How climate changes affect your mind and body
Most people experience a change in their mood and behavior with the change of season. These seasonal changes, especially the "winter blues," or "February blahs", at the end of winter, may be a nuisance for some and really problematic for others. Seasons can cause changes not only in mood, but also in the energy level, sleeping, eating, social and sexual behavior.
This is not new knowledge. For ages, spring has been associated with joy, passion and reawakening. Shakespeare said, "Sweet lovers love the spring." We know that for many of us spring induces spring fever or a frenzy of spring cleaning.
Valentine's Day is as much an attempt to beat the winter blues as it is to celebrate love. On the other hand, winter with its darkness, cold, denuded trees, unfriendly winds and lonely confinement can depress mood and cause other symptoms of gloom.
We avoid cold people and seek the warmhearted. The mental health field has recognized the relationship between seasons and mood disorder, "Seasonal Affect Disorder," appropriately abbreviated, "SAD."
Note that everyone is not affected by seasons in the same manner or intensity. People can transcend seasons and choose how they want to feel about it. Shelley says, "If winter comes, can spring be far behind?
For some, winter covers their entire vision. They cannot imagine tulips and daffodils sprouting when the ground is frozen in front of their eyes. Few remember that winter is the mother of spring. Likewise, some enjoy the beautiful colors and crisp weather of the fall while for others, fall bodes the arrival of winter.
So how "seasonal" are you? If you are at your worst in any 60-day period of the year and then you improve as the season ends, you could be one. Keep a diary and see if you have a seasonal pattern.
If you feel worse in the December to February months and you clear up later, you may have the winter blues. Fall, spring, or summer too can cause a seasonal disorder. Check if there is a seasonal pattern year after year, which affects the basic functions, namely, sleeping, eating, social behavior, weight, mood and energy level. Things to do:
1. Make your house light and bright. Open the curtains and blinds
so daylight can enter the house.
2. Have enough natural or electrical light where you spend the longest time, home as well as the office.
3. Spend at least half an hour outdoors every day, if weather permits.
4. Go to a mall where there are other people and where you can move about freely.
5. Find ways in which you can avoid "cabin fever. " Maybe you and the neighbors can organize an "anti cabin-fever get-together" .
6. Exercise regularly, preferably outdoors, but, when the weather is inclement, switch to an indoor exercise program.
7. If your circumstances allow, take a mid-winter vacation, preferably somewhere sunny.
8. Hunger and craving for sweets and starches is common in SAD. People eat to beat the blues and many of them become carbohydrate addicts. Alarmed by the weight gained, they start dieting which makes them a "yo-yo weight changer. " To avoid that, eat balanced meals which are high in complex carbohydrates and protein, and low on fat. Consult a good meal chart and plan a seven-day program which is heavily biased in favor of vegetables, fruit and grains.
9. Depressed mood makes one sluggish and sleepy. Sleeping excessively may actually increase depression. Therefore, force yourself to wake up in the morning, say 7.00 or 7.30 rather than 10.00 or 11.00, even on weekends. To warm up in the morning, engage in a brisk and/or pleasurable activity. Laughing for 15 minutes at a comedy or slapstick humor tape can get you going.
10. Avoid excessive use of alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, or any other substance to overcome sluggishness and lethargy.
Lastly, people, who are affected by cloudy and gloomy weather, may benefit from what Shakespeare said, "Think not of the sky as spotted with clouds, but partly sunny."
This is not new knowledge. For ages, spring has been associated with joy, passion and reawakening. Shakespeare said, "Sweet lovers love the spring." We know that for many of us spring induces spring fever or a frenzy of spring cleaning.
Valentine's Day is as much an attempt to beat the winter blues as it is to celebrate love. On the other hand, winter with its darkness, cold, denuded trees, unfriendly winds and lonely confinement can depress mood and cause other symptoms of gloom.
We avoid cold people and seek the warmhearted. The mental health field has recognized the relationship between seasons and mood disorder, "Seasonal Affect Disorder," appropriately abbreviated, "SAD."
Note that everyone is not affected by seasons in the same manner or intensity. People can transcend seasons and choose how they want to feel about it. Shelley says, "If winter comes, can spring be far behind?
For some, winter covers their entire vision. They cannot imagine tulips and daffodils sprouting when the ground is frozen in front of their eyes. Few remember that winter is the mother of spring. Likewise, some enjoy the beautiful colors and crisp weather of the fall while for others, fall bodes the arrival of winter.
So how "seasonal" are you? If you are at your worst in any 60-day period of the year and then you improve as the season ends, you could be one. Keep a diary and see if you have a seasonal pattern.
If you feel worse in the December to February months and you clear up later, you may have the winter blues. Fall, spring, or summer too can cause a seasonal disorder. Check if there is a seasonal pattern year after year, which affects the basic functions, namely, sleeping, eating, social behavior, weight, mood and energy level. Things to do:
1. Make your house light and bright. Open the curtains and blinds
so daylight can enter the house.
2. Have enough natural or electrical light where you spend the longest time, home as well as the office.
3. Spend at least half an hour outdoors every day, if weather permits.
4. Go to a mall where there are other people and where you can move about freely.
5. Find ways in which you can avoid "cabin fever. " Maybe you and the neighbors can organize an "anti cabin-fever get-together" .
6. Exercise regularly, preferably outdoors, but, when the weather is inclement, switch to an indoor exercise program.
7. If your circumstances allow, take a mid-winter vacation, preferably somewhere sunny.
8. Hunger and craving for sweets and starches is common in SAD. People eat to beat the blues and many of them become carbohydrate addicts. Alarmed by the weight gained, they start dieting which makes them a "yo-yo weight changer. " To avoid that, eat balanced meals which are high in complex carbohydrates and protein, and low on fat. Consult a good meal chart and plan a seven-day program which is heavily biased in favor of vegetables, fruit and grains.
9. Depressed mood makes one sluggish and sleepy. Sleeping excessively may actually increase depression. Therefore, force yourself to wake up in the morning, say 7.00 or 7.30 rather than 10.00 or 11.00, even on weekends. To warm up in the morning, engage in a brisk and/or pleasurable activity. Laughing for 15 minutes at a comedy or slapstick humor tape can get you going.
10. Avoid excessive use of alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, or any other substance to overcome sluggishness and lethargy.
Lastly, people, who are affected by cloudy and gloomy weather, may benefit from what Shakespeare said, "Think not of the sky as spotted with clouds, but partly sunny."
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Source:mindpub.com
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