How long have you been doing light therapy for?

I'm asking these questions including the polls is because I'm trying to understand why light therapy is not as effective as natural sunlight? Evidence has shown that using your light box for 9 years and over makes you less prone to SAD and some people didn't require to use there light box.

I got my lightbox in 1998.

SUPER-LUX
This is a three-lamp model. It has two switches, one for the two outside lamps and a separate one for the central lamp. An ideal lightbox for those who want the maximum amount of light in the shortest possible time of about half an hour. 10,000 lux at 20" (510mm)

I was at uni and I struggled to deal with SAD and managing my light therapy. University isn't the best place for establishing routine which is one of the major contributing factors to dealing with SAD (as I found out)

I graduated in 2000 and started work in November and began using my lightbox every morning before work. At this time I hadn't realised how valuable routine was and I skipped days and didn't use it for very long some days. I worked in an office with no windows and was incredibly miserable.

By 2001/2002 my husband to be was on my case and insistent that I use my lightbox. He could notice the difference in my if I skipped a day, so I didn't skip days and made a point of getting at least 30 minutes.

2002/2003 was a very good winter.
2003/2004... I'm not clear yet.

I know the benefits of my light box and I have absolutely no idea what I would be like without it because the longest I have gone without light therapy in winter (in the last 4 years) was 2 weeks... and I was in Cuba so that doesn't count! If I miss a day I'm ok. I suspect if I missed more than that I wouldn't be a happy bunny. I don't dare try because it strikes me as being a very cruel experiment and my hubby wouldn't like it very much either!

If I'm 3 years off never using a lightbox... cool. But I doubt it. I think light therapy will always feature heavily in my (winter) life. In a way I wouldn't want to give it up anyway. I like my 45 minutes with me, my lightbox, my cat and my breakfast. It's nice to have time at the beginning of the day to clear my head.

I don't know about anyone else but light therapy works for me. It is very effective and I am very fortunate because I don't need any additional treatment (e.g. anti depressants).
I would struggle to tell you how severe my SAD is because I control it... with a whip and a chair!

I struggled to deal with life. I was frightened that I would have a label slapped on me and I would forever be depressed / mad. I'm too stubborn to give in and I fight on, living with SAD even though at times it has felt like SAD didn't want me to live.

any more questions?

Thanks guys I appreciate your posts, I'm starting to be suspicious about something that scientist haven't picked up on yet... they have noticed that people that have used the light box for over a certain amount of years found they were less prone but I have never found any reasons why. But it make me wonder if as well as a 24 hr cycle we might have a seasonal one too, and thats probably why light therapy is not as effective as sunlight because in the winter months your brain is used to not getting much sunlight because it became a custom to it from child hood and onwards but after using light therapy for over 9 years it might stimulate your brain to wake in the winter months and the more you do there more effective it gets. If you know what I mean. I've never found information about this its just me making a theory. I think light therapy is the key to are cure. This theory adds up to me because over the winter period my light box was uneffective and now it is for no reason at all.... and I haven't been exposed to natral sunlight yet..

oh right, thats great..... Thanks for telling me.