Depression Symptoms

Hanging around those of us that suffer from depression or bipolar disorder could drive saints crazy. Spouses, significant others and loved ones all know this, but for everyone else out there: mental illness is not contagious! Let me repeat this. It is not like a common cold or the flu; you cannot catch it from constant contact from one of us so-called crazy people.Now my husband of 30+ years may tell you that I drive him nuts, but what long term relationship doesn’t have that? He does get somewhat depressed when I go through a cycle of depression and that is normal as well. Who wouldn’t be depressed when someone you love is depressed and you are watching them go through this cycle and you may feel helpless? This does not mean that they are depressed. It is two completely different things.

One can feel depressed without being depressed and you have to know the signs and symptoms to know the difference. Being informed as to what causes depression is also as important in understanding this complex and difficult mental disorder.

Depression can be caused by the following:

• Genetic - biochemical imbalance in brain
• Heredity
• Medical Conditions - stroke, cancer, etc.
• Situational - divorce, death, job loss, etc
• Medication - side effects
• Substance Abuse - alcohol, drugs
• Diet Deficiencies - some vitamins and minerals can contribute to depression

Also certain people are more at risk than others:

• Females
• Advanced Age
• Lower Socioeconomic Status
• Chronic (long term) Medical Conditions
• Underlying Emotional or Personality Disorders
• Lack of Social Support
• Living Alone

In order to have a doctors’ diagnosis of clinical depression (also called ‘major’ depression), you have to have at least five of the following symptoms, including number 1 or number 2, for at least two weeks:

1. Depressed mood (feeling sad or low)
2. Loss of interest or pleasure (in activities you normally enjoy)
3. Significant appetite or weight loss or gain
4. Insomnia or hypersomnia (sleeping too little or too much)
5. Psychomotor agitation or retardation (being restless and jittery, or alternatively, slower than usual)
6. Fatigue or loss of energy
7. Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
8. Impaired thinking or concentration; indecisiveness
9. Suicidal thoughts/thoughts of death.

From the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders, 4th ed. (DSM-IV)What is different about true depression is that these feelings will last for at least months rather than days. In addition to feeling “blue” all of the time, many other symptoms may occur though not everybody may have any or all of them.

• Losing interest in sex
• Being unable to gain pleasure from activities that normally would be pleasurable
• Losing interest in normal activities, hobbies and everyday life
• Feeling tired all of the time and having no energy
• Difficulty sleeping or waking early in the morning (though some feel that they can’t get out of bed and ‘face the world’)
• Having a poor appetite, no interest in food and losing weight (though some people overeat and put on weight - ‘comfort eating’)
• Finding it difficult to concentrate and think straight
• Feeling restless, tense and anxious
• Being irritable
• Losing self-confidence
• Avoiding other people

Whew, that’s a lot of stuff to remember and watch for now isn’t it? And it’s pretty scary. Very scary since most of us at one time or another can fall into just about any of these categories especially in this day and age with times as tough as they are and everyone wants to give you a magic pill for what ails you.

Just keep in mind that depression isn’t catching, and just because you have the “blues” doesn’t mean you are depressed. But if you have any of the signs and symptoms for longer than a few months, please, see a doctor just to be sure.

Just as the children can suffer from anxiety, they also can be in depression. Depression in young children is not as common as teenage depression, but it is a big problem. Do you realize that even babies can suffer from depression?

As a baby, they are not old enough to express what their feelings are. So, they often show the depression in other ways and actions. They show the depression through sleeping and eating problems, failure to thrive, separation anxiety, social withdrawal or anxiety and dangerous behavior.

When the adults are in depression, they will go to their doctor to seek help. With children, we need an appointment with a child psychologist so that an assessment for depression can be done, using the Children’s Depression Inventory. If the child psychologist determines that the child is in depression, the child should be sent to the child’s pediatrician to find what the cause of the depression. A child may be depressed because there is simply a family history of depression or the physical problem. He or she may become depressed because of things going on in their lives, or because of a medical problem.

