Winter Blues: Psych-tips, Issue 18

Winter Blues: Psych-tips, Issue 18

The holidays have come to a close and you're working on your new year's resolutions. Why do you feel do blah? Could be the winter blues. This month we examine the winter blues in detail including how to treat and avoid the winter doldrums.

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My Tip of the Week: Symptoms of SAD
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Feeling down? Sluggish? You might be experiencing the winter blues. A more severe form of the winter blues is seasonal affective disorder (SAD). SAD is a type of depression that surfaces in fall and winter, when the shorter periods of daylight seem to throw off their circadian rhythms. Show symptoms of depression and feel lousy nearly every day.

Signs and symptoms of SAD include:
- Depression
- Loss of energy
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Feeling tired, sleeping more
- Loss of interest in sex
- Changes in appetite, especially an increased appetite and craving for carbohydrates
- Weight gain
- Difficulty concentrating and processing information
- Withdrawal from friends and family
- In women, premenstrual syndrome that worsens or occurs only in winter

To be diagnosed with the seasonal pattern of major depression (the clinical diagnosis of SAD), a person must have experienced depression and other symptoms in at least two consecutive winters, followed by non-depressed periods in the spring and summer.

If you've been feeling down, you may not have full blown SAD, but a milder form of the winter blues. Next week we'll learn more about the winter blues.

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My Recommended Site of the Week
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This article, from Dr. Steve Resnick, will help you understand and beat the winter blues:

http://www.princetonol.com/family/columns/resnick1.html

Tara Kuther, Ph.D., is a professor of developmental psychology and freelance writer. Tara is the owner and editor of Growing Up, http://growing-up.8k.com, a free webzine and newsletter about all the forms that growth may take. Subscribe to Growing Up and learn about all the forms growth may take: physical, mental, emotional, developmental, personal, and more. Topics covered include psychology, development, writing, health, and personal growth. Subscribe by sending a blank email to Growingup-subscribe@egroups.com