Are you becoming concerned that your case of seasonal sadness is lasting longer, or is more intense than usual? How can you tell whether this is just a short-lived issue, or whether you might be facing a serious condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder(SAD)? Ought you to look for counseling? Educate yourself about the symptoms of SAD, how it can affect you, and what therapies are most helpful.
SAD is not just feeling sad when the weather is bad. SAD starts to develop in autumn, when the season moves toward winter and daylight hours are shortened. Symptoms usually start sometime between September and November. Furthermore, since SAD and other types of depression are so severe, doctors require extensive evidence of the condition before they are willing to make a definite diagnosis. Despite the fact that symptoms may be very serious, doctors rarely diagnose a person with SAD before he or she shows strong evidence of the disorder for a minimum of three winters in a row.
Those who experience this condition start to experience feelings of sadness, reduced motivation, and often sleep for long periods. Furthermore, they develop a dependence on carbohydrates or candy. In addition, most people diagnosed with SAD also have poor immune system functioning. Often, they develop illnesses much more quickly than persons who do not suffer from SAD.
SAD can seriously decrease an individual’s capability of functioning at work or educationally. This lack of motivation can make it difficult for a person even to get out of bed and tend to normal activities. People with SAD find it difficult to participate in social situations, or even at home. These persons frequently experience times of extreme anxiety and negativity. Sometimes, the problem becomes serious and distressing enough that some sufferers even consider suicide and have to be hospitalized for treatment.
Not surprisingly, women seem to experience SAD more frequently than men do. Furthermore, this disorder seems to get better each year when spring arrives. Indeed, by March or April, symptoms typically subside or disappear completely – until autumn returns again. This remains true even in regions that are frequently cloudy or rainy throughout the entire year. In fact, almost twenty percent of the people diagnosed with SAD will at some point develop symptoms of bipolar disorder.
These sufferers primarily tend to be depressed in the winter months, but report normal moods throughout the rest of the year. At times, however, individuals describe instances of uncontrollable mood elevation, which is also called mania. As with other types of depression, SAD can become quite severe and even disabling if left untreated. Additionally, some people suffer from very low-grade levels of depression; they may struggle with sleepiness, lack of motivation, and loss of appetite. These individuals, however, rarely suffer instances of depressed moods or anxiety.
This type of depression is relatively uncommon in sunny regions such as Florida, Arizona, and even Colorado. Others, who reside in places with many cloudy days, like Indiana, Illinois, or Washington are much more likely to develop this disorder. Residents of countries such as Denmark, Sweden, and England also face an increased risk of SAD.
Medical researchers have tried many different approaches to aid affected individuals overcome this debilitating problem. They have tried exposing people to artificial light in an attempt to assist them to produce more serotonin and decrease depression symptoms. Scientists have also tried medicines such as antidepressants, as well as supplements, like melatonin, trying to relieve these signs of depression. Many individuals who experience Seasonal Affective Disorder also seek out counselors when they are suffering most greatly.
Each of these treatments have been used with varying degrees of success. Despite this, all are definitely more costly and require more time than two recently introduced, innovative methods. Hypnotherapy practitioners have perfected the art of providing assistance with learning both NLP and self-hypnosis techniques for depression. Through the latter method, clients learn to talk themselves out of a depressive period and resolve their symptoms. These innovative therapies, hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, have proven to have a phenomenal amount of success in helping clients to heal from, and avoid future episodes of SAD.
Summary: Seasonal Affective Disorder is a kind of winter blues that reappears every year at almost the same time. Only people who struggle with this illness can determine whether to continue battling these symptoms alone, year after year, or to try to get help in resolving this condition once and for all. Hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming to treat SAD are two beneficial, innovative treatments that provide a rapid escape from these feelings without requiring excessive resources in terms of money or energy.
Alan B. Densky, CH specializes in depression and stress related symptoms as an NGH certified hypnotist. He has helped thousands of clients since 1978. He supplies CDs for hypnosis therapy for depression. Visit his Neuro-VISION hypnosis for self improvement site for the hypnosis article repository, or watch his free videos on hypnosis.
