With a reduction in daylight hours, many people experience the so-called winter depression. This condition is seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and is characterized by lethargy, decreased performance, and severe emotional state. At the same time, the desire for social contacts disappears, and the need for sleep and nutrition increases. A person can sleep much more than usual, but get up tired and overwhelmed in the morning. This condition can appear already in the fall, when the day is significantly shortened.

Seasonal depression has symptoms that are typical of all affective disorders. The first group of signs are emotional disorders:

• apathy;
• Bad mood;
• decrease in self-esteem;
• inability to experience joy;
• increased irritability.

The second group of symptoms are cognitive impairments:

• deterioration in the ability to remember;
• difficulty concentrating;
• difficulty in intellectual activity.

Also characteristic are such signs of seasonal depression as constant drowsiness and fatigue. Reduced immunity leads to frequent colds, and an increased need for sleep and food, to excessive consumption of carbohydrates and weight gain. A person withdraws into himself, avoids communication with others. He begins to be burdened by the need for contacts, prefers not to go out once again from home.

Frosty weather can also worsen the well-being of people who are sensitive to sudden changes in meteorological conditions.

Experts believe that the diagnosis of SAD can be considered confirmed only if these symptoms occur in the same period, for at least 3 consecutive years and disappear with increasing daylight hours.

Causes of the condition

Women are more prone to winter depression than men, since the former are more emotional. These conclusions were reached by Polish scientists after a study in which both sexes participated. The majority of patients with a confirmed diagnosis of SAD experienced persistent fatigue and an increase in sleep duration in the absence of a feeling of wakefulness after it. And, as a result, an increased need for sweets and starchy foods and an increase in body weight. Atypical forms of depression were also recorded. They reduced the need for sleep and nutrition, and there was a sharp loss of body weight. Moreover, these forms of severity exceeded the typical seasonal disorder.

The etiological factors of winter depression are recognized as pathological hormonal changes caused by a decrease in the length of daylight hours. This leads to a discrepancy between the circadian rhythms of the body and external conditions.

AT winter time the body reduces the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter responsible for positive emotions and good mood. In addition, the secretion of the hormone melatonin increases, which increases the need for sleep.

Scientists say that winter depression occurs mainly in people over 18 years of age. Especially often the disease affects introverts and people with high level anxiety.

Light therapy

Experts agreed that best effect in the fight against winter depression gives light therapy. Ultraviolet treatment is carried out in a hospital. During this procedure, the patient is placed in a special box and irradiated with visible light. You can deal with winter depression on your own. Try to walk as much as possible fresh air in the morning and afternoon hours, even in snow and cold. The level of illumination outdoors is always higher than indoors, even if the weather is cloudy.

Now you can buy a special full spectrum lamp that simulates intense daylight. Also on sale lamps with flame effect.

Flame effect LED lamp can be purchased here

It is also useful to buy an alarm clock that simulates the onset of dawn. It gradually and most naturally increases the intensity of the light. Thus, allowing a person to wake up not from a sharp sound, but from pleasant sun rays. The devices provide full spectrum light. It imitates the sun as much as possible and is equivalent to it in terms of its effect on the body.

Physical activity

Besides, You can overcome depression with the help of active physical activity.. Strong exercise in gym and walks in the fresh air increase the secretion of serotonin, which at the same time improves mood. A daily walk for an hour can reduce the likelihood of an attack of SAD, and significantly improve mood.

Products against winter depression

Proper nutrition, balanced in terms of fat, protein and carbohydrates, will provide the body with the necessary energy. It will help maintain a normal body weight, as well as save a person from the occurrence of seasonal depression and the unpleasant symptoms associated with it.

In winter, the nutrition of most people is limited in the content of essential vitamins, since the total proportion of vegetables and fruits is reduced. At the same time, a person begins to feel a lack of energy, a deterioration in immunity and a decrease in mood. It is important to understand what to do in this case, and what substances are most needed for a person in winter period:

• Serotonin is produced from dietary amino acids, so you need to eat enough fish, meat, eggs and legumes.
• To saturate the body with vitamins and trace elements, you should increase the consumption of seasonal vegetables. Fresh fruits can be replaced with dried fruits.
• Polyunsaturated fatty acids are found in nuts and seafood, so they should be on the menu at least three times a week.
• Egg yolk and oily fish are essential for getting enough vitamin D.
• Cereals contain slow carbohydrates and are rich in B vitamins, so they should be consumed regularly, preferably in the morning.