There are many causes that can be attributed to the depression in children. If your child is found in depression, but it isn’t the medical reason, you should seek out the reason and judge whether is the problem of your lives or genetics.

The most important is to look after your child closely. Are they growing and developing as they should be? Is he or she getting along with other children? If you find something unusual, seek help as soon as possible.

For some people, panic and anxiety attacks seems to take over their lives, and they may suffer from a variety of these attacks at any time of the day or night. It is possible to stop panic attack symptoms from occurring but there are some things that need to be done and identified before this is the case.

For example, what is really at the root of your panic attacks? Do you have any family history of individuals who also suffered in the way that you are suffering? This is often the case but medical science is unaware of why exactly this is.

If you are dealing with panic and anxiety attacks, you don’t need to feel as if you’re alone. This seems to be an increasing condition in today’s society for reasons that are really not known. As a matter of fact, there are several different things which may be causing these panic and anxiety attacks that you are dealing with. Knowing what is at the root of the problem may actually help you to overcome it, at least to the point where you’re able to deal with it effectively and live your life again.

Of course, identifying panic and anxiety attack symptoms as they are occurring is one of the important parts of overcoming the problem as well. Typically, the panic attack symptoms only tend to compound the anxiety that we are actually feeling. Especially when we wake up in the middle of a panic attack can this be a difficult thing. By the time we are fully awake and realize what is happening, it can be too late for us to calm ourselves in any way.

I find that the best way to deal with panic and anxiety attacks is to actually ride them out instead of trying to struggle my way through them. If you can stay on top of them and ride on that curve, you will notice that they tend to end faster and you are less worn as a result.

Although not a permanent panic and anxiety attack treatment, it can help you whenever you are dealing with one and need immediate assistance.

Do you think you might be having anxiety attacks? Are you concerned that your anxiety might be getting the best of you? Here are some of the physical symptoms of anxiety attacks.

We all feel anxious, worried, or stressed in different situations and from time to time. Everybody experiences feelings of nervousness before a big game or a big test. In fact, public speaking makes almost everybody feel anxious.

Now if you are experiencing anxiety on a regular basis and it is very overwhelming, then you might be having anxiety attacks and you are not alone. There are literally millions of people in the United States that have felt the same way you feel. There is help and anxiety is very treatable. Here are some of the physical symptoms to watch for if you think you are experiencing anxiety attacks.

- Increased Sweating

- Light headed or dizziness

- A choking feeling or difficulty swallowing

- Hot flushes or chills on your skin

- Fatigue or headaches

- Palpitations or a rapid heartbeat

- Feeling of loneliness

- Feeling like you don’t even exist

- Internal trembling or shaking

- Loss of breath or shortness of breath

- Nausea, bloating, indigestion

- The feeling that you have lost control

- Lack of sleep or insomnia

There are also many emotional feelings that can be associated with anxiety.

- Confusion

- Avoidance

- Insecurity or the lack of self-esteem

- Restlessness or the feeling that you are on the edge

- Nervousness, jittery

- Constantly feeling uneasy

If any of these physical symptoms of anxiety attacks or emotional symptoms describes how you feel on a pretty regular basis, then there is a good possibility that you are suffering from anxiety. There are many cures for anxiety attacks and you can get medication from your doctor or find a natural cure by searching online.

In today’s stressful day and age, many people suffer from severe anxiety disorders. Unfortunately, many of these individuals begin a routine of strong anti-anxiety medications in a search to cure their problems. However, often times anxiety can be dramatically lessened with the use of natural herbs. In this brief article, I’m going to go over a few of the reasons why you should consider trying natural herbs to cure your anxiety, before resorting to expensive and potentially harmful drugs.

So what herbs actually help with anxiety? There are several in fact. The more popular herbal supplements used to treat anxiety are St. John’s Wort and Kava.

