Autumn Blues Or Depression? How To Take Care Of Yourself When The Sun And Warmth Are Not Enough - Self-development, Society

2023 Author: Oswald Adamson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 20:18

In addition to clinical definitions, depression has already acquired seasonality. What is it? Bad mood, physiological changes in the body, tricks of the pessimists, or is it really a medical problem? Autumn depression - get to know, accept, release

It would seem that there is no frost yet, nature is painted in red and yellow, but something is wrong. The mood drops rapidly, anxiety arises from nowhere, you get annoyed with loved ones and are dissatisfied with yourself.

Sometimes you diagnose yourself with autumn depression and struggle (or not struggle) with the urge to wrap yourself in a blanket and not go anywhere. Relatives and friends react in different ways: someone regrets and tries to help, and someone openly laughs.

Nevertheless, the diagnosis "autumn depression" exists. Introduced in 2005 by physician Jean Scully

Seasonal affective syndrome

Seasonal affective syndrome is a condition characterized by several psychosomatic disorders. It occurs in early autumn and can last until mid-winter. Seasonal depression can have different origins, but it can be identified by a number of signs.

• Lack of interest in familiar things that used to be attracted.
• Insomnia or, conversely, an irresistible desire to sleep (up to narcolepsy).
• "Deconcentration".
• Decreased libido.
• Change in appetite (decrease or, conversely, a sharp increase).
• A state of anxiety, impending danger.

If you are familiar with several of these signs and they appear at about the same time, it is likely that you have experienced an autumn depression. And you shouldn't underestimate it.

Seasonal disorders peak between the ages of 40 and 60 and are more common in women. Medical sources claim that the main cause of depression is hormonal disruption. Indeed, depression often manifests itself in a biochemical imbalance, which is caused by a sharp decrease in daylight hours and sunlight. But this is not the only reason.

Physiology

1. Increased melatonin levels

When there is less light, the body produces more of the hormone melatonin. It is he who causes the desire to "wrap up in a cocoon" and sleep. Melatonin also causes a decrease in body temperature. The body activates another familiar reaction - increased appetite. At the same time, I want to eat high-calorie foods, fast carbohydrates. Of course, this has a deplorable effect on the figure (sleep and eat, eat and sleep). Which further aggravates the depression.

2. Decrease in serotonin levels

Everything in the body is harmoniously connected, so the concentration of one hormone causes a decrease in the other. Serotonin is a hormone of happiness, and a small amount of it leads to depression.

3. Decrease in dopamine levels

Another hormone that depends on the amount of sunlight. Dopamine is responsible for concentration. The less it is in the body, the more we lose interest in what is happening around.

4. Powerful vitamin D deficiency

The almost complete lack of sunlight is one of the reasons for the autumn depression. We go out less and do not come into contact with the meager autumn sun at all. The skin does not receive vitamin D. The lack of it is a direct path to irritability and depression. Currently, most medical sources speak of the need for long-term intake of vitamin D solution in the autumn-winter period.

5. Allergy

After some research, it was found confirmation of the link between allergies and depression. Substances that the body produces during an allergic reaction (histamine, leukotrienes) can negatively affect the immune system. As a result, both immunity and tone deteriorate.

Autumn psychology

In addition to the physiological causes of seasonal disorder, there are important psychological aspects.

1. Summing up

Autumn is gradually bringing us to the end of the year, which is traditionally considered not the most prosperous psychological time. It is natural for a person to evaluate the past 12 months, draw conclusions and grieve about the unrealizable. Those who have not managed to realize their summer vacation dreams are especially affected.

Everything is piled up in a heap: unrealizable desires, exaggerated demands on oneself and real failures. And in fact there may not be so many of them. But since the hormones described above are also involved in the process, the body rapidly goes into a state of stress.

2. Problems at work

Due to the constant lack of sleep, lack of light and a decrease in the general tone at work (study), difficulties associated with low labor efficiency may indeed appear. Feelings of guilt, anxiety about the future, irritability are the expected companions of this state.

3. Fear of being late

Again, it is closely associated with a decrease in daylight hours. We go to work and return home in the dark. One gets the feeling that life is running by. We are missing something important, we do not have time for the most important and do not live at all, but exist. The brain is able to formulate such turns that it is possible to get out of this state only with the help of a specialist.

Catch and neutralize - how to treat seasonal depression

Fortunately, seasonal depression lends itself well to correction. Let's see what methods of therapy are available to us.

1. Medicines

Of course, drugs are used for severe clinical manifestations and are selected strictly by a doctor. Sedators, stimulants or balanced drugs are all selected by a specialist when absolutely necessary.

2. Light therapy

This is a method based on the use of light rays that simulate the sun. During light therapy, a person is exposed to rays that are equivalent to sunlight on a clear summer day. This method of exposure completely compensates for the lack of the sun and relieves of apathy, anxiety and other manifestations of a depressive state.

3. Psychotherapy

Includes a comprehensive solution to the problem. These are group work, individual psychotherapy, art therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy. The sessions are aimed at identifying negativity and transforming it into a positive attitude.

4. All available tools for communication and interaction with the outside world

It's not that hard. It is necessary to add to life that which takes the season, and remember that this is not forever.

• Go in for sports. It can be running, yoga, or just walking. The main thing is that the load is in the fresh air. Physical activity makes the body produce more serotonin and dopamine.

• Follow your diet. Yes, right now, in the gloomy gray autumn, the diet will help you find both the desired shape and a good mood. Diet does not mean restriction, diet means some kind of nutritional adjustment.

  The diet must include vitamin C, vitamin B9, B12, calcium. Phenylalanine, found in protein foods, is a component responsible for the production of norepinephrine, one of the main enemies of depression. Tryptophan is an amino acid that helps raise serotonin levels. All of this is contained in common, affordable foods. Get plenty of bright fruits (just seasonal citrus fruits), green vegetables and protein foods.
• Try to be calm about the changing seasons. This is inevitable and does not depend on you and your mood. This is not an event to be anticipated with anxiety and tension. All right. Consider autumn as a chance to surround yourself with bright things and make some kind of change in your life. Autumn is the time to do what there was not enough time for in the summer, and there was no desire: new exhibitions, performances and films.

Autumn is the time not to live in one day, but to plan your leisure time for a couple of months in advance. Feel free to invent events and holidays. Thinking about upcoming pleasant events will not allow you to drag you into a state of apathy and sadness. And of course, take care of yourself: proper sleep, quality rest and exclusion of overwork. Physical activity and fresh air at the earliest opportunity. Very soon you will realize that such simple and not at all difficult things can change your mood, thoughts, and events.