Winter Season brings just about every single drop of happiness and excitement to the world: snowflakes, Christmas gifts, and hope for the New Year. However, there is a huge flipside to it; according to The Costco Connection, 5 to 10 percent of people suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and millions experience a less severe winter blues. Mayo Clinic summarizes the possible symptoms of SAD as depression, loss of energy, social withdrawal, oversleeping, weight gain, and difficulty concentrating. Consequently, students drop out of schools mostly during the winter. The suicide and the depression rate skyrocket. People are less efficient and more stressed out. Then, what are the solutions?
Norman Rosenthal M.D., a clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University, suggests that being exposed to as much light as possible is the easiest solution for the SAD symptoms. Open up the windows, go outside and frolic in the snow, and even use therapeutic light box when needed. Rosenthal says, “Models with the intensities from 2500 to 10000 lux are considered to be the most effective.” In addition, numerous researches have proven that the white fluorescent light is safe and perfectly adequate to ease the SAD symptoms.
A monitored diet is another great way to control SAD. An excessive consumption of carbohydrate brings only a short-term satisfaction, asserts a nutritional psychotherapist Julia Ross, an executive director of Recovery Systems Clinic in Mill Valley, California. One’s energy will be boosted by the sugar rush of sweet or starchy foods for a little while, but the crash will leave one more depressed and less motivated than before. On the other hand, protein-rich diet provides one’s body with amino acid and serotonin, which are crucial to keep a brain healthy and happy. Ross recommends taking 20-30 grams of protein per meal through protein-rich sources, such as eggs, almonds, and tuna fish.
Physical exercise is probably the solution that can encompass the two mentioned above. The Costco Connection says that it boosts a serotonin production of a body, increases the oxygen flow to the brain, and diminishes a radical bodily response to stress. Outdoor activities will easily let one be exposed daily to more light, since the light is much more intense outside even on cloudy days. Also, physical exercise has been proven to be helpful in reducing or managing the stress level.
If all of these do not work, meeting a professional psychiatrist may not be such a bad idea. With someone who will listen to one unprejudiced and give appropriate advice, one may be able to overcome SAD without much struggle.
Albert Camus said, “In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” It all depends on our mindset whether this winter is going to be another miserable, depressing one or not. Let’s rock n’ roll in snow.