St. John’s Wort helps in reducing stress and feelings of depression. You can find St. John’s Wart at any drug or grocery store, although I would recommend purchasing it online as you’ll typically find it cheaper on the Internet.

The second popular herb used in treating anxiety, Kava Kava, has a soothing effect on the body and has been shown to improve sleep. Even though Kava Kava has a calming effect on the body, it isn’t too strong to take during the day in smaller doses.

For many who suffer from anxiety disorders, the thought of taking more medication actually produces more of the anxiety that these medications are supposed to help. So they turn to natural remedies, and find relief from anxiety in herbs.

Hopefully this article has given you a couple all-natural alternatives to the anti-anxiety medications normally prescribed by doctors. These herbal supplements offer a much cheaper, natural way to treat anxiety and have show impressive results in doing so. If you or someone you know is being put on expensive prescription drugs to treat anxiety, give these herbal remedies a try first. You might just be surprised at the results!

Symptoms are your bodies way of telling you that something has to change.

A few months back, one of my clients was having a really hard time. He was having an anxiety attack and depression. He was desperate for help.

We worked together for quite a while. I adjusted him and I did some emotional work in an attempt to give him some relief. My patients were starting to back up, so I had him go for a walk and come back. I knew we had more to do.

When he came back, we sat down to have a chat. I told him about when I had anxiety attacks.

Here is my story in a nutshell.

Many years ago, I was having anxiety attacks and they were getting progressively worse. I remember driving in the car with my family and having crazy thoughts of dying, my car rolling, my wife being killed and my dogs getting lost on the freeways. After dinner every night I would need to go for a walk to calm my feelings of impending death. It was bad. I had pain and pressure in my chest that I just knew was my heart failing.

I had been checked out by a medical doctor. I was getting regular adjustments. I was taking all kinds of supplements. Nothing was working to alleviate my symptoms.

One night after dinner and my walk, it kept getting worse. I walked some more. I tried to focus on something else. Nothing calmed it. I woke up my wife, Barbara, and had her call 911.

The fire department came with the paramedics. I remember sitting on the edge of the fire truck with the sticky pads stuck to my chest as they ran the EKG. I remember the fear I was under. Mostly, however, I remember Barbara standing with a neighbor’s arm around her as she watched me and cried.

That was my bottom.

I made a decision. Something had to change.

I started by assessing my bad habits, the toxins that I kept putting into my body, and right then elected to quit them. I started an exercise program, began daily affirmations and addressed other areas of my lifestyle. My anxiety went away and never came back.

I asked my patient, “Are there any toxins in your life that you know you should let go of?” He said, “Yes” and committed to quit.

He then asked me, “Can you please do something about this anxiety I am feeling now?”

I asked him, “If I waved a magic wand and took this pain you are feeling away right now, would you quit?”

He said, “No.”

He quit drinking that night and now, he looks great. His anxiety is gone. He has a new outlook on life.

Our symptoms are our body’s way of getting our attention. Numbing these messages out or ignoring them can lead to more serious consequences.

Listen to your body. It will save your life.

Both panic disorder and agoraphobia are sub-types of anxiety disorder. The typical onset of these disorders is marked during childhood or adolescence, however, in some cases it may come into notice during adulthood. Although both of these conditions are categorized under the heading of anxiety disorder, the causes of these two conditions are entirely different.

Causes

As estimated by National Institute of Medical Health (NIMH), more than 4 million individuals in the United States are suffering from panic disorder. Although researchers are putting much effort, they have not come into a single conclusion regarding the exact cause of this problem. In fact, they shed light on a wide array of factors that may contribute to the development of the problem, including genetic, psychological, physiological and environmental factors.

Many clinical evidences show that panic disorder runs through families, which means, if any or both of the parents are suffering from it, there is high possibility that the offspring will be diagnosed as such. In fact, it is also seen that individuals may experience this illness if their parents are suffering from depression or any other sorts of anxiety disorder.