To increase serotonin levels, nutritionists recommend eating bananas, cilantro, eggs, turkey meat, and avocados. An excellent addition to the winter diet will be a vitamin and mineral complex and Omega-3 capsules.

Pleasant activities

To overcome depression, it is important to maintain an even mood, which to a large extent depends on activities that give a person pleasure. Their list may include travel, meetings with friends and like-minded people, hobbies, new acquaintances and visits to museums and exhibitions. Warm bath with essential oils and medicinal herbs, taken regularly before going to bed, will help to calm down, relieve tension and get rid of negative impact.

To improve your mood, you can apply little tricks: start making plans for a summer vacation today, organize some kind of holiday or plant a mini-garden in a box on the windowsill.

By surrounding yourself with things of your favorite color and wearing light-colored clothes at home, you can get rid of bad mood. Such color therapy may become for someone a small everyday holiday on a gray winter day.

The attack of the Russian melancholy, so similar to the English spleen, was colorfully described by Alexander Sergeevich, talking about Onegin, who suddenly cooled to life. Satiation, nobility, boredom, Oneginism - what kind of unflattering "diagnoses" were made by readers to the hero, from whom indeed there were only troubles.

But today it is obvious to many lovers of poetry, especially those related to medicine: Pushkin in "Eugene Onegin" described a classic episode of winter depression, or, as it is called today, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), the occurrence of which does not depend on social status, level of prosperity and vicissitudes of personal life. Is it possible to prevent its development and how to help yourself or loved ones who find themselves in the snares of Russian melancholy?

The hibernation theory

Seasonal depression, which usually occurs in late autumn and disappears by itself with the onset of warm sunny days, is a fairly common problem. According to statistics, up to 10% of the population suffer from it, and women are 4 times more likely than men 1 . The most vulnerable to the disease are people in the prime of life, aged 15 to 55 years.

The exact causes of the development of seasonal depression are still not known for certain, however, psychiatrists have enough suggestions why activity decreases in the winter months, and with it the mood. To some extent, this process is even physiological.

In many animals during the cold season, when the food and heat necessary for survival become less available, the mode of reduced activity “turns on”. How can you not remember about the bears falling into hibernation. Experts believe that the trend towards a worsening winter mood in the human population has been formed over thousands of years due to food shortages in the cold season.

The predominance of the fairer sex among patients with seasonal depression can to some extent be due to the regulation of the reproductive cycle. In the summer, when a woman comes to her senses after a winter depression, the probability of getting pregnant and reproducing offspring in the most favorable period - next spring, increases, which guarantees a high chance of offspring for survival. Along with the "physiological" theory, there are also "biochemical" versions of the development of winter blues, laying out seasonal changes in the level of a number of hormones that can lead to mood changes.

Where are you, light of life?

According to psychiatrists, trigger”, triggering seasonal melancholy, may be a reduction in daylight hours. In favor of this theory is the fact that the problem is most common in northern latitudes, where the winter day is very short.

The biochemical rationale is also quite consistent: due to a change in the length of daylight hours, circadian rhythms are disturbed, which regulate the biological processes associated with the change of day and night. As a result, the balance of the hormone that controls the work of the biological clock, melatonin, is disturbed. A decrease in the concentration of a very important mediator responsible for a good mood, serotonin, is closely related to a change in its level.

The likelihood of developing seasonal depression increases in those whose relatives have been exposed to its outbreaks, in those suffering from other psychiatric illnesses (bipolar disorder, major depressive episode), as well as in residents of countries far from the equator.

The main manifestations associated with winter depression resemble hibernation. The symptom complex consists of a decrease in mood, fatigue, drowsiness, a decrease in libido, and all this against the background of an increase in appetite. There is a change in taste preferences - those who are moping in winter prefer to eat carbohydrates, which leads to an increase in body weight.

If something like this happens to you in the winter, and the symptoms disappear as if nothing had happened, most likely you are in the 10% of the population that are prone to winter depression. But spending several months in her cold, tight fetters is not at all necessary.

live until spring

First of all, it must be clearly understood that both the English winter spleen and the Russian melancholy have nothing to do with being spoiled or satiated with life. It's a disease. And she needs to be treated. SAD is treated by a psychiatrist.

Do not be afraid of this specialization - psychiatrists deal not only with patients with schizophrenia or manic psychosis. They help millions of people suffering from what is now the fourth leading cause of disability in the world, depression 2 .

