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Seasonal Affective Disorder |
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Written by Tania
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Seasonal Affective Disorder
People who always feel abnormally depressed and lethargic during the
gloomy winter months - and whose symptoms subside in spring - may well
be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. This depressive
condition is due to the chemical effects of light deprivation on the
brain. It afflicts mainly women living in northern climates, such as
Scandinavia, where there is a high incidence of depression and suicide
during the long, dark winters.
SAD was not officially designated an illness until 1987, although back
in the 1920's it was common for doctors to send depressed patients off
to have a holiday in the sun during the winter months.
Light Therapy
The majority of SAD sufferers feel better after one or two weeks of
light therapy. This involves extra exposure to natural sunlight or
high-intensity bright white light (between 5 and 20 times brighter than
ordinary room lighting) for periods of half an hour to several hours
each day. This treatment tends to be more effective than the
antidepressant drugs that are sometimes prescribed for SAD.
Food cravings, especially for sugary carbohydrates, are often
associated with the disorder - a starchy 'fix' makes SAD victims feel
better for a while. Scientists in Switzerland have suggested that
eating sweet things might trigger the release of the same mood-altering
chemicals as sunlight or bright white light. Once light therapy is
initiated, the craving for sugary foods may drop.
If you have SAD, try to satisfy any carbohydrate cravings by eating
pasta with light sauces, beans and pulses, fresh vegetables and bread
instead of high-fat, high-sugar sweets, biscuits and cakes, and try to
avoid alcohol, as it can worsen depression. Standardized extracts of
the herbs St John's wort have proved helpful to SAD sufferers. Try to
undertake more outdoor activities, and if you work in an office, ask if
your desk can be moved near to a window.
Brain State Conditioning™
Brain State Conditioning™ is an individually tailored method
of balancing and optimizing the brain and it has been shown that there
is a high percentage of success using brain state conditioning for
people suffering depression. Pharmaceuticals used to treat depression work on the entire brain, when actually only a small part of the brain may need to be tuned-up in the depressed person. Thus, drugs for depression may create side affects that are new problems to the individule user, and one problem is simply replaced by another. In most cases, brain state conditioning™ can enhance or replace anti-depressants, making the road to depression recovery much shorter - sometimes requiring only minutes to accomplish. Although there is no guaranteed brain state conditioning™ quick-fix for depression, there is a high percentage of success using brain state conditioning for people suffering depression.
To find out more visit Neural Balance
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