Seasonal Affective Disorder Treatment
Every year if you are depressed during a particular season it is possible that you are suffering from seasonal affective disorder. Most seasonal affective disorder sufferers feel a low from the fall through the winter months. This is often called winter blue. In rare cases, seasonal affective disorder could affect a person during spring or early summer.
Seasonal affective disorder causes
Several factors might work simultaneously to produce seasonal affective disorder. Reduced sunlight during the cold months might disrupt the biological clock or the circadian rhythm of your body, triggering depression. Decrease in sunlight might cause a drop in the level of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that controls moods, causing depression.
Seasonal changes might disturb the level of melatonin in the body. Changes in melatonin level could cause depression and sleeping problems. Women, more than men, are usually susceptible to seasonal affective disorder. People with a family history of seasonal affective disorder could be vulnerable to this emotional condition. Farther you are away from the equator, greater is the risk of suffering from seasonal affective disorder.
Seasonal affective disorder symptoms
Seasonal affective disorder is an emotional problem that follows a cyclical pattern, occurring every year at the same time. Seasonal affective disorder or winter blue is characterized by depression, fatigue, anxiety, hopelessness, excess sleeping or having difficulty to sleep, change in appetite, weight gain, poor concentration and withdrawal from social activities.
Seasonal affective disorder remedies
Severe symptoms of seasonal affective disorder need medical intervention. Mild symptoms of the emotional disorder could be treated with simple home remedies. Since drop in sunlight is the major reason for this disorder, making your surrounding brighter could help to reduce the depression. Remove obstacles inside and around your house that block sunlight. Always sit near the window.
Spending large part of the day outdoors could help to lift your mood. Regular aerobic exercise could help to improve your mood. Meditation and breathing exercises could help to soothe your mind. Phototherapy can be effective for treating seasonal affective disorder. In this therapy, the person suffering from winter blue sits in front of an extremely bright light box for a specified period everyday. Folk healers recommend St. John’s wort for treating seasonal depression.
