Seasonal depression. Let it finally stop raining…

1 min reading time

There are intervals you have bad disposal and you don't feel like dealing with yourself and/or your personal space. You want to sleep and eat more (mainly carbohydrates and sweets). You get tired more easily and close to yourself. In general, you don't feel like dealing with your daily activities and other obligations. And all this is intensified every time the weather is unstable and "hazy".

The Sun light plays an important role in our mood. It affects our brain chemistry and especially hers melatonin, a hormone associated with mood as well as sleep rhythm. It is produced in increased levels in the dark and the higher it is, the more it lowers our mood and increases the need for sleep. Hippocrates mentions in "On human nature" that in autumn the risk of suffering from depression is increased. The reduced exposure to sunlight during the fall and especially the winter months leads many people to a form of depression called "seasonal" or SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), which subsides during the summer months as the days get longer and the periods of sunshine are increasing. The "worst" months for people suffering from seasonal depression are November, January and February. It has nothing to do with the ambient temperature so much as with the lack of light (due to cloudiness, rain, etc.) during the day. That is why it is not excluded that the symptoms persist for example until May, especially if the weather remains cloudy and unstable for many consecutive days. Symptoms subside as the weather improves and there are more sunny days than cloudy ones.

Seasonal depression is 4 times more common in women than men (80% women – 20% men). It is also more frequent and with more severe symptoms in northern countries. Usually more prone to this type of depression are those who have some depressive elements in their character, such as low self-esteem, self-rejection, anxiety and guilt whenever they think they are letting others down, feeling inadequate and "unsatisfied" with their appearance, with myself, the Zoe them in general. Also people who work shifts and/or windowless spaces that are not illuminated by sunlight, more often show symptoms of seasonal depression.

Physical exercise and proper lighting in the home help to deal with seasonal depression. Configure your home space so that it is more functional and pleasant. Don't allow yourself to wake up too late in the morning and therefore take care, as much as you can, to sleep early at night. THE phototherapy it is very common in northern countries, where they use sunlight simulation devices (SAD light boxes). Exposure for some time to very bright white light, especially in the morning hours when melatonin secretion is reduced, seems to greatly help those suffering from seasonal depression.

It's normal to be down sometimes and feel down. But if you get to the point of having a lot of difficulty and the symptoms persist for a long time, then it is not seasonal depression and it is good to consult a specialist, before the situation becomes generalized and creates more serious problems in your personal and professional relationships and in your everyday life in general .

by the psychologist - psychotherapist Efi Tamboura

www.psycho-therapy.gr

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