Pharmacotherapy of SAD is based on the prescription of antidepressants, and primarily drugs of the group of serotonin reuptake inhibitors, in particular, fluoxetine, esomeprazole, venlafaxine, etc. By selectively blocking the reuptake of the mediator, they provide an increase in its concentration in the blood, which leads to an improvement in mood, reduce tension, reduce appetite.

There is an antidepressant that can prevent the development of seasonal depression in those who have experienced it in previous years. It's about bupropion. It provides an increase in the levels of two neurotransmitters that help us feel more acutely and act more actively - norepinephrine and dopamine, and to a small extent serotonin.

It is difficult to imagine the treatment of seasonal blues without melatonin, a hormone whose level can decrease due to a decrease in the length of daylight hours. Melatonin preparations, although they are hormonal, are very well tolerated and are dispensed in pharmacies without a doctor's prescription.

In addition, as part of a comprehensive fight against winter depression, the doctor may prescribe light therapy (its effectiveness has been proven in many studies), psychotherapy, and lifestyle changes. The latter means balancing the diet by increasing the content of protein, fruits and vegetables, increasing physical activity and normalizing sleep patterns.

In summary, we emphasize once again: winter depression is a pathology. But the possibilities of modern medicine are quite enough to cope with it and color it. bright colors even the grayest time of the year.

Marina Pozdeeva

Photo depositphotos.com

Daylight is gradually growing, but due to cloudy weather, we still get a little sun. And the media reassures: yes, it’s normal that you want to sleep, that your mood is at zero. You are most likely not sick - it's just that darkness works that way. Journalist Asya Kazantseva dug up the problem winter lack light a little deeper - and that's what she got.

For the last ten years it has been absolutely impossible to gather a company to celebrate the New Year: most of friends for the winter dumps in Thailand or India. The “go to your parents” option doesn’t work either: they moved to Montenegro a long time ago, where twenty degrees Celsius is considered cold weather. You open Facebook - there are solid photos from Israel or at least from Egypt.

You write off with former colleagues - it turns out that they have found a job in Kyiv or Odessa; motivated by the fact that there is also a Russian-language press there, but the climate is still better. In general, all normal people live in warm sunny countries, and only harsh Siberian workaholics remain in Moscow with a population of ten million (by the way, this is not an exaggeration about Siberian workers: in our editorial office only a third of the employees came to Moscow from St. Petersburg, a couple more people lived in the capital since childhood , and all the rest grew beyond the Urals).

Happiness at the equator?

It is clear that we are all happy where it is warmer - just in contrast to the cold and darkness in which we grew up. But one can often find assertions that the indigenous inhabitants of warm countries are happier than those who have managed to be born in cold ones.

This is only partly true. Basically, such conclusions are drawn on the basis of the world's most popular study of human happiness, Happy Planet Index(commonly translated as the International Happiness Index). Indeed, the top ten most prosperous countries according to this 2012 ranking are Costa Rica, Vietnam, Colombia, Belize, El Salvador, Jamaica, Panama, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Guatemala. The happiest region of the world, therefore, is Central America.

This is a particularly amusing conclusion, given that many of these countries are the world's leaders in homicide rates. For example, in Jamaica, according to the UN, 52 people per 100 thousand inhabitants per year become victims of murderers, and in El Salvador - 66 people (with a global level of 6.9 people per 100 thousand per year).

The crime rate is not taken into account when compiling the rating - Happy Planet Index is based on only three factors: the subjective assessment of happiness, life expectancy and the so-called ecological footprint - this is the scale harmful effects people on the nature of the country and the planet.

If you sort the countries in this ranking only by the level of subjective assessment of life satisfaction, excluding other parameters, the top 10 leaders will look completely different: it will include Denmark, Canada, Norway, again Venezuela, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Israel , Finland and Australia. No noticeable climate effect is now visible, otherwise the Scandinavian countries would never have made this list.

Seasonal affective disorder: from Britain to Chukotka

Seems like a disadvantage sunlight can indeed lead to a steady decline in mood and loss of energy. AT English language this phenomenon got a wonderful speaking abbreviation: the disease is called seasonal affective disorder, and abbreviated as SAD, which translates as "sad, dull." If we wanted to keep this logic in the Russian translation, we would have to call the seasonal depression, for example, the major annual depressive affect (BEDA). But usually this term is translated into Russian as “seasonal affective disorder”, and in everyday life they talk about seasonal (or winter) depression.

