Originally published February 13 2006
Experts speak out about seasonal affective disorder and its impact on mental health
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
FortWayne.com features an article on seasonal affective disorder, including expert opinions from psychiatrists Dr. Jed Magen and Dr. Norman Rosenthal, a leading expert in the field and author of "Winter Blues."
A type of depression, SAD and its milder form, the winter blues, are caused by shortened exposure to daylight.
We produce more melatonin, a hormone that is made almost exclusively at night.
Sometimes, a move from a southern climate to a colder, northern one with fewer daylight hours may bring on symptoms.
For reasons that aren't clear, women outrank men 3-to-1 with the problem.
"I start feeling down; I just don't want to do anything," says Helton, 37, a homemaker with a 12-year-old son.
Each morning, after her son leaves for school, she turns on her phototherapy unit and watches television.
There are three known therapies: anti-depressant medicines, light or phototherapy and a type of counseling known as cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT.
CBT helps people take negative thoughts and turn them into realistic ones, says Dr. Jed Magen, chairman of the Michigan State University Department of Psychiatry.
Anti-depressants like Prozac work in 50 percent to 60 percent of people, and light therapy is effective in as many as 70 percent of patients, says Dr. Alireza Amirsadri, a psychiatrist and SAD specialist at Wayne State University School of Medicine and Detroit Receiving Hospital.
Drugs are the main choice for people who want a quick, convenient option and whose insurance does not pay for light units or counseling, he and others say.
Some hospitals have the Cadillac of treatment settings for SAD: a room brightly lit with overhead fluorescent lights.
For the rest of us, try an outdoor sport like skiing on sunny winter days.
Drink your morning beverage in the sunniest spot in your home.
Or take a day now and again and roll up on the couch, cover yourself with your favorite blanket and watch television.
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