Moreover, twin studies have shown there is a strong likelihood of genetic inheritance for developing this disorder. In addition, biological malfunction or biological imbalance may cause further development. 5-HTT, a particular gene, is responsible for forming the regulation of serotonin, a factor supposed to influence the development of panic disorder.

Environmental factors such as stress may also trigger an attack. Stressful life events such as divorce, separation, recent loss, major life transitions may contribute to the development. Childhood experience may also lead anxiety to erupt. Many individuals with panic disorder in adult phase reported about child abuse during their childhood.

Causes of Agoraphobia

The term agoraphobia was coined from the Greek meaning ‘fear of the marketplace’. This disorder is described as an anxiety that a victim experiences about situations, where escape is not possible. An individual suffering from agoraphobia may reveal some typical behavior patterns: (1) deliberate avoidance of stressful situations, (2) looking for company in such situations, (3) strongly unwilling to stay inside the car, airplane, crowded room.

The exact causes triggering agoraphobia are still unknown to the researchers. However, they put forward few hypotheses to determine the causes behind the development of agoraphobia. One of them is of course childhood experience. It is seen that if an individual with child abuse experience is at higher risk for developing agoraphobia later in life. Some theorists also contend the cause of agoraphobia as a learned behavior. Genetic makeup and chemical imbalance also add up to the development of agoraphobia.

Sudden changes in the life like getting married, illness, divorce, and work problems can cause worries serving as triggers of stress, but even happy moments can sometimes cause such emotional problems. Our inbuilt abilities of coping up with the applied techniques most of the time are good enough to make us feel adjusted to the new environment with ease in a short period. However, if unable, the adjustment disorder gives a serious emotional jolt of the maladjustment with a new environment.

There comes a feel of insecurity, worry, helplessness and even pushing to a reckless state of mind. It is a stress related illness influencing the behavior and thoughts. Males and females of any age are susceptible to adjustment disorder. However, among the adults women are more prone to adjustment stress than men. The disorder may have its initiation in a new environment, a new place, a new school, or a newly imposed relationship.

A diagnosed case of illness and continuance of medical therapy increases the risk of stress disorder of the type. A profession oriented frequent move in the early life may be another cause of adjustment disorder with likelihood of increase in difficulty of quick adjusting.

Under pervasion of this disorder the patients are not able to cope up with their daily routine, feeling sad and depressed most of the time. The mind is not able to take to the unknown rules and regulations, standards, procedures, and behavioral interactions.

Various forms of the disorder are:

• Adjustment disorder with depressed mood;

• Adjustment disorder with anxiety;

• Adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood;

• Adjustment disorder with disturbance of conduct;

• Adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct;

• Adjustment disorder unspecified.

This enfeebling disorder does not continue for over 6 months to be completely out of the stressful moments like reckless driving or inordinate behavior or defying rules identifying to the stressful life. However, the youngsters may take longer time to return to normalcy. Many individuals, instead of irrational and aggressive behavior, resort to withdrawing themselves socially as long as the problem continues. Yet, many others do not expose any symptoms of emotional turmoil but begin to suffer physically from illness.

Characteristically the symptoms linked with an individual with adjustment disorder may mostly be a depressed mood and crying spells, nervousness and worry. People with adjustment disorder would obviously have a mixture of anxiety and depression and thereby getting infused to carry unsocial acts, skip school or turn towards unlawful deeds and having conduct problems. Researchers have suggested seven subtypes of adjustment disorders with embittered mood. These are characterized by strong feeling of injustice and thought of revenge against exposure to the negative experience.

Just think about this: over the past 30 years the rate of depression and anxiety has increased enormously, particularly in the past five years. In the western world alone, depression is one of the most debilitating and expensive illnesses, costing billions of dollars a year. One in five westerners have some form of mental illness and around 6 per cent suffer serious depression. Considering most people are materially better off today and enjoy more convenience than existed just 30 years ago, you have to wonder what has caused the increase. Is it the pressures of the world, or is it a result of the foods we eat affecting the brain chemicals that balance mood, which in turn help with coping skills?

