SAD Saturday

Sad. Have you heard of it? 

Definition of SAD

By Mayo Clinic staff

Seasonal affective disorder (also called SAD) is a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year. If you’re like most people with seasonal affective disorder, your symptoms start in the fall and may continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. Less often, seasonal affective disorder causes depression in the spring or early summer.

Treatment for seasonal affective disorder includes light therapy (phototherapy), psychotherapy and medications. Don’t brush off that yearly feeling as simply a case of the “winter blues” or a seasonal funk that you have to tough out on your own. Take steps to keep your mood and motivation steady throughout the year.

Fall and winter seasonal affective disorder (winter depression)
Winter-onset seasonal affective disorder symptoms include:

• Depression
• Hopelessness
• Anxiety
• Loss of energy
• Heavy, “leaden” feeling in the arms or legs
• Social withdrawal
• Oversleeping
• Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed
• Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates
• Weight gain
• Difficulty concentrating

Not being able to play outside in the winter is really hard for me, not to mention that we don’t have many sunny days. For me I need to stay active and have projects to do. That’s why I am so glad I have a treadmill and an elliptical in my home to keep active.

Looking at pictures taken in winter you can really see how different the light is. It’s always overcast and gloomy. I saw that a local tanning salon has a tanning bed with light therapy bulbs in place of the tanning bulbs. I have even seen little light machines at Rite Aid.

Winter Light.

Summer Sun.

Just looking at a bright photo of a flower or a butterfly changes my mood. There is something to be said about the power of light, color and the sun.

What picks you up in the winter?

Check Ya Later

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