{"id":358,"date":"2020-10-23T07:44:16","date_gmt":"2020-10-23T06:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/blog\/?p=358"},"modified":"2025-05-15T10:40:27","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T09:40:27","slug":"how-to-feel-less-crap-about-less-light-seasonal-affective-disorder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/how-to-feel-less-crap-about-less-light-seasonal-affective-disorder\/","title":{"rendered":"Seasonal depression: How to feel less crap about less light"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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“Four seasons fill the measure of the year; <\/em>
There are four seasons in the mind of [wo]man”<\/em>
– John Keats <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women are four times as likely to suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Yes, four. This phenomenon is evidenced in a 2013 study by Norman E. Rosenthal – a world expert in SAD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is SAD?<\/strong> Depression that occurs in the Autumn and Winter – and has occurred in this seasonal pattern for two years or more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symptoms?<\/strong> Lethargy; an increase or loss of appetite; sleeping too much or too little; low mood; difficulty in concentrating; and loss of enjoyment in any activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Causes?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are 3 main causes of seasonal depression: a lack of environmental light; biological predisposition; and stress. Each are discussed below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What to do in the fight against light?<\/span><\/strong> A combination of..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/span>Light therapy (see below)
*<\/span>Over-the-counter vitamin D supplements
*<\/span>The classics – exercise, eat and sleep healthily, socialise
*<\/span>Talking to a professional – psychotherapist\/GP\/both
*<\/span>Remove unnecessary stressors (this may sound overly simplistic – but try it consciously?)

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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the heck is light therapy?<\/strong>
Light therapy brings in more light during dark days naturally or via a ‘light lamp’ i.e. it is a simulation of sunlight from a light box. There is a whole lot of research<\/a> since the 80s – pioneered by Rosenthal – supporting light therapy being as effective for SAD as anti-depressants for non-seasonal depression. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The disclaimers<\/span>: Ideally use a light box under the supervision of a professional – especially if you start to feel (rare) side effects such as headaches or eyestrain. You’re not meant to stare at it, by the way. Also make sure you speak to a Doctor first if you have a history of skin cancer: even though light therapy works through the eyes rather than skin, and most UV rays are filtered, some gets through. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The practicalities<\/span>: Light boxes can be bought on the high street and cost from \u00a340. Regular lamps aren’t nearly as effective but better than nothing. If a light box is affordable, you’re looking at 20-30 minutes daily, first thing in the morning. And you’re not tied to the thing. The best bit? Benefits tend to be felt within days if not two weeks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best of all?<\/span> Go au naturale. Grab early morning sunshine if it’s there for the taking. Light boxes are clever, but they’re no match.
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Four seasons fill the measure of the year; There are four seasons in the mind of [wo]man” – John Keats Women are four times as likely to suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Yes, four. This phenomenon is evidenced in a 2013 study by Norman E. Rosenthal – a world expert in SAD.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358"}],"version-history":[{"count":41,"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":558,"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358\/revisions\/558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chandcounselling.co.uk\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}