How to prepare for fall and not get depressed

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Ahead is autumn, which means autumn experiences and blues. The WHO standard guidelines for treating seasonal disorders include healthy eating, relaxation exercises and increased physical activity. But let's be honest: few people follow this advice. We offer alternative ways to combat autumn depression.

Autumn spleen refers to seasonal affective disorders, that is, to a real depression in terms of the strength of the impact, it is slightly undershot. But it looks all the same convincingly: it is impossible to get yourself out of bed, no matter how much you slept, even ordinary affairs turn into a feat, and any productive thoughts must be obtained with a powerful mental effort. Concentrating on work is simply unrealistic, like a battery inside the village.

Depression is a common mental disorder characterized by discouragement, loss of interest, inability to enjoy and enjoyment, feelings of guilt or low self-esteem, disturbed sleep, appetite, tiredness, and poor concentration.

World Health Organization However, seasonal disorder has its advantages: it can be cured without the use of antidepressants and long-term consultations with a psychotherapist.

The layperson can diagnose and successfully treat depression as part of primary health care delivery. A small proportion of people with complicated depression may need specialized treatment.

World health organization

There are a few things you can do without waiting for a bad mood to hit you. Prevention is the best treatment, and it's worth starting today.

Undergo a medical examination

Some chronic illnesses that are exacerbated in the fall for various reasons can trigger depression. And it's not just about diseases of the cardiovascular system, which often come with blues and depression. Perhaps your body is not sad at all because of the rains and falling leaves, but the longing for something more is caused by a banal infection or allergy. Then antibiotics and physical therapy will help more than antidepressants and yoga.

Quit working at night

Warm summer nights go away, let the night vigils over projects go with them. Night work lowers serotonin levels and implies psychological isolation that exacerbates self-pity. In the fall, you need a different regime, healthier and more relaxed.

Buy a new lamp

Trying to understand why we feel so sad in autumn, doctors and scientists, that the short daylight hours are to blame. Exactly how sunlight affects the amount of serotonin (the hormone responsible for joy and happiness) is still unclear. But it does - that's for sure. Because light therapy for seasonal disorders works and gives good results. In addition, exposure to bright light regulates the production of hormones that are responsible for circadian rhythms and sleep quality, and also reduces cortisol levels.

The norm for treating an autumn blues is 45 minutes a day in front of a fluorescent lamp, which corresponds to the strength with which the summer sun shines in the morning. Do not measure values, just do not sit in the dark and save on electricity in other ways.

Buy a solarium subscription

A solarium will help when a new lamp on the table is not enough. Do not overdo it, you will go to the solarium not so much for a tan as for a dose of heat and sunlight.

Plan your vacation in November

Take a couple of weeks off and fly closer to the equator, where the sun is distributed. Why this is needed is already clear. If you can't get to the equator, then go to St. Petersburg for the holidays. Paradoxically, in a city where it always rains, the best environment for mental disorders. The indigenous people will teach you how to enjoy life in any weather.

Review your diet

In the summer and early fall, it's easy to be a vegetarian and eat whatever has grown. Don't overdo it with vegetables. While beneficial, vegetarians are more likely to suffer from depression and OCD, as shown by Roy Morgan Research. In the transitional season, scientists recommend adding more protein to the diet, at least vegetable.

Find a good restaurant with sushi delivery

The sky is overcast, you can't cook, you want someone to come and feed? Sushi courier delivery will help to kill two birds with one stone. You will play along with your laziness a little and relax, and the fish will fight depression. In the Netherlands, scientists link fatty acid intake and regulation of stress hormones. Eating fatty fish at least once a week will make life more fun.

Stock up on medicinal herbs

When melancholy begins to roll in, brew yourself with lemon balm or peppermint to relax a little. To reduce anxiety, you can drink decoctions of valerian, hops, hawthorn or motherwort infusions. Just be sure to take into account that these plants lower blood pressure.

A decoction of St. John's wort copes well with depression, but it has the most contraindications: it is impossible to be in the sun often during the intake, it should not be taken with hypertension and pregnancy, and exceeding the dose causes intestinal problems.

Buy some PC games

Opt for games where reaction speed and accuracy are important. Such entertainment helped patients who attended Cornell University who did not respond to the effects of antidepressants. In general, if on the weekend you don't feel like going out with friends to have fun, sit down at the monitor and download the Persians, but no more than four hours a day (until the onset of a therapeutic effect that does not turn into addiction).

Start drinking coffee

As it turned out, if you drink up to three cups of coffee a day, the risk of depression will decrease by 15-20 percent. And to mope in an embrace with a large cup of coffee is much more pleasant than without it.

Sign up for acupuncture sessions

I would like to treat a bad mood with something like that, but I don't know what exactly? Try acupuncture instead of the already boring yoga. The course of procedures in combination with medications helps patients with clinical depression, so that with a mild blues, one can count on a serious improvement in mood even without antidepressants.