e-Newsletter
November 2011
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Seasonal Affective Disorder
By: Susan Merenstein, R.Ph./Owner
What is Seasonal Affective Disorder? While it is true that some people have a sudden urge to sleep and relax at home during the winter months or feel saddened at the onset of darker, colder days, those with seasonal affective disorder experience much more severe feelings. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of disorder in which a person experiences an extreme change in their overall mood during the fall and winter seasons of the year. In most cases, depression, anxiety, and fatigue occur. If symptoms such as depression do occur, it may be necessary to seek depression treatment at one of the many depression treatment facilities. This disorder rarely occurs in children and is most common in younger adults.
Another name for seasonal affective disorder is winter depression. Some people, rather than having a mood change in the winter months, experience mood changes in the summer months. The name for this condition is reverse seasonal affective disorder. This disorder is much rarer however. In both seasonal affective disorder and reverse seasonal affective disorder, depression occurs. This debilitating condition is especially difficult to overcome. Treatment for depression may be one way for someone with seasonal affective disorder to treat their condition. Help can be found at a variety of depression treatment facilities across the country.
A greater percentage of those with seasonal affective disorder are women. Working long hours in an office (especially one without a window) or living in certain areas of the world make a person more susceptible to seasonal affective disorder. Also, genetics may have some affect on the presence of seasonal affective disorder. In the United States today, approximately 1/2 of a million people experience seasonal affective disorder.
Causes of Seasonal Affective Disorder What causes seasonal affective disorder? The specific cause of this depressive disorder remains unknown, however, reasons and risk factors may include:
Signs/Symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder Symptoms of seasonal affective disorder include:
Supplements, exercise, and healthy eating are a few other ways to treat seasonal affective disorder. We suggest Vitamin D3-1000 to 4000 IUs per day, Vitamin B-12/ Folic Acid, Melatonin, Omega-3 fatty acids, Myo-Inositol, Magnesium Glycinate 1000mg per day, Progesterone, Pregnenolone, DHEA, Testosterone, Thyroid hormone, L-Theanine and 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP).
These are all available at our Apothecary and in our website store.
Also available now are Happy Light Energy Lamps.
I came in to the Apothecary on Friday morning; it was a dreary, rainy day. My Happy Light happened to be delivered that day. After one hour in front of it, I had more energy, I was happier and in a great mood for the rest of the day!
Yours in health,
Susan
What is Seasonal Affective Disorder? While it is true that some people have a sudden urge to sleep and relax at home during the winter months or feel saddened at the onset of darker, colder days, those with seasonal affective disorder experience much more severe feelings. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of disorder in which a person experiences an extreme change in their overall mood during the fall and winter seasons of the year. In most cases, depression, anxiety, and fatigue occur. If symptoms such as depression do occur, it may be necessary to seek depression treatment at one of the many depression treatment facilities. This disorder rarely occurs in children and is most common in younger adults.
Another name for seasonal affective disorder is winter depression. Some people, rather than having a mood change in the winter months, experience mood changes in the summer months. The name for this condition is reverse seasonal affective disorder. This disorder is much rarer however. In both seasonal affective disorder and reverse seasonal affective disorder, depression occurs. This debilitating condition is especially difficult to overcome. Treatment for depression may be one way for someone with seasonal affective disorder to treat their condition. Help can be found at a variety of depression treatment facilities across the country.
A greater percentage of those with seasonal affective disorder are women. Working long hours in an office (especially one without a window) or living in certain areas of the world make a person more susceptible to seasonal affective disorder. Also, genetics may have some affect on the presence of seasonal affective disorder. In the United States today, approximately 1/2 of a million people experience seasonal affective disorder.
Causes of Seasonal Affective Disorder What causes seasonal affective disorder? The specific cause of this depressive disorder remains unknown, however, reasons and risk factors may include:
- Serotonin levels in the brain. Serotonin is a chemical in the brain which affects a person’s mood. Some say that a lack of sunlight, due to the shortened hours of daylight, causes a decrease in serotonin levels and thus causes seasonal affective disorder.
- Location. Living in a northern location (places with higher latitude) may cause seasonal depressive disorder.
- The hormone melatonin. This hormone is related to the sleep a person gets. Some suggest that due to a decrease of daylight hours, melatonin increases, causing greater fatigue and possibly depression.
- Change in circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythm is a rhythm in a person’s body that tells them when they should be going to sleep and when they should be waking up. It has been thought that the lower levels of sunlight in the winter throw off the circadian rhythm in some people, thus causing seasonal affective disorder.
- Genetic inclination. Due to genetics, some people may be more inclined to developing seasonal affective disorder than others. People who have a specific family history of seasonal affective disorder may be even more susceptible to this depressive disorder.
- Low Thyroid
- Adrenal gland dysfunction from excessive stress
- Brain allergies to food
- Autoimmune response to gluten
- Mercury poisoning
- Abnormal proteins from mal-digested food
- Brain inflammation from a hidden infection
- Blood sugar imbalance
- Low testosterone or other sex hormones
- Omega-3 fat deficiency
Signs/Symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder Symptoms of seasonal affective disorder include:
- Depression
- Presence of headaches
- Craving sweet foods
- Excessive sleep
- Thoughts of suicide
- Loneliness
- Drastic mood swings
- Fatigue
- Complications at work
- Disinterest in social activities
- Low energy
- Drug abuse
- Increase in weight
- Sensitive to rejection
- Guilty feelings
- School complications
- Anxiety
- Poor concentration
- Feeling hopeless
Supplements, exercise, and healthy eating are a few other ways to treat seasonal affective disorder. We suggest Vitamin D3-1000 to 4000 IUs per day, Vitamin B-12/ Folic Acid, Melatonin, Omega-3 fatty acids, Myo-Inositol, Magnesium Glycinate 1000mg per day, Progesterone, Pregnenolone, DHEA, Testosterone, Thyroid hormone, L-Theanine and 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP).
These are all available at our Apothecary and in our website store.
Also available now are Happy Light Energy Lamps.
I came in to the Apothecary on Friday morning; it was a dreary, rainy day. My Happy Light happened to be delivered that day. After one hour in front of it, I had more energy, I was happier and in a great mood for the rest of the day!
Yours in health,
Susan