DEPRESSION DURING WINTER AND YOU

The days are short, the air is cold and we start feeling pretty down, It’s winter. A lot of people suffer from increased feelings of depression during the winter months. Did you know that there is actually a clinical form of depression that only occurs during winter? It is called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and it is much more than just the winter blues. People who are affected by winter depression have serious symptoms like anxiety, fatigue, weight gain and more.

Ways to beat depression during the winter months:

1. Get outside often

It is important to get outside in the sun often. It should be a sensible amount, morning or late afternoon, when the sun is not too powerful.

2. Exercise regularly

Exercise is a fantastic way to help beat the winter blues because when we exercise the body releases a hormone called endorphin which make us feel happy. So every time we exercise we beat depression in a very natural and healthy way.

3. Drink green tea

Green tea in particular is said to be very good for the mind.

4. Avoid coffee

Coffee agitates your mind and can cause you to feel anxious stressed and depressed. If you are feeling down this winter switch to green tea and watch the changes that occur in your mood.

5. Keep eating fruit

When summer comes around we get a burst of amazing fruits like mangoes, grapes, raspberries, melon and so on. And the hot weather makes you want to eat them but when winter floats around all the good fruit disappears and we start getting cravings for carbohydrates and heavy fatty foods. We want to eat hot stuff, not cool fruits. Try to keep your fruit intake up in the winter if you start to feel a bit down.

The response of human body to this season is very well explained in Ayurveda. People will have increased strength and their digestion capacity is increased during the winter season. This is marked by increased hunger. These symptoms are caused by increased body fire which is supported by vata. Vata inside body increases in winter because of cold and dryness which is prevalent in outer atmosphere.