What is it and how do you protect yourself from it?

With winter approaching, do you feel low in spirits and lack of energy? You may have seasonal affective disorder, sad. This disorder, which can extend into spring, can affect 5 to 10% of French people.

Seasonal affective disorder is similar to depression. It is also known as “seasonal depression” or “recurrent winter depression,” as he explains in his book Website of the Royal College of PsychiatristsWho recommends consulting with patients with this disorder.

How do you know you have social anxiety disorder? Symptoms that can be associated with this problem are low energy, lack of initiative, low mood, libido, or feelings of hopelessness. This “winter blues,” as it’s called in the United States, is partly related to the decrease in light that leads to a decrease in serotonin, nicknamed the “happiness hormone.” So the activity of this neurotransmitter, which regulates mood and sleep, is affected.

If seasonal depression is present, it is in particular due to reduced light. It is therefore advisable to spend some time outside during the day, whether for simple walking or physical activity. This allows your body to release endorphins, the feel-good hormone. In addition, exposure to natural light helps to repair the necessary vitamin D for our body.

In terms of diet, make sure you eat enough fruits and vegetables, which can help you get through this period thanks to their intake of vitamins.

Light therapy can also be a solution. Daily exposure to this UV-free light for half an hour to an hour, at lunchtime, or sooner, is ideal. Beneficial effects can appear quickly, from the first week. But watch out for side effects like headaches or nausea. However, “Medical advice is necessary because there are some contraindications to this practice (some eye diseases, allergies, etc.)”, neurobiologist Claude Grunvier recalls on the site. ma-sante.com.

(ETX Daily Up)