With summer in the rearview mirror, many people will begin to start experiencing symptoms of seasonal depression or seasonal affective disorder. This often happens when the weather changes, becoming colder and darker. Anyone from teenagers to seniors in assisted living facilities can be impacted by seasonal affective disorder. Luckily, there are things that you can do to help you fight off these feelings and learn to enjoy some of the positive things about the fall and winter seasons.
To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for dealing with seasonal affective disorder.
Consider Light Therapy
One reason why many people start having seasonal depression is because their bodies are used to the light and brightness of the summer. So when the clouds and rain start rolling in for fall and winter, it can affect their mental health.
To combat this, you could try light therapy. This includes sitting in front of a bright light like the sun, but can also be an artificial light, to help you soak in the rays and experience a brightening to your mood. This is best done for about 30 minutes at the beginning of the day to help you get the maximum impact from bright light therapy.
Prioritize Healthy Habits
When people experience symptoms of depression, including seasonal depression, it’s common for them to fall into some unhealthy habits. But when you stop doing things that are good for your mind and body, it will only serve to make your depression worse.
Knowing this, you can try to improve your mood during the winter months by prioritizing healthy habits each and every day. Some of these habits should include things like exercising regularly, eating nutritious foods, going to sleep and waking up at the same time each day, getting outside and into the sunlight and fresh air as often as you can, and more.
Find Time To Do Things That Make You Happy
While some of the above-mentioned habits might not be things that make you happy on the surface, if there are things like this in your life, you should try to find time to do these things during the winter months so that you can make yourself happy as often as possible.
If there are people that help you feel lighter and happy, try to spend more time with them. If you love going to a certain place or practicing a certain hobby, make sure you’re regularly doing this so that you can have something to look forward to and something to focus on when you’re having a hard time.
If you’ve had to deal with seasonal affective disorder in previous years, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn what you can do this year to help make this easier on you.
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