Perfect Gifts for Seasonal Depression Sufferers

November 4, 2017  | Updated 1/21/18

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Perfect Gifts for Seasonal Depression Sufferers

When you love someone who suffers from seasonal depression, otherwise known as SAD (seasonal affective disorder), it’s important to gift them with uplifting and helpful things. Winter and holidays can be hard for many people, and it’s no exception for those who struggle with seasonal depression.

Here’s a list of my absolute favorite gifts that help me dwell less on the long winter months and more on the things that I love about life.  Most of these gifts are under $25, which makes this a win-win. You can give a gift that’s truly a blessing to someone while keeping to your holiday spending budget.

Before you read through the awesome list of gifts, I would be remiss not to tell you about how much money I’ve saved in shipping with Amazon Prime over the past 12 months. At Christmas last year alone, I saved almost $200 in shipping (and everything I ordered arrived within 48 hours).

It’s not just for shipping. Prime offers hundreds of TV, movie, and music choices as well — and early access to some of the best Amazon sales. It costs $99 for one year ($8.25 per month is the breakdown).

The money I saved was more than double the price of Amazon Prime just for the holiday season. For the year, I’ve saved an estimated $345 in shipping! Before you pay those shipping costs, consider joining Amazon Prime — you’ll be glad you did.

1.  The Verilux HappyLight Therapy Energy Lamp has transformed my winters. We have long winters in Colorado, and I struggle a bit with seasonal depression. Starting my day with 20 minutes of this bright, warm light on my face has noticeably improved my mood on most gray days. Highly recommended!

2.  The Sparoom SpaMist essential oil diffuser disperses the perfect amount of your favorite essential oil scents to feed that inner need for calm or energy to get your work done. It’s the perfect complement to a morning energy lamp session.

3.  Now Essential Oils in various amazing scents. I use mostly Now brand essential oils because the quality is excellent and the price is very affordable. My absolute favorite is lemongrass — it’s like sunshine in a bottle.

4. Farm Innovators Heated Birdbath. I know it sounds strange, but hear me out. Being an animal and nature lover, it’s very hard when everything dies and hibernates during our winters. Something that brings me real joy is to have a few bird feeders in clear view and to keep this heated waterer/birdbath full when most water sources are frozen. It’s so much fun to see the birds splashing and playing in the water, you’d almost forget it’s cold outside.

5.  Under the Tuscan Sun. Last winter I made a point to schedule regular reading time for myself. I read all of Frances Mayes’ books. Being whisked away to Italy for the winter did my mind some serious good! (* Just so we’re clear — Frances Mayes is a terrific writer, and the movie with the same name has nothing to do with her real-life accounts of living in Italy.)

6.  The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. This book really did transform my mornings a couple years ago. A few months after my daughter died, I was not only facing extreme grief, but winter was also setting in. I heard about this book on another blog and gave it a shot. There’s something wonderful about establishing routines — I think they anchor our souls.

7.  Warm White Starry String Lights. I absolutely love what these festive white lights can do to liven up a room (or the whole house!). The cheer factor with these lights goes way beyond the holiday season. Try outlining a bookshelf and some windows with them — or maybe your four-poster bed. They add warmth to those early, dark evenings.

8.  Meyer lemon trees are fantastic indoor citrus trees. Mine is so happy in its south-facing window that it currently has 11 lemons growing (and it’s November!). Having lemon trees in your house for the winter is a treat for the senses. The flowers are intoxicating, and the lemons are out of this world.  You can find Meyer lemon trees at Home Depot or your local garden center. You can also order them online from Fast Growing Trees Inc.

I hope these gift ideas are helpful when it comes to buying for your loved ones with seasonal difficulties. Let me know in the comments if you’ve found other things helpful to you as well! I’d love to hear from you.

Read my related post about Seasonal Affective Disorder.

*Attribution for the Meyer lemon tree photo is as follows: By Bùi Thụy Đào Nguyên (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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