Of course, not every case of bad mood is a real depression. To make a diagnosis, you need at least a personal consultation with a psychiatrist and filling out detailed questionnaires. But if all this is passed, then seasonal affective disorder is not a whim or cowardice, but an officially recognized disease. In the International Classification of Diseases, it is included under the number F33 as a special case of recurrent (recurring) depressive disorder.

The symptoms of seasonal affective disorder are about the same as those of all other forms of depression. 96% of patients experience discouragement and/or decreased activity, 92% experience communication difficulties, 86% are anxious and/or irritable, 84% mention a string of failures in professional activity and 81% complain of daytime fatigue. More than half of patients complain of some form of sleep, appetite or sexual desire disorder, and 35% are considering suicide.

The prevalence of seasonal affective disorder - who would have thought! - directly depends on the geographical latitude. In upstate New York, it affects 12.5% ​​of the population, while in Florida it is only 1.4%.

Like almost every human trait, susceptibility to seasonal affective disorder depends on both genes and individual experience. Raymond Cochrane from the University of Birmingham showed that women who moved to the UK from warm countries (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan) suffer from winter depression more than native English women.

Cochrane used a standard anxiety and depression questionnaire, and Asian women scored an average of 8.41 in winter (and 5.19 in more livable seasons), while European women were limited to 4.8 in winter and 3 .67 points the rest of the time.

But most importantly, it turned out that women of Asian origin, born and raised in the UK, occupy an intermediate position: they scored 6.16 points in the cold season and 5.1 points in spring, summer and autumn. These results suggest that genetic differences play an important role in resilience to seasonal affective disorder—residents northern countries are on average more resistant to it than those whose ancestors lived in the south for many generations.

How genetic adaptation to a dark winter might occur is fairly easy to imagine. Other things being equal, a person who every year turns into a dull scarecrow for several months and loses interest in love and family will have a little less children and take care of them a little less qualitatively. Natural selection always works with large numbers, so even if such people raise an average of 990 children for every thousand in families of cheerful optimists, the prevalence of genes that cause a strong predisposition to SAD will still drop a little with every century spent in the north.

Similar studies were carried out in Russia. In particular, in the village of Provideniya in Chukotka, in one of the northernmost regions of our country, both representatives of the indigenous population (Chukchi and several other small nationalities) live, as well as Russians, who mostly moved there in the middle of the 20th century, that is, at most two generations ago. It turns out that indigenous people North-East of Russia in general is practically not subject to seasonal affective disorder. Among several dozen studied indigenous people, there was not a single person to whom a psychiatrist could make an appropriate diagnosis. Among Russians living in the same village, 1.9% of men and 21.6% of women suffered from severe winter depression, and another 15.4% and 13.7%, respectively, experienced it in a mild form.

Norway: folk recipes for winter depression

But the resistance of northern peoples to seasonal affective disorder is not limited to genetic adaptations. It seems that in addition to them, cultural mechanisms are also developing, designed to smooth out and, if possible, prevent winter mood disturbances. Professor Cynthia Stahlmiller specially left Australia for Norway to study how the inhabitants of the city of Tromso, which is located almost 400 km north of the Arctic Circle, adapt to the polar night. She described a number of principles common in Norwegian culture that help them feel less upset about cold and darkness.

Firstly, it is customary to admire nature in general and the change of seasons in particular, and specifically wait for autumn to see the northern lights, and then enjoy the view of the stars on a polar night. Secondly, the Norwegians are philosophical about the winter depression itself, they are ready to take the autumn mood swing for granted, as a normal part of the order of things - and calmly remember that it will disappear in the spring.

Another thing is also important: all the traditions of the inhabitants of Tromso are aimed at preventing the winter depression from sucking them in with their heads. Winter is associated with a number of rituals and customs. Norwegians light candles and admire their soft flame. They get together and tell each other stories, as funny as possible. They take the celebration of Christmas even more seriously than all other Europeans - friendly visits and feasts dedicated to it stretch out for a whole month.

The people of Tromsø celebrate the day the sun disappears and the day it returns by baking sunny buns specially designed for these events. Northerners pay a lot of attention to specific winter sports and joke that every Norwegian is born already on skis.

Among other things, children and adults constantly take fish oil: they are sure that this prevents any illness, including winter depression. Even if you do not take into account that fatty acids are indeed very important for normal functioning nerve cells, emotional disorders is one area where the placebo effect can be very pronounced.

And finally, in the north, it is customary not to save on lighting as much as possible and try to compensate for the lack of sun with both bright bulbs and live fire. Because of all these culturally and biologically justified measures, Norwegians treat winter affective disorder with a fair amount of irony. There are many serious problems, they say: pollution environment, traffic and cruelty. And the change of seasons is not a catastrophe, but the natural course of things.