There are three main chemical neurotransmitters in the brain that help send messages from one cell to the next. They are dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin. Dopamine and noradrenalin are the brain chemicals that keep us alert; they have a tendency to make us think more quickly and they increase motivation, mental acuity and productivity. Serotonin, on the other hand, is the calming brain chemical - it produces a relaxed, more focused, less anxious, less stressed, more euphoric feeling. Our levels of these neurotransmitters are directly related to the foods we eat.

Now I can see you reading with anticipation to find out which foods increase or decrease these chemicals, as there are always times in our life when we wish to have one or the other mood. It’s quite simple really: proteins - such as meat, fish, eggs, freshly shelled nuts, yoghurt, cheese, legumes and complementary proteins - cause an increase in the brain chemicals for alertness (dopamine and noradrenaline), while carbohydrates - such as wheat, rye, millet, oats, rice, bread, pasta and starchy vegetables - cause an increase in the brain-calming chemical, serotonin.

The brain synthesises these chemicals (neurotransmitters) from the amino acids tryptophan and tyrosine. (Amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein, are also present as individual amino acids in carbohydrates.) As tyrosine is the precursor to dopamine and noradrenaline, and tryptophan creates serotonin, you would think that an indulgence of protein with these two key precursors would cause all three chemical neurotransmitters to increase in the brain, thus causing calmness with alertness at the same time. But not so - once again the ingenuity of the body is such that this doesn’t happen.

The more protein you eat, the greater the tyrosine levels in your blood, thus causing an increase in the alertness chemicals in the brain (dopamine and noradrenaline). But this is not true for tryptophan. Tryptophan, tyrosine and four other amino acids enter the brain through the blood brain barrier (BBB), competitively, via the same mechanism. When we eat a protein, tyrosine and the four other amino acids become plentiful while tryptophan becomes scarce, therefore very little tryptophan can pass through the BBB. But when we eat a meal of carbohydrates, tyrosine and the other four amino acids become scarce, while tryptophan found in carbohydrates becomes the dominating amino acid, thus passing through the BBB easily with very little competition. Choose Your Mood by Choosing Your FoodCalming Carbohydrates

All carbohydrates are not equal in their ability to offer mood-altering results. The best way to consume carbohydrates is in the form of whole grains and complex carbohydrates. Oats, millet, cracked wheat, buckwheat and rice are prime examples. Whole grains are broken down over a long period of time, keeping a constant flow of serotonin in our brain. To experience the maximum effect of carbohydrates on your mood, it is important to eat them without any protein.

Peppy Proteins

If you’re feeling sluggish, protein power can produce the effect you want. Protein encourages the production of dopamine and noradrenaline, which produce alertness, mental energy and quicker reaction time. The effects of eating protein last about two to three hours. To maximise the ‘arousal’ effect of a protein meal, limit the intake of fat and carbohydrates. If you are not a good sleeper it is important not to eat protein for several hours before bedtime or you may experience difficulty falling asleep.

Neutral Fruit and Vegetables

Most fruits and vegetables are mood-neutral foods, so you can consume them without affecting your mood. If you’re feeling the way you want to feel, a meal of fruit or a healthy salad might be the best option.

Sabotaging Fatty Foods

Fatty foods cause havoc with moods. An overburden of fats means digestion overload, causing a large portion of blood flow to leave the brain and be shunted to the digestive tract to help with digestion and absorption, thus causing a condition I call ‘brain flag’. The brain simply stops working at peak efficiency and goes into slow mode, causing tiredness, forgetfulness, lack of concentration and all other mind-confusing, unwanted feelings. (By the way, a very large indulgent meal will also give the same symptoms.)

