Seasonal Affective Disorder: SAD How A Therapist Can Help

We are now heading into the depths of winter where the days are very short and daylight is at minimum. Even during the day if it’s overcast it can look and feel very miserable outside, and these sort of days can have quite a dramatic effect on people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder, more commonly known as SAD. I for one know that when I wake up in the summer, look out of the window and see the sun shining, it instantly puts me in a good frame of mind. I feel positive, happy and motivated. However come winter, when the mornings are dark and the nights also darker earlier, I definitely feel a bit down and less than enthusiastic about the day ahead.

If you haven’t heard of SAD before, let me briefly explain what it is. SAD is a mood disorder that affects people at certain times of the year. This generally happens in the winter months, and it can make a person sleep too much and have little or no energy. On the flip side of this people who suffer from SAD more often than not suffer no depressive symptoms throughout the rest of year. It’s very much seasonal.

Initially when people show signs of seasonal affective disorder experts were very skeptical that anything was even wrong with the people. I guess this is understandable, but thankfully that has now changed, and it has been diagnosed as a recurring depressive condition that will need treatment.

There are treatments available along with other mental health conditions. Here are a number of treatments that can help somebody with SAD.

1. Therapy

Finding a therapist that can help can be difficult especially with seasonal affective disorder. It’s not uncommon that people don’t want to leave their home, but help is available online nowadays. You can simply get all the help you need such as a Online Therapist to ease and help you deal with these difficult times, and if you are struggling to leave your home you can even do it all from the comfort of your own sofa, making it an easier route to a quick recovery.

2. Light Therapy

Light therapy will involve exposure to sunlight and spending more time outside, or using a heliostat to reflect sunlight into the windows of your. Home light therapy can be an effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder.

3. Exercise

Exercise can be very effective in helping with the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder. It’s a dual treatment. Firstly, getting you outside, and secondly, getting light therapy by simply being outside.

Seasonal affective disorder is a hard condition to deal with though, and the winter months often lead to depression. This is why spotting the signs early, and finding help is vital. In addition finding a therapist that can help with expert advice and suggesting treatments is very important for your full recovery.

Do you or anybody you know suffer from seasonal affective disorder? I would love to hear.

This is a collaborative post.