HomeSpaLady on Don’t Be SAD-Tips for Seasonal Affective Disorder
We turned back the clocks this past weekend and it’s so sad to see the days much shorter.
The sadness can have a true physiologic etiology (sorry, that’s my nursing language), let me say. . . the sadness isn’t necessarily emotional sadness - it can be directly related to the physical body not liking the decreased amounts of natural sunlight. It doesn’t always happen right away. As we get more into late fall and winter and there is an ongoing lack of sunlight, then it usually sets in.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) usually soars around this time of year. It can affect mood, appetite, sleep, sex drive, and even creep into affecting relationships and work. It can also weaken immune systems and make sufferers more vulnerable to illness and infection.
The spokesperson for the Depression Alliance Cymru (Wales), Graham Cox, said:
“SAD is thought to be caused by the absence of sunlight, which leads to feelings of gloominess and, although many people feel lower as winter comes, SAD sufferers become much more anxious and their negative feelings escalate into real depression.”
What Can We Do?
Here are some great ‘natural’ tips to help with SAD
1. Eat healthy
balance your carbs with fruit and veggies
2. Try light therapy
Buy a light box and expose yourself to it for 2 hours daily
3. Get active and get outside
Do a 30 minute brisk walk
4. Breathe deeply
Stay aware of your ability to breathe deeply and take in lots of O2
5. Essential Oils are a wonderful natural booster - an instant ‘drug-free pick me up’
Peppermint, Clarity (Young Living Blend), any citrus oils too!
6. Get away from it all
Jet off to the islands !!!! or - its good if you go skiing and get the light reflected off the snow!
7. Get pampared
Massage, energy work, foot reflexology - move the lymph and move the chi