Treatment For Seasonal Affected Depression

The further you live away from the equator where the days and nights are darker during

the winter months the greater the risk of suffering from seasonal affected disorder commonly referred to as SAD for short.

Unlike a general low mood during the winter months that many people temporarily feel from time to time during the winter months a seasonal affected disorder is a depressive illness that can have a serious impact on the overall quality of a persons life.

Common symptoms of seasonal affected disorder include feeling lethargic and having difficulty getting up and out of bed in the morning, increased cravings for foods high in carbohydrates, reduced productivity at work or school and overall general sadness. If you think you maybe suffering from SAD (consult you're doctor for a formal diagnosis) and find the symptoms debilitating then there is treatment available.

Since the symptoms of seasonal affected disorder are commonly believed to be related to the decrease in light during the days and nights of winter its no surprise that one form of treatment that has proven highly effective is light therapy using a light box.

These light boxes emit a light intensity between 2,500 and 10,000 lux (measure of light intensity) and the use of a light box will vary from person to person. For most people using a light box for 30 minutes each day results in an improved mood, others can get by on 15 minutes per day and for others 2 hours of light therapy may be needed to see and improvement in the symptoms of SAD.

For other people using a dawn stimulator which can be set to gradually increase in brightness over a pre-set time can decrease the difficulty of waking in the morning by resetting the body's circadian rhythms.

However if you find the symptoms of seasonal affected depression unmanageable then consider the use of antidepressant medication. For many people taking an antidepressant medicine a few weeks before the winter and then tapering off the medicine during the spring is the best form of treatment.

So consider the options and decide on the best form of treatment. The sooner you receive treatment for the symptoms of seasonal affected depression either with light therapy or medicine the sooner you will recover. Finally if you find one method of treatment effective then the same treatment can be used the following year to prevent depression and help you get through the winter and into the early spring or summer with minimal disruption.

by: Daniel Davis

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