Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) - Do you have it? What can you do about it?

The days get shorter, you seek out your fuzzy pyjamas, and break out the winter coats. It sounds like a great prelude to a 'winter wonderland' but for some people (approximately 1-10% of the North American population) the darker winter months can spell emotional disaster. (Note: it is also possible to have Seasonal Affective Disorder during summer).

People who are affected by SAD experience a general drop in mood (depression), a tendency to want to sleep more, eat more and have low energy. (SAD during the summer can include periods of exacerbated anxiety).

The symptoms of SAD mimic those of depression.

There are a few treatments available including light therapy, medication (typical anti-depressants), and

cognitive-behavioural therapy.

Light therapy uses a lightbox or set of LED lights in a panel that emits far more lumens than normal room lighting (2,500-10,000 lux compared to 400-600 lumens). A bright, sunny day is around 5,000-7,000 lumens.
There is evidence to suggest that the alterations of melatonin* secretion affected by the changing photoperiod (the time and amount of light in a day) affects the seasonal mood cycles of SAD. Light therapy has a positive effect on SAD by altering the secretion of melatonin, modifying the circadian-rhythm as well as sleep patterns. The most effective time of day seems to be early morning just after awakening. But your individual "dosing" schedule may differ (in the evening, for example) depending on your body's reaction to the light therapy.

If medication is something that works for you, speak with your doctor. Ask whether herbal alternatives like St. John's Wort are suitable if you are interested in alternatives (be careful when selecting herbal remedies as the strength of each "batch" is variable - it really depends on the health and harvest of the plants). And if you are interested in typical pharmaceutical treatments for depression/anxiety, let you doctor know.

Additionally, there are many ways to integrate cognitive-behavioural therapy into your life, and speaking with your doctor to ask about local programs or therapists they can recommend is a good first step. Always make sure the person you are considering as your counselor/therapist is certified (either a psychologist, psychiatrist, certified counselor, etc.). Some of these are *not* covered by insurance, so make sure with your insurance company what kind of coverage you have.

And then get back to baking those Christmas cookies!


Thanks for reading! If you liked this post, please subscribe to Conquer The Clouds



Other topics you might be interested in: 

Vitamin D and Mental Health

Anxiety - What's it all about anyways?

Top 10 Depression Symptoms

The Nervous System


*Melatonin is a hormone in the brain that signals it’s time to sleep. Read more about sleep and anxiety here.

Top 10 Depression Symptoms - When To See Your Doctor

 Feeling down or out-of-sorts is common for many people and is usually a transient state. But, if these down-in-the-dumps feelings linger for a longer period of time, you may be dealing with depression.


Here are 10 common symptoms of depression (in no particular order):

1) You lose interest in your 'fun' activities: Your ability to enjoy once pleasurable pastimes and hobbies is diminished or non-existent. You may isolate yourself, ignore social invites and find your sex-drive is low.

2) You're sleeping more... or less: This is usually one of the first signs for many people. An inability to sleep, or falling asleep too late at night (if you're a shift-worker, this is a bit different). Also, waking very early, or having difficulty waking in the morning is common in many people suffering from depression. Total sleep time may be reduced or increased.

3) Difficulty concentrating on tasks: You are finding it hard to think straight, make decisions or remember. You may feel like you are in a "fog", or scatterbrained. You may be falling behind in school or having difficulties staying focused at work.

4) You are feeling hopeless and helpless: You feel as though things in your life are terrible and won't improve. You feel incapable of changing your situation and trapped.

5) Your body feels depressed: You're tired, slow, lethargic. You have no energy and even getting up to get a glass of water can feel like a marathon. Getting out of bed is very difficult, and you may not even make it that far.

6) Feelings of guilt and worthlessness: Self-loathing, harsh self-criticism and negative thought patterns regarding yourself. You pick on your "faults" and past mistakes, ruminating over them endlessly. This drives your feelings of guilt, shame and worthlessness.

7) Changes in your appetite or weight: You notice a significant (5% or more in a month) change in body weight - either gain or loss. You may feel hungrier than normal, or less than normal. You may notice you have specific food cravings (ie: fatty foods, salty foods, sugary foods, high-carbohydrate foods like pastas, etc.)


8) You are experiencing unusual/unexplained body pains/aches: You may be experiencing more headaches, back pain, muscle-aches or stomach-aches with no known cause.

9) You feel a deep need to "escape" your life: You abuse drugs or alcohol to numb your feelings or drown out your thoughts, you may gamble compulsively, or drive dangerously and recklessly or participate in dangerous or extreme sports. Also, if you find yourself spending many long hours in front of a computer screen browsing the internet or playing video games, you may also be exhibiting escapist behaviour.


10) You feel angry, on-edge or irritable: Every little thing is bothersome for you, you lose your temper at trivial issues, perhaps getting into fights with friends and/or family. Everyone and everything is getting on your nerves. You feel restless and agitated. Maybe you are beginning to exhibit signs of violence or feelings of violence.