To be continued.

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Discussion

The conclusions about the harsh Siberians are not entirely correct in this context. Beyond the Urals, there are incomparably more sunny days in winter, and in the Irkutsk region, in general, like in Greece, well, only at 30-40 degree frosts. So Siberians suffer from the lack of sun in our area even more than we do. But they are forced to put up with it until they develop a resource for "dumping" if desired, into a more comfortable climate.

You write "most of the friends dump for the winter" ... It is better to replace the jargon with the correct one: "leaves"

Comment on the article "Why is it so difficult to live and work in winter"

husband's mental disorder. Four years ago, my husband's brother died, he was very upset by this tragedy, he had depression for almost a year. Schizophrenic and affective disorders. If there are problems with this, then psycho-training is better now than ...

Harbingers of depression. - get-togethers. About his own, about a girl's. Discussion of questions about the life of a woman in the family, at work, relationships with men. Harbingers of depression. Can you name if you witnessed one? Possible to pause?

Discussion

Harbingers of depression, if you take my experience, expectations from life that did not come true.
Diagnosed and cured depression in the mother-in-law began with a stroke, the person has plans, desires and ... Immobility. A struggle that does not help, and gradually a loss of faith. Rejection of herself, hatred for her body, it SHOULD be healthy, but ... Probably, it was this hatred that prevented her from recovering, or at least from accepting new image life. We saw people with the same diagnosis, but without depression. Granny, in the same ward with our patient, she-she stretched herself, tried and refused outside help accepted and fought. Amazing courage and optimism man.
Suspend? Rather, create A LOT of favorite things around you in advance, have time to fall in love with everything that is possible. It is like a web of thin threads that can hold during a fall. Sincere joy from the fact that the skin feels cold and warm, the eyes see, the ears hear, the brain creates worlds one more bizarre than the other ... All the senses work.
You need to train yourself to constantly look around and notice those little gifts that life so generously presents. Notice and ENJOY.
And warm bath, and fragrant tea, and a fluffy blanket, everything is nothing if a person is not happy about it.
Try to please yourself and loved ones, because it is NECESSARY. It's like daily hygiene.
Happy is the one who has been able since childhood, who has not lost this skill, becoming a teenager, and especially, who in old age continues to enjoy the little things. IMMO

I start crying. Constantly. And feel sorry for yourself. And the whole world becomes black and white. Here I am sitting at home, feeling sorry for myself and crying. And I cry at work. Just. And there was a case when she sat on a bench in a fitness center, with dumbbells in her hand, and sobbed. Well, at least I was the only one in that nook at that moment.
After the incident in the gym, I rushed to the doctor. Third month on the pills. The flight is normal.

Winter is coming soon. A moment of hate. About his own, about a girl's. Discussion of questions about the life of a woman in the family, at work, relationships with men. Winter is coming soon. I don't want dirty gray streets, short daylight hours, dampness and cold. probably, when they say, there is no need to rush to the next world, under ...

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter blues or depression is not an invention of lazy, sad or dissatisfied people, but a real serious disorder that in our climate can affect everyone.

Depression. Wife and husband. Family relationships. My husband (38 years old) began a crisis, depression and complete frustration. He doesn’t need sex: he explains that I don’t try hard (this is not true, I have always been active), in fact, there is no interest in sex at all, I offer both ZHMZH and ...

Discussion

You probably wrote “However, there is no money for entertainment: two years ago we took out a large loan for real estate for 10 years. Time passed, the deadline for changing the wardrobe came up, the period of anniversaries, children grow up, repairs are not completed, and money is not added. We reduced all expenses, we will not go abroad and change the car until the end of payments." not because it doesn’t suit you personally, but because it doesn’t suit your husband. Those. such a saving possible reason husband depression? If so, then the discussion would have gone a little differently, many have decided, including myself, that you personally do not have enough money. Well, support your husband, convince him that there is enough for life, that everything is wonderful, and let him go to the doctor anyway, that he can at least drink vitamins.

You know, you have a very big delusion that without you the children will be very bad. I wrote to you below that it was the same with me. And now it turns out that even better with a nanny. And all the children from our class are howling to be left for after-school - such a good teacher there. My friend is ashamed - she does not work, and the child is on after-school, but she cannot get him out of there.
At least try other options. And because of your childhood, you have developed a complex that you can either like you or like your mother. And there are other intermediate options.

