What is Seasonal Depression and 3 Things to Deal with It

Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD is a commonly occurring disorder (over three million cases in the United States each year) that occurs the farther north or south you are from the equator. It is also called “winter depression.” It can start in younger people and can increase with age.

It is caused by the loss of daylight as the seasons change and affects the bodies serotonin and melatonin levels which affect mood.

Symptoms are trouble sleeping, poor appetite, weight loss or gain, agitation, anxiety, irritability and depression.

Those affected can feel listless, sad or down every day. They often lose interest in formerly pleasurable activities.

So, you are not alone if you are struggling with the well named condition. Here are three things you can do to treat seasonal affective disorder.

1.     Light or phototherapy: Which means getting a full spectrum light box to use at home or in an office setting. Do some research and make sure the light box filters out UV rays which can damage skin and eyes. Consult with your doctor about your possible choices to get their opinion on what model would be best for you. It is recommended that it produce 10,000 lux (a lux is a measurement of light). Do not look directly at the light so have it off to one side. It is recommended to place it around two feet away to be effective. There are quite a few on the market so bring information about them to a consult with your doctor.

Use the box twenty to thirty minutes a day, daily. You may want to start with a shorter amount of time and then increase it. It is most effective when used in the early morning, soon after awakening. It works best when you track the time you are using it consistently and use it daily.

2.     Talk psychotherapy: Speaking with a psychotherapist and working with them to use CBT or talk therapy. The best way to deal with depression or anxiety is connection. Having a trusted professional, you can talk with to address all the concerns in your life including SAD is important. They can teach you learn healthy ways to cope with SAD such as finding and engaging in meaningful activities or hobbies, manage stress, increase physical activity by getting outside more, exercising and improve sleep hygiene for better rest. The later can include scheduling reliable times to go to sleep and get up in the morning and reducing or eliminating napping or oversleeping.

If they are using CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy, they can help you identify and change negative thought patterns that make you feel worse. By becoming aware of the ways you are thinking and changing those thought patterns you can change to a more helpful and positive world view.

3.     Medication: Working with your doctor or a psychiatrist they can do an evaluation and prescribe an extended-release antidepressant that you can start before symptoms appear or continue beyond the period of seasonal affect. Keeping in mind that it may take several weeks or longer for the medication to take effect. You can also discuss with them using vitamin D3 to help lessen the impacts of seasonal affective disorder.

Those are 3 different ways to address the impacts and concerns around dealing with Seasonal Affective Disorder. Getting the help you need is crucial to making your life better and navigating your way through the lack of daylight we all face in the winter months.

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