If you are exhibiting any of these symptoms with no known other causes and have been feeling this way for most days of the past two weeks, see your doctor and discuss the possibility of depression. They may have you fill out a questionnaire to determine if you are depressed and if you are - how depressed. Treatment options are extensive and include: various types of therapy, medications*, natural herbs and remedies*, self-help programs and books, etc. Your doctor will point you in the right direction.

*Please speak with a pharmacist prior to using any medications or natural medicines as they may interact with other medicines or food you may be taking. Please read the bottle and pamphlet on any prescription or over-the-counter medication you take.

***** If you or a loved one are having thoughts of suicide or speaking about suicide call your local crisis-hotline numbers or the emergency department immediately.*****


Crisis number USA: http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/  ( 1-800-273-TALK (8255))
Crisis numbers in Canada:  http://www.suicideprevention.ca/in-crisis-now/find-a-crisis-centre-now/
Crisis number Australia:  http://www.lifeline.org.au/



Please subscribe to subscribe to Conquer The Clouds




Other topics you may be interested in:

The Nervous System 

13 Beliefs to Disbelieve 
  
The downward spiral: the fastest way down!
  
Staying motivated when discouraged

Sleep, Insomnia and Anxiety

Help someone else when you feel helpless: A quick fix for feeling better

Hello Conquerors and welcome to Thursday night!

I hope you have had a fantastic week - I didn't saddle you with a Weekly Challenge this time, but don't fret my friends, another is surely on its way! Look forward to February 5 - 11 Weekly Challenge, posted on Sunday!

What I'd like to discuss today is the act of altruism: that is, helping others without any expectation of returned favours.

When you are feeling depressed or anxious, the tendency is to become very self-focused (in very negative, defeating ways). This can have disastrous outcomes (as explained in The Downward Spiral).
The world becomes increasingly smaller as all you are focused on resides in our heads... This has very real physical feelings as well - it feels as though your body is being crushed on the inside, or you might get that sinking feeling in your stomach or chest...

The outcome is that you start analyzing, and picking yourselves apart... Any of the 13 beliefs to disbelieve may play a part in a negative-bias towards yourselves, as well.

A very quick and effective way to take the heat off of yourselves and free our minds from the torment of constant judgment is to genuinely help someone else, or offer an honest compliment. Showing interest in other people takes the focus off yourself and making someone's day is extremely rewarding.

The feeling of being helpful lets you realize that some or all of the beliefs you may harbour are untrue - being a helpful person means you are not a bad person... It is empirical evidence against the negative voice in your head.

So the next time you are feeling the grip and dark clouds of depression or anxiety, acknowledge your own issues. Do not dwell, however. Move towards helping someone else - whether it be by volunteering to mow an older neighbour's lawn, or doing extra work at your job for a colleague. Anything that is genuine will work.

Tips:
Do not expect a favour in return: in order to become stronger people you must strive to consider others and their feelings as well as your own. Acknowledging your pain is how you consider yourself; helping others is how you act to show you are a capable, caring person.

Volunteering is a great way to give back. You can volunteer with the SPCA, or with a local homeless shelter, for example.  


Warning: If you find yourself over-extending your assistance to others (including friends) and are starting to feel used, pull back and reconsider if perhaps you are suffering from the cognitive bias I am only worthwhile as long as I am doing something for someone else. (Letter E on the list).

Helping people is not the cure for depression or anxiety but it helps in the short-term for creating a sense of well-being. Helping others and volunteering can become part of a healthy way of living, and everyone can strive to give back to their community in some form.

Conquer on!

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to Conquer The Clouds

Thought Monitoring

When you are depressed, it may seem as though your mood is uniformly down-in-the-dumps and low. It’s not, it rises and falls. You may not notice, however, as you are focused on the negative aspects of your life and situations. Also, when you are depressed, you are likely to fall into the downward-spiral trap making it even harder to notice the rises.

            You might not believe me that it rises, but if you think about it, maybe it’s a 2/10 right now, but earlier it was a 3/10. A good exercise for noticing when and what triggers your dropping mood, carry around a pen and pad of paper for a week and whenever you notice your mood dropping (even a little) write down what was going through your mind. It also helps to write down the situation in which you noticed the mood drop. You don’t need to wait for obvious traumatic experiences, just whenever you notice yourself feeling worse.

            Initially this might be frustrating as you draw blanks when questioning what was going through your mind – settle with answering in guesses “uhh... maybe I didn’t want to get bit by the dog I just saw”. That’s fine, work with the guesses for now – it gets you into the flow of noticing your thoughts and your feelings and how they correspond. Eventually it will get easier (as all things do with practice!). These automatic thoughts will gradually start to show themselves. You may start noticing a pattern (which will reveal some distorted beliefs you hold) as you recognize the same thoughts over and over – these are your primary negative automatic thoughts.

            If it gets too redundant to re-write the same thoughts, just put checks or x’s beside the thoughts and tally them up at the end of the week! You will then notice which of these automatic thoughts contribute the most to shaping your mood.

                                                                        Conquer on!



If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to Conquer The Clouds