We really need your help! My friend has a daughter - 26 years old, who has been diagnosed with depression for 3 years. All the signs: a decadent mood, I don’t want to live, I won’t, I don’t need anyone, I interfere with everyone. Caused by stressful events in recent years.

And with the second child, everything is ok. Even more.

Many do not like gray winter days. As soon as the cold starts, the mood drops, drowsiness torments, there is no desire to go anywhere, I just want to sleep. This is seasonal affective disorder or seasonal depression. This diagnosis is even included in the International Classification of Diseases, although not all scientists agree that these changes in the body during the cold season can be considered a disease.

Causes of seasonal depression

For the first time, the American scientist Norman Rosenthal spoke about it. He was born and raised in South Africa, but was later forced to move to the north of the United States to continue his studies. The scientist noticed that in winter his ability to work fell. He was the first to describe the symptoms of this disease. As it turned out, they manifested themselves in many residents of sunny countries who moved north. But not only among the visitors, but often among the northerners themselves, similar changes were observed.

For a long time, scientists could not understand what caused the deterioration in health, which manifests itself only in the cold season. There were hypotheses that associated them with a decrease in temperature. But later it was possible to establish that the "culprits" are not cold or dampness, but a lack of lighting. A person who is constantly in the dark (and in winter we often suffer from a lack of sunlight) increases the production and disrupts the synthesis of other substances, including serotonin, which is necessary for a good mood.

Melatonin makes a person sleepy and lethargic. Once upon a time, such changes were a boon for our ancestors. In winter, when food was not so available, it was necessary to save energy, so human activity decreased. Now, when we have already forgotten what hunger is, winter apathy makes it difficult to focus on work, so we need to fight it.

Signs of winter depression

The peculiarity is that deterioration in health usually occurs in the same months, most often from the end of November to March.
The main symptoms of this disease:
a person wakes up with difficulty, he cannot sleep, even if he sleeps longer than usual, there is a need for additional sleep;
all day you want to sleep, tormented by lethargy, apathy, no energy and desire to do anything;
it is difficult to concentrate on work, memory worsens, intellectual activity also decreases;
normal loads are hard to bear, fatigue quickly appears, working capacity decreases;
a person can hardly cope with stressful situations, often refuses to communicate, which may cause problems with friends and at work;
instead of going to the park, taking a walk on the street, many prefer to free time just lie down;
a person overeats, there is a desire to eat more sweets and flour products;
someone may have an increased level of anxiety, irritability appears, it will.

Not all symptoms of the disease necessarily appear, only part of them may be present. With the advent of spring, they all usually disappear, especially if it turned out to be sunny this year. In addition, there is a latent form of the disease in which a person complains of fatigue, sleep disturbances, changes in food habits, lethargy, it is usually easier to bear.

Treatment

The treatment of this ailment may seem unusual, i. It's not taking antidepressants, it's light therapy. But this is understandable, because. the reason for its occurrence was the lack of light. But this does not mean that you can turn on all the lights in the house to get rid of unpleasant symptoms. For the therapy to work, the light must be very bright, between 2,500 and 10,000 lux, and the light level in a normal room usually does not exceed 500 lux. The necessary equipment can be in clinics, beauty parlors, where you will have to go to the sessions. The duration of the session depends on the power of the light source:

2500lx - 2 hours;
5000lx - 1 hour;
10 000lx - 0.5 hours.

Usually four weeks of therapy is enough to cope with winter depression. But the sessions should be held in the morning, if you go to them in the evening, sleep problems may begin. During light therapy, it is not necessary to lie down or sit, you can practice usual things: read, work with a laptop, talk, i.e. make good use of your time. Already on the third day of treatment, the patient may feel an improvement, and by the end of the treatment, vigor and energy return to him. You can also conduct sessions at home by purchasing bright fluorescent lamps or special lamps for light therapy. But such lamps are not yet affordable. If you want to purchase a special lamp, you should first talk about this with your doctor. People with eye diseases should be especially careful.

Additional ways to deal with winter depression

If you do not have the opportunity to be treated with light therapy, you can try to apply other methods of struggle:
1. Physical activity. Sports activities are very useful (you can ski, skate). Exercise every day. Try to walk every day, especially on frosty and sunny days. On the street, the level of illumination is higher, although we do not notice it, even in cloudy weather it can be about 1000 Lx.
2. Proper nutrition. Your diet should be balanced, with nutrition you should receive required amount vitamins.
3. Interesting leisure. Communicate more with friends and relatives, leave the house more often. A hobby will help too.
4. Bright things. Try not to wear things in gloomy colors, surround yourself with bright items that cheer you up.
5. Daily routine. Despite the fact that you want to sleep all the time, try to stick to the daily routine, do not oversleep. To make it easier to get up in the morning, you can purchase a lamp that will simulate the dawn.

