a lower level of this hormone, leading to depression.





Tanning lotion will not help. Try sitting near sunny windows or even buying one of those desk lamps that give off UVA/UVB rays. This will perk you up alittle.





If the depression persists, you should see your physician.
Reply:It should help with the seasonal depression. They actually make special lights that you can have in your home to help with seasonal depression. mine comes in the summer (very rare), so I know how hard it is. I wish you the best of luck.
Reply:It does. Anything that stimulates your melanocytes will make your pituitary gland increase the amount of endorphins in your bloodstream.





HOWEVER, tanning beds and tanning lamps and pretty much any kind of exposure to those amounts of UV radiation, cause skin cancer.





So maybe you麓ll be happy this winter but not ten years from now when you have to undergo chemotherapy and all your hair falls off. I don麓t know about you, but for me, even all the endorphins and Vitamin D in the world aren麓t worth going bald for.





If you麓re bipolar you should just take Prozac. Ask a doctor, they麓ll tell you the same.
Reply:I've heard that to i have bi-polar to and i have not heard that about vitamin d i do take vitamin b-12 it helps with the nervous system i can take about 5 a day if i need it i like a more natural approach medicine makes me groggy and i don't like the way it makes me feel.

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