The seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that only comes during the colder months of the year. It is a condition that specifically occurs during late fall and winter because it is influenced by the amount of light the earth provides.
The depression is activated by the body’s response to the change in sunlight exposure. In the winter time, you experience less sunlight and shorter days than in warmer months like spring, and because of this, some teenagers are exposed to depression specifically around this time of year.
The way it works is that a teenager is living a pretty normal life; they are doing well in school, hanging out with friends and being happy in general. But, as the year reaches an end with winter approaching, you may see a decrease in the things they are interested in and a change in grades.
They become more tired and lethargic and stop socializing with their friends. Most time the parents may think they are slacking and get disappointed in them, but then they notice that as the winter month passes by, their attitude and mood changes and they start doing well again.
This is an example of this condition: you only get symptoms of depression when you aren’t exposed to as much daylight, and there is a reason for this. The two chemicals in the brain, melatonin, and serotonin play a massive role in SAD.
The role these chemicals play together determines a person’s mood, the energy they have, and their sleep-wake cycles. The lack of daylight in the winter increases levels of melatonin and doesn’t produce as much serotonin, which is how feelings of depression form.
Serotonin is a chemical that contributes to your overall well-being and happiness and creates more feel-good feelings in the brain, and it needs sunlight to flourish. Melatonin, on the other hand, makes you feel more sleepy and too much of it can lead to gloomy feelings.
This is how SAD works. With less of the happier chemical, melatonin increases and makes you feel depressed. If you have ever felt winter depression, but you feel normal in the warmer months, then you might have this condition.
Treatments
Increase Your Light Exposure
If you believe you suffer from this type of depression, you are not alone. 6 in 100 people also suffer from this every year, and there are ways to make the symptoms more tolerable or go away completely.
Increasing the amount of sunlight you are exposed to every day is a great way to provide relief from SAD if you have mild symptoms. This means spending as much time outside in the sun as you can during the winter months will make you feel a lot better.
Going on a daily stroll through the park with a dog or alone or exercising outside are some easy ways to combat the feelings of depression. You can even purchase full spectrum light bulbs to go in your lamp to make your home feel bright when it begins to get dark outside.
Light Therapy
The light is used in a lamp or panel that can be placed on a desk, and the person with SAD sits in front of it for a certain amount of time each day. These light therapy boxes help you to relieve most or all of your symptoms anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the severity of your condition. If you don’t want to sit in front of a box in the morning, you can opt for light therapy glasses or red light therapy devices.
Conclusion
Feeling depressed during any time of your life is very tough, as it stops you from living the happy, fulfilled life you deserve. The best way to treat this condition is the use of light therapy boxes, and there are many different types out there, so it is essential to choose the best according to you.
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