Understanding seasonal affective disorder: more than just winter blues
As the summer sun bids its farewell, a distinct group of people seem to “fall back” as a mysterious change begins to take hold. Several individuals get caught in the embrace of the transitions of fall and winter, revealing a shift between their mood and energy levels. Ever felt a subtle dip in energy, a
Read more…
Understanding seasonal affective disorder: more than just winter blues originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - March 21, 2024 Category: General Medicine Authors: Jasmine Kearse, MD Tags: Conditions Psychiatry Source Type: blogs
Tips for managing seasonal affective disorder [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! In this episode, we welcome Stephanie Straeter, a clinical psychologist. The holidays are often portrayed as a time of joy and thankfulness, but for many people, this is not the case. In fact, 3 percent of individuals struggle with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during
Read more…
Tips for managing seasonal affective disorder [PODCAST] originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - March 11, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: The Podcast by KevinMD Tags: Podcast Psychiatry Source Type: blogs
5 tips for treating seasonal depression during the holidays
Although the holidays are typically associated with feelings of joy and thankfulness, it is imperative that people should not automatically assume these emotions are commonly shared. Three percent of all individuals are impacted by seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during the holidays – a statistic many people are unaware of. The media promotes an unrealistic expectation
Read more…
5 tips for treating seasonal depression during the holidays originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 29, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: Stephanie Straeter, PhD Tags: Conditions Psychiatry Source Type: blogs
The Best Treatment For Getting SAD In Winter Is Not Light Therapy – Although That Helps
Light therapy can provide an instant boost for those suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder, but it's not the best treatment. (Source: PsyBlog | Psychology Blog)
Source: PsyBlog | Psychology Blog - January 28, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Jeremy Dean Tags: Depression Source Type: blogs
We Have Many More Than Five Senses — Here’s How To Make The Most Of Them
By Emma Young
We’re all familiar with the phrase “healthy body, healthy mind”. But this doesn’t just refer to physical fitness and muscle strength: for a healthy mind, we need healthy senses, too. Fortunately, there’s now a wealth of evidence that we can train our many senses, to improve not only how we use our bodies, but how we think and behave, as well as how we feel. Trapped as we are in our own “perceptual bubbles”, it can be hard to appreciate not only that other people sense things differently — but that so can we, if we only put in a little effort.
But if we’re going to make...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - April 1, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Feature Perception Smell Source Type: blogs
8 Foods I ’ve Added to My Diet to Enhance My Health
Some nutritionists believe that food is medicine. I’m not sure if I want to go through life taking nothing but chicken soup every time I get sick, but I pay attention to what I put in my mouth and its effects on my body.
As a result, I’ve eliminated many products from my meals over the years, but what I gave up, I made up for in healthier additions. Here are eight foods I’ve added to my diet to enhance my health and why.
1. Beets
Your thoughts might not turn to this root vegetable until it’s time to make red beet eggs for your next picnic. However, including more of them in your weekly diet could help your...
Source: PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement - March 11, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Kara Reynolds Tags: diet featured health and fitness self-improvement food mental health pickthebrain Source Type: blogs
Learning to Pivot in 2020
Anyone who would consider this year to be roughly the same as usual must be living in a cave somewhere deep in the wilderness. Because for just about every person on earth, it’s been different from any other year in (almost) living memory. And it’s only August. Woof.
I might venture to say that for me, a self-employed artist and writer, 2020 has been possibly even more different than for the average person weathering these strange times. January gave the year a dour beginning, as it ended with the death of my canine best friend of more than a decade. Then in mid-March I gave birth to my first child, on the same day our...
Source: World of Psychology - August 4, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Hanna C. Howard Tags: Books Motivation and Inspiration Personal coronavirus COVID-19 cultivating optimism Motherhood pandemic Perspective Positive perspective quarantine radical acceptance Source Type: blogs
Psychologists Are Mining Social Media Posts For Mental Health Research — But Many Users Have Concerns
This article contains discussion of suicide and self-harm
In 2014, the Samaritans launched what seemed like an innovative new project: Radar. Designed to provide what the charity described as an “online safety net”, users could sign up to Radar to receive updates on the content of other people’s tweets, with emails sent out based on a list of key phrases meant to detect whether someone was feeling distressed.
In principle, this meant people could keep an eye on friends who were vulnerable: if they missed a tweet where somebody said they felt suicidal or wanted to self-harm, for example, Radar would send it on, in th...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - June 29, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Facebook Feature Mental health Twitter Source Type: blogs
Why your sleep and wake cycles affect your mood
It’s no accident that most people tend to sleep at night and are awake during the day. Our sleep-wake cycle is determined by our circadian rhythm, the body’s internal clock. Like old-time clocks, this internal clock needs to be reset every day, and is adjusted by first exposure to light in the morning.