Winter depression is not a myth, not an invention of lazy people who dream of going into "hibernation" and doing nothing, but, unfortunately, a proven and scientifically explained fact. But, there is a positive side to this. Now we know why in winter you want to sleep all the time, it is so hard to concentrate on work and fulfill your duties. All this is a temporary phenomenon, and this condition can be overcome if certain rules are followed.

Depression has become a modern disease of mankind. All often psychologists are faced with the need to help people eliminate depressive states, which often occur seasonally. So, winter depression becomes frequent, main reason which is considered a lack of sunlight. It manifests itself in the usual symptoms and needs treatment.

Experts from the online magazine site say that people are increasingly suffering from the effects of winter depression. They feel tired and irritable. A depressed person feels distracted, overeats, lacks energy, and isolates himself socially. Doctors should be consulted if symptoms of depression last more than two weeks, thoughts of suicide occur, hopelessness is experienced, or there is a decrease in the quality of life at work or in the family sphere.

Winter depression is due to three main factors that become common during this period:

1. Lack of sunlight.
2. Vitamin deficiency.
3. Illnesses of a debilitating nature, such as infectious respiratory diseases.

You should help yourself to get rid of winter depression. The main recommendation is frequent walks in the fresh air, which a person should regularly take during the daytime. You should also eat well, exercise and communicate with nice people.

What is winter depression?

AT separate category identify seasonal manifestations of depression. What is winter depression? This is an affective disorder that occurs in winter and is manifested by impaired mental activity and emotional depression. Many can remember such states when you don’t want to get out of bed in the morning, there is a “wolf” appetite, because it is damp and cold outside.

Winter depression is marked by a decline in strength that is difficult to restore. A person becomes emotionally depressed, he lacks any desires and does not produce energy.

Winter depression affects all people, regardless of age and gender. However, the peak falls on the age of 18-30, when a person is acutely aware of changes in strength and energy. In any case, if you do not eliminate the depressive state, then you can bring to the occurrence of complications:

• social isolation.
• Suicidal thoughts and actions.
• Problems at work, at school or at home.
• Development of addictions:, medicinal,.

Everyone experiences the symptoms of winter depression differently. In some, they manifest themselves in full force, significantly interfering with a full life, while others only partially unbalance a person. It is worth noting that winter depression can take place at the onset of spring, or it can last longer, which also depends on the degree. If it is impossible to cope with depressive symptoms on your own, then the help of a psychologist is offered.

Since winter depression is a quarter of life, ways should be found to eliminate it. This will help to analyze the causes of winter (seasonal) depression.

Causes of winter depression

Since we are talking about a specific period of the year, we should find out why depression occurs not in summer or autumn, but in winter. The cause of winter depression, scientists note the lack of sunlight, which is noted in short days and the need for a person to spend daytime hours in closed (office, factory) premises.

The light beam hits the retina of the eye, from where a signal is sent to the brain. If there is not enough sunlight, then a small amount of serotonin is produced in the brain - a hormone responsible for raising mood, generating energy and eliminating drowsiness.

In winter, a person feels sleepy. This is due to the lack of sunlight, which allows the brain to produce a large number of Melatonin is a calming hormone that makes a person lethargic and sleepy. This, of course, does not affect a person's ability to fully eat and provide himself with warmth and shelter. However, it is during this period that a person cannot take an active life position, which is similar to “hibernation”.

Other biological causes of winter depression include:

1. Temperature fluctuations, their sharp decrease.
2. Slowdown of metabolic processes.
3. Infectious diseases that are frequent in winter.
4. Avitaminosis.

Winter becomes the period when man is most sentimental. The resulting failures seem catastrophic, and the inability to spend time as you want causes a feeling of uselessness and loneliness. Stress does not leave a person in the winter, who can experience them not only on a psycho-emotional level, but also on a physical one.

The following categories of people fall into the risk group:

• Middle aged women.
• Elderly people.
• Lonely persons who are acutely experiencing a feeling of loneliness during the winter holidays.
• People from 20 to 40 years old.

