How about something like Yoga or Pilates? A lack of motivation can also be attributed to a lack of exercise~our bodies need stimulation(this has been my *personal* experience). Try a video to get her started and if it piques her interest, you can help her find a regular class.

Here is a link that might be useful: This could shed some light on her problem

I don,t have one. But, if I were to buy one, I would go to dr furhman,s site, under health and fitness, he sells a light. I don't know how to link on the iPad.

There are some articles there on the benefits as well.

You can buy full spectrum lights now that simulate day light and put them in any lamps. I use them all winter to offset the blues from the darkness.

How about this?

Here is a link that might be useful: light therapy visor

Light, smells and exercise! My mom gets horrible depression several months out of the year. In the past I have bought her senior exercise tapes and that seemed to help. This year I sent her Christmas gifts early and luckily they came mostly in separate shipments. The theme was clean refreshing smells (her fav). So, I sent Vitabath Original Spring Green Moisturizing Bath & Shower Gelee, Mistral Shea Butter Soap- South Seas, Philosophy Grace Firming Body Emulsion lotion, Badedas Classic Vital Bad Bubble Bath, Petits Et Mamans By Bvlgari - Eau De Toilette, and Clean Original- Fresh Body Veil powder.
She was so made up to get things in the mail and really liked everything, especially the Clean Original fresh body veil powder, the Philosophy Grace body lotion and the Badedas classic bubble bath.
I have talked to her about the "lights" in the past and she did not seem interested but I think I'll keep an eye out on this post for next year ideas. I think the light is a good idea.

deee, here's an article on light therapy from the NYTimes. If you wade through the comments, several people mention brands they are happy with:
NYTimes Light Therapy

And here's an article from the Mayo Clinic about what to look for in light boxes: buying a light box

I suffer from SAD and feel for your daughter deee, it's not fun. I didn't want to take pills for it either, not unless nothing else worked. On the bright side, light therapy has done a whole lot of good for me!

It's been a long time, 8 or 9 yrs at least that I purchased my SAD light. My MD suggested it, and as I was clueless where to start he suggested Northern Light Technologies because that's the brand his wife had. There weren't as many lights to choose from like there are now, and NLT offered a good warranty so I went with them. I'm still using the original bulbs that came in mine, too.

Whatever brand you go with, it has to be 10,000 lux to be effective. 'Daylight' or 'full spectrum' bulbs have their advantages (I love them, use them in my light fixtures to cheer the place up), but they won't help with SAD. Something to be aware of as you shop, because I've seen some lights that although they don't come out and say they treat SAD, they do dance around with words that imply it. It also has to be a box or light that can be placed easily about 20 inches from the eyes, though your daughter doesn't want to look directly into it.

I have this desk lamp model. (By the way, I noticed Amazon and Target both sell that model online now, Target is a bit cheaper than NLT.) Some advantages I've found are it's easily adjusted at several different points on the arm and hood to get the right angle & height, making it easy to position so that you can surf, read, do paperwork while using it. And it folds down easily for travel by car. The hood will fold down to the base. If I know I'll be gone for more than a few days in winter I take it along. That's another thing for your daughter to be aware of, if she skips a consecutive week (give or take) that sluggish feeling will start to return.

I'm way up north, and my blues tend to start in late Aug to mid Sept, worst months are Dec - Feb, and by mid March stamina and upbeat feeling start returning. I can run and go from sun up to sun down those long sunny days, get a ton of things accomplished, tackle big projects, etc. But then I start to chug in the fall and without light therapy by dead of winter lose motivation, lose focus, basically might as well be hibernating.

Back when I ordered my light I was a total skeptic and made sure it could easily be returned. You're supposed to use it in the mornings and start in short increments (10 min) and build from there. My package arrived mid afternoon. I was so not convinced I opened it up, sat under it 45 minutes and was revving till nearly midnight, like I'd had an entire pot of coffee. It wasn't terrible, it just caught me completely off guard. :) Best to follow directions to get maximum benefit and not disrupt the natural sleep cycle. Your daughter might feel a little jumpy the first few days (like caffeine) but if she does that should rapidly subside. My light doesn't make me feel 100% like I do on long summer days, but it gets me 60-75% there. (I'm also dealing with midlife insomnia which throws a wrench in the works. The odd nights I do sleep well during months using my light I feel like a million bucks.) There are a few things I've found that give a boost to light therapy. Eat well, get outside for 30 minutes minimum of natural winter sunlight, run errands, walk a dog, etc. And several times a week enough exercise to get the natural endorphins kicking in. That sounds like a tall order for someone in slug mode, but my experience is when the SAD light is used, those things are easily accomplished.

One more thing I wanted to mention. For a long time I typically used my light only Dec to Feb, my worst months. But as I get older I noticed the blues felt like they were getting worse in the fall. This year my doctor suggested I start using my light earlier, by October, because we've already lost quite a bit of daylight by then. That tweak has helped a great deal. The fall blues were barely a blip and we're so close to the shortest day of the year now, I fully expect the bleakest months will be even better this year. So I'd encourage her to start a good month before her worst month hits. And everyone is different. Your daughter might feel good with 30 minutes daily or she might find she needs 45 to an hour. But definitely use it every morning.

Best wishes to her, I'd love to know how it works out.

Thank you so much for your thoughtful responses. Moonshadow, I especially appreciate you taking the time to make such a thorough post.

I will be ordering a light box (10,000 lux) and I will let you know how it goes. :)

You're welcome and I'm glad she's getting a light :)
There was a test I saw recently, but couldn't locate it when I posted earlier. Just found it again. I'm not sure how reliable it is, but it can't hurt to see what results suggest. I've linked below, if your daughter takes the middle test (circadian rhythm/AutoMEQ) the results will indicate where she falls in the range of morning & evening type, when her estimated natural melatonin onset occurs, estimated natural bedtime and estimated best time to use light therapy. (For example I tend to use my light about 7am, they suggest 5:45am). Just wanted to toss that in, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Circadian rhythm test

I know this was posted a while ago so I hope you've found your daughter a good solution! If not look into heliostats. They bring sunlight indoors by reflecting the light with mirrors and you can use it all year round.