How does circadian rhythm work?
Our circadian rhythms are controlled by multiple genes and are responsible for a variety of important functions, including daily fluctuations in wakefulness, body temperature, metabolism, digestion, and hunger. Circadian rhythm also controls memory consolidation (the formation of long-term...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - May 13, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Lawrence Epstein, MD Tags: Behavioral Health Mental Health Sleep Source Type: blogs
Psychology Around the Net: February 1, 2020
This article shares her story of recovery. (Source: World of Psychology)
Source: World of Psychology - February 1, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Traci Pedersen Tags: Anorexia Anxiety and Panic Disorders Eating Disorders General Medications Mental Health and Wellness Psychology Psychology Around the Net Research Depression gut bacteria Magic Mushrooms postpartum depression psychedelic therap Source Type: blogs
Ten Tips for Aging with Depression
Major Depression — the clinical type — is not a normal part of aging. Though it can appear at any age, older adults are at an increased risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) distinguishes this condition from having “the blues” and likens it to other medical illnesses that are treatable, like diabetes or hypertension. Overwhelming sadness and anxiety can last for weeks at a time or much longer, with a wide range of other discouraging symptoms. Yet, there are things that can help.
Statistics tell us that later in life, at least one chronic disease will affect 80 percent of us. It natura...
Source: World of Psychology - January 24, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Jan McDaniel Tags: Aging Depression depression risk Elderly seniors Source Type: blogs
Three Evidence-Based Ways to Feel Better During Winter
With Christmas behind us and the winter months stretching out ahead, for many people this part of the year can feel particularly miserable — and most especially if they suffer with Seasonal Affective Disorder. While it’s crucial to head to the doctor if you are finding it difficult to cope, there are evidence-backed self-help methods to boost our mood during winter, which can help us to tackle the January blues and no longer feel as if life is on hold until Spring.
Stay Social
It can be tempting to hide away in winter, and a variety of factors can make it difficult for people to socialize even if they want to. Ho...
Source: World of Psychology - January 15, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Heather Mason Tags: Mental Health and Wellness New Year's Self-Help Seasonal Affective Disorder Winter Blues Source Type: blogs
Do You Ever Wake Up Depressed and Don ’ t Know Why? Here ’ s What to Do
Feeling depressed for no reason? Here’s what you should know.
Depression can become a huge problem in your life, but many people may not actually recognize the signs of depression or symptoms; instead, they’ll just assume that they’re sad.
But if you’re waking up depressed, or feeling depressed for no reason every day, then you may not just be sad or going through a “phase.”
9 Subtle Signs Of Depression I Was Too Depressed To Notice
Wondering “Why am I depressed?” all the time might make you feel like you’re going crazy or that you’ll never feel better again ...
Source: World of Psychology - December 10, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Psych Central Guest Author Tags: Depression Disorders General LifeHelper Mental Health and Wellness Psychiatry Publishers Self-Help YourTango Emptiness Hopelessness Sad Sadness Seasonal Affective Disorder Suicidal Thoughts Thyroid Source Type: blogs
Dealing with Deep Sadness During the Holidays
Holidays aren’t always joyful, blissful, nor magical. Instead, they can mark a season of not just situational stress and sadness — but one of deep melancholy.
There are many reasons that can contribute to holiday depression. Some factors include dysfunctional family dynamics (which are often thrown in one’s face more often during holiday get-togethers), unrealistic expectations of holiday merriment, financial issues, the loss of a loved one, and the year’s-end introspection about whether one’s goals have come to fruition — or not.
Through all of one’s individual reasons why sadness can descend durin...
Source: World of Psychology - November 27, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tracy Shawn, MA Tags: Depression Holiday Coping Holiday Season Holidays Sadness Seasonal Affective Disorder Self Care self-compassion Source Type: blogs
Five Facts About Atypical Depression You Need to Know
Despite its name, atypical depression is one of the most common types of depression, affecting between 25 to 40 percent of depressed people. Because the symptoms differ from those of typical depression, this subtype of depression is often misdiagnosed.
Atypical depression was named in the 1950s to classify a group of patients who did not respond to electroconvulsive therapy or to the tricyclic antidepressant Tofranil (imipramine). They did, however, respond to monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) antidepressants.
Some of the same treatments that work for classic depression work for atypical depression, such as selective sero...
Source: World of Psychology - April 16, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Therese J. Borchard Tags: Depression Mental Health and Wellness Atypical Depression Major Depressive Episode Mood Disorder Source Type: blogs