Signs of winter depression

Winter depression has its own individual character for each person. The severity of symptoms and their duration may also vary. However, signs of winter depression should be identified so that, if they are present for a long time, it is possible to seek medical help in time.

Signs of winter depression:

1. Emotional sphere:

• Acute irritability.
• Feeling of despair.
• Gloomy, depressed mood, melancholy.
• Loss of attraction and interest in activities that previously brought moral satisfaction.
• Feelings of guilt, hopelessness, worthlessness.
• An agonizing feeling of unhappiness.
• Loss of ability to experience positive emotions.
• Decreased self-esteem.
• Increased anxiety and stress levels.
• Lethargy, a feeling of "lead" in the legs, deterioration of well-being.

1. Physiological symptoms:

• Partial or complete decrease in libido.
• Obvious eating disorders: gluttony or unwillingness to eat. A person may begin to eat a lot of sweets or become addicted to alcohol.
• Loss of energy tone: a noticeable feeling of weakness, loss of strength, increased fatigue during loads that are familiar to a person.
• Sleep disturbance when a person wakes up frequently or long time sleeps, but does not feel rested, which requires additional time for sleep.
• Decreased ability to decide stressful situations, decreased performance.
• Violation of digestion, decreased immunity, a tendency to the appearance of infectious diseases.
• Pain in the joints.

1. Behavioral symptoms:

• Isolation from surrounding people.
• The desire for loneliness, seclusion.
• Decreased empathy.
• Conflict in relationships with others.
• Problems at work, at home, at school.

1. Cognitive sphere:

• Difficulties in making decisions.
• Decreased concentration and focus.
• The emergence of ideas about their own uselessness.
• The presence of oppressive and gloomy thoughts.
• Memory deterioration.
• Suicidal Ideas.

The duration of winter depression symptoms varies from person to person. It usually starts at the end of November and ends at the end of March. It passes gradually or against the background of hypomania, hyperactivity:

1. In hypomania, the symptoms of depression gradually resolve without obvious changes in mood.
2. With hyperactivity, a sudden change in mood, agitation (agitation) is manifested.

A rather unpleasant, but mild form of winter depression is hidden. It is marked by the following features:

• Fatigue.
• Lethargy.
• Disturbance of appetite and sleep.

Some people may ignore the symptoms of winter depression, but they recur each time the winter period arrives. In order not to spend a quarter of your life in a depressed state, you need to resort to various methods treatment.

Treatment for winter depression

Since the main cause of winter depression is a lack of sunlight, the main focus of treatment is light therapy. It uses lamps daylight, which in many ways exceed the intensity of conventional lamps. Even outside on a rainy day, there is more light than in a well-lit room. That is why it is recommended to use lamps with a brightness of 2500 Lx or more in winter.

Light therapy can be carried out both as a treatment and for the prevention of winter depression. It will be sufficient to stay in such lighting for at least 30 minutes daily for a minimum of 2 weeks. Already after this period, a person begins to feel energetic and cheerful.

Other ways to treat winter depression include:

1. Hiking on sunny days.
2. Food that should be fortified.
3. Completion of morning exercises.
4. Connection of additional physical activities or sports.
5. Using a bright lamp in the bedroom as an imitation of daylight.
6. Compliance with the correct regimen of the day and rest. Get enough sleep, but don't oversleep.
7. Meeting nice people, visiting interesting places and establishments.
8. Surrounding yourself with bright and cheerful colors and things, avoiding gloomy tones.
9. Indulging yourself in various hobbies during the winter to distract from gloomy thoughts.

You should not be afraid to contact a psychologist if the symptoms of winter depression last more than 2 weeks. Only in this case can we talk about the pathological development of a condition that needs to be subjected to specialized treatment. It rarely includes medications (antidepressants). Often, everything is limited only to psychotherapy, which helps in eliminating psychological or emotional problems.

There is no need to talk about any “psychiatric hospital” or illness as long as a person is aware of his own condition and wants to correct the situation. By talking with a psychotherapist, you can identify all the causes of winter depression. Often we are talking about psychological stresses and experiences that a person can hardly endure in winter. Only in exceptional cases does a person need medicinal help to relax and rest.

Outcome

Winter depression does not negatively affect a person who learns to cope with it and takes all actions to resume a normal lifestyle. The result is always successful, since any manipulation leads to positive events.

The prognosis may worsen if a person ignores winter depression. It can pass by itself with the onset of spring and summer. However, with the advent of winter, it will again manifest itself. In order not to waste time on unnecessary experiences and sensations, you should help yourself or use psychological help.