Antagonising Alcohol

Difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slow reaction times, impaired memory: clearly, alcohol affects the brain and our moods. Alcoholism destroys the brain, but current research shows that moderate alcohol consumption increases blood flow to the brain, which seems to suggest a link with improved mental function. The results of the research show some specificity in the association between alcohol consumption and cognitive ability. Research at University College, London, has found that those who drink only one glass of wine a week have significantly sharper thought processes than teetotallers.

Exhilarating Caffeine

While caffeine is an addictive drug it can also be a very useful tool for changing moods and states of alertness. Scientists have developed various theories to explain caffeine’s wake-promoting and mind-altering power. It seems to interfere with the chemical adenosine, which is a natural sleeping pill made by the body. Caffeine has been shown to enhance mood and increase alertness; in moderate amounts it’s potent for athletes, students, brain-storming committees and the like. Used wisely, and not as an hourly pick-me-up, caffeine taken as tea or coffee can alter brain performance, making it a very useful tool.

Outstanding Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish like salmon and mackerel, as well as many nuts, like walnuts, can help stave off depression. Recent research has revealed that omega-3 is excellent for improving concentration and energy levels.

Helpful Herbs

Herbs have been used for centuries, not only for flavour in cooking but as natural remedies too. Ginger can lift the spirit, cinnamon counteracts exhaustion, camomile helps with nervous tension, while peppermint can be taken to help calm nerves and relieve anger. Basil is thought to clarify the mind, so try a large batch of pesto stirred through some healthy pasta to give your mind clarity.

Vital Vitamins and Minerals

B-vitamins play an important role in brain function. B6 helps to convert tryptophan into serotonin, vitamin B1 helps build and maintain healthy brain cells, and folic acid is also an essential brain food. Zinc is a mineral that helps keep the senses sharp as well as encouraging a healthy immune system - it is critical for proper growth and development of the nervous system.

Stimulating Sunlight

The sun inhibits a hormone in the brain called melatonin. This hormone creates a calmness in the brain and gets the body and mind ready for sleep. It is a hormone that is needed at night so it is produced when the sun goes down, but during the day exposure to sunlight will help keep melatonin at bay and enhance the alert state of the brain, as well as help get rid of the blues.

Overboard Overeating

Overeating also creates mood changes. For example, what do you want to do straight after Christmas dinner? The usual answer is have a siesta. What has happened is that your digestive system is overloaded, so some of the blood from the brain, arms and legs is shunted to the digestive system to help in the process of delivering the food’s nutrients to the rest of the body. That’s why when you eat too much food you either want to sleep or you find it hard to get physically motivated. If you don’t digest the food within six hours or so then it begins to putrefy, releasing toxins into the blood and creating havoc with energy and mood.

You can use the principles of Food-Mood Connection in relation to sports performance. While peak performance of the physical body is important for athletes, many times the mind is the edge that makes the difference. Using the foods that cause alertness in the brain can make all the difference between winning and losing.

If you are someone who finds it hard to sleep at night, to help improve your sleep patterns it would be beneficial to have protein for lunch and carbohydrates for dinner. Stop drinking all caffeine drinks at midday, don’t eat any protein after lunch and make sure you sleep in a dark room. Just see what a difference it makes when your brain is calmed down.

If you want the upper hand at a business meeting then eat smart. To keep your brain sharp and alert it is important to be aware of the Food-Mood Connection. Two basic rules are: eat very little fat and eat your protein first. So a good business lunch would be a clear soup (hold the bread and butter), then fish (without sauce) and a salad and steamed vegetables (hold the alcohol). For dessert, have fruit salad - sorry, no cake or puddings. Watch what your lunch partner eats and see who has the upper hand by the end of the meal.Sitting down and listening to a speaker, either at a conference, university lecture or school, can sometimes become tiring. Usually, during the morning sessions most people are alert and full of questions, but after lunch the yawns start and the heads start to nod. The food that is offered at lunch is often starchy, full of breads, cheeses and other foods that cause drowsiness. My suggestion is that at morning tea, don’t touch the sweet pastries; just have a cup of coffee and some fruit if they are on offer. Then at lunch choose one type of meat and salad, with coffee and fruit again for afternoon tea. Using this strategy should make a difference by keeping you alert all day, allowing the brain to take in the information needed.

