A SAD Rerun

This is a first in this space--a rerun. Since we are about to hit Super Bowl weekend, be forewarned that Cabin Fever Season is officially upon us. While the days have begun to get longer, it's still kind of Siberian out there, and it's getting old, fast. If you're getting edgy...

It can be SAD…Seasonal Affective Disorder.The shorter days and lack of sunlight that come with northern winters can bring on feelings of depression, lethargy and fatigue.

SAD is a type of depression.The Mayo clinic lists these symptoms for winter depression/SAD:
§ Depression
§ Hopelessness
§ Anxiety
§ Loss of energy
§ Social withdrawal
§ Oversleeping
§ Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed
§ Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates
§ Weight gain
§ Difficulty concentrating and processing information

You need to be aware that if you have some of this going on, this may be SAD, unless you are a Cub fan, in which case you get this way every autumn anyway.

The likely causes of SAD have been identified as:

• Your circadian rhythm. I thought that this had something to do with those bugs that come every 17 years, but that’s something else. The circadian rhythm is a process that regulates your body’s internal clock, letting you know when to sleep and wake up.


• Melatonin and Seratonin: during the longer nights your body creates more melatonin. It’s a sleep related hormone that is linked to depression. If that’s not bad enough, reduced sunlight means your body creates less seratonin and away you may go, down the depression rabbit hole again.
  These will also be characters in my upcoming novel. Mel and Sarah Tonin.

People under 20 aren’t affected as much, another zinger from Mother Nature for an aging population. Women are affected more than men. Hooo-rah, guys. Men have more severe symptoms than women. Out of luck, fellas.

So, if you’re tracking bad here, you may need to seek treatment. It appears that you can do a lot to combat this problem in its early stages by simply getting up off your ass and getting a little exercise, starting to socialize a bit, and/or setting aside some time to get a little sun when it’s out there.

Since I am re-running SAD advice, I think it may also help your frozen moods to rerun a favorite ditty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6P6VRn3gsw

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