Signs And Symptons Of Depression. Seasonal Depression ?
Q: I have battled mild depression for years. Usually associated with the
change of seasons... (I live in Upstate NY). I have been consistent
with exercise.. that tends to help (run 3 miles a morning before work)-
arranged it so my office gets a pyrotechnical display of sunshine (