If you’re a shift worker, to allow yourself to work to the best of your ability it is important to manipulate the foods you eat to match when you want to sleep and when you want to be awake. Make sure that throughout your shift you eat foods to increase alertness, and then, when you are ready to sleep, eat foods that increase the brain-calming chemicals. It is also very important that when you sleep you are in a dark room. The darker the room the more abundant melatonin is, to help you sleep and heal.

With this awareness of the Food-Mood Connection, you can use your food as a powerful tool to enhance performance in all areas of life. Parents can also use these principles to help children manage their busy lives.

It intrigues me that the typical western diet is carbohydrates for breakfast and lunch, and then protein for dinner. If your moods and your sleeping patterns are not working for you, try changing and manipulating the foods you eat in order to change the brain neurotransmitters to those that best suit your needs.

From the time you wake up until approximately four hours before bed, try and consume some type of protein. For breakfast, include eggs or fish, or consume a complementary protein, which includes porridge or toast with nuts. Avoid refined breakfast cereals and starchy breakfasts like toast and jam. Snacks for morning and afternoon tea should not be muffins, cakes or cookies, but rather nuts and yoghurt, or a mix of crackers and nut butters or hummus and other protein dips. Lunch should also have some protein, like salmon, beef or chicken with vegetables. Then at night you can have pasta, rice and other high-carbohydrate meals.

Well, here it is… the middle of January.

The glittery holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s - with the hustle bustle of shopping, parties, and eating all that decadent food (yum!) are now just memories. There’s nothing to distract your attention from the fact that it’s still winter… cold, dark, gloomy.

How’s your energy level right now? If you’re feeling so down you’re about eye level with the slugs you’re probably suffering from the Winter Blahs.

Winter Blahs are more commonly known as SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). This acronym is right on. Sad is how most people who suffer from it feel. There are other symptoms, too, such as:

• loss of energy

• craving for carbohydrates

• need for more sleep

• depression

• irrational emotions

• weight gain (must be all those carbs!)

• mood swings

• lowered immunity to illness

SAD is caused by one thing - lack of sunlight. Although most people experience it during winter months, especially if they live in more northern latitudes, anyone who doesn’t get enough sunlight each day can suffer from it.

Women are particularly prone to SAD because they tend to be indoors more than men, and women who are reaching menopause seem to experience increased symptoms.

Most people don’t notice the symptoms until right about now - mid January. The symptoms usually begin in late September and gradually worsen until late spring when our solar batteries get enough sunlight to recharge. However, until the first of January we have lots of distractions with all the fun holidays. Then suddenly, when the holidays are no longer a distraction factor, people begin to notice one or more SAD symptoms.

Here’s the good news: there are simple, inexpensive methods you can use to naturally relieve the depression and other symptoms of the Winter Blahs. (without prescription drugs or expensive trips to a tropical country).

Although these protocols should be started in October to achieve optimum results, it’s better to start late than to never start at all. That’s why I teach a class on Overcoming the Winter Blahs in October.

Since it’s no longer October and you or someone you know may be in the throes of the Winter Blahs, here are three of the most important protcols you can use to alleviate the Winter Blahs:

• Go for a walk outside for at least 20 minutes. Optimum time is at noon so you get the most sunlight, but anytime is better than none. Exercise increases levels of dopamine and noradrenalin, hormones which lessen depression. Bonus: walking helps burn off all those carbs you ate during the holidays that are now sitting on your hips.

• Take Vitamin D-3 supplement every day. Recent research shows that this specific part of Vitamin D alleviates depression. Remember: Vitamin D supports your body in utlitizing sunlight to grow strong bones. Your immune system resides in the marrow of your bones.

• Drink lots of water. Water helps your body detoxify. Toxin overload not only makes you feel sluggish, it makes it easier for you to get sick.