 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Seasonal Affective Disorder isn’t Cabin Fever By: Carol Dunn  |
| |
 The winter months can be hard. The days are shorter which means there’s a lot less sunlight and the weather can be down right awful. For a lot of us, the winter means a lot more time spent in the house and a lot less time spent doing the things we love. The whole thing can cause you to feel anxious and down right blue. You may call it cabin fever, but for some it’s a much bigger problem called Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression in which people experience a serious mood change when the seasons change. Symptoms vary from person to person but common symptoms include sleeping too much, a loss of energy, and unusual craving for sweets and an over all feeling of depression.
It’s called seasonal affective disorder because symptoms usually go away when winter changes from winter into spring.
What exactly causes seasonal affective disorder is still unknown but some experts believe that it is caused by a lack of exposure to sunlight. An idea that is reinforced by the fact that Seasonal affective disorder is much more common in the north than it is in the southern United States.
The most common treatment for seasonal affective disorder is called light therapy in which lights are used to offset the lack of natural sunlight. The lights of choice for treating seasonal affective disorder have an intensity of 2500 to 10,000 lux and require at least thirty minutes of exposure to have an effect. The results of using light therapy are very successful and many people claim that light therapy really helps to dispel the symptoms of Seasonal affective disorder.
Other treatments include things as simple as spending more time outside in the sunlight we do get in the winter to the use of supplements and herbs like L-Tyrosine and vitamin B complex. Stress management techniques can also help provide relief from season depression symptoms.
It can be very easy to ignore winter depression as cabin fever but seasonal affective disorder is a real problem and should be taken seriously. If you start to feel winter depression symptoms as the season starts to change, take it seriously and don’t ignore it. Light therapy is inexpensive and free of side effects. If you have seasonal affective disorder it’s worth giving a try.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|