SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER

SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER (SAD) TREATMENT

 

You start to feel depressed in November and don’t feel better until the spring comes.

Light and temperature play an important role in SAD. Daylight promotes the brain to release chemical that creates feelings of energy.

• Try a full – spectrum fluorescent light, which resembles sunlight.
• Go out as much as possible in the early morning.
• Keep the blinds up in your house or office during the daylight hours.
• Sit near windows.
• If the weather is very cloudy, turn on all the lights.
• Don’t let depression get the better of you. Visit friends, go to the theatre, and don’t let yourself get isolated.
• Take your holiday in the winter and go to a sunnier clime.

DEPRESSION

Everyone goes through times when they just feel ‘down in the mouth’.

True depression is characterized by feeling of loss of self –esteem and despondency, often describes as different from normal unhappiness. Early waking, loss of appetite, weight loss or gain, and diminished libido are common.

• Whenever you feel sad or blue, being by limiting your intake of fats.
• Excessive sugar is implicated in depression because it causes a purt of energy and then the sugar ‘sugar blues’ when the spurt of energy is followed by extreme fatigue, so avoid giving yourself a sweet treat in an effort to feel more cherry.
• Caffeine, cigarette and alcohol also contribute to nervous energy and depression, as well as highs and lows of mood.
• A proper diet is absolutely essential. Add two banana to your diet, as they contain serotonin and nor epinephrine, those natural mood elevators which can ease the level of bad feeling.
• Complex carbohydrates, such as vegetables and pastas raise the level of tryptophan in the brain, which is calming.
• Add lots of oregano and celery to salads for their calming effects.
• An Epsom salts bath while sipping a cup of chamomile tea for 30 minutes of tension – free relaxation is an excellent benefit.
• For those cases of continuing depression which are not lifted in a few weeks, professional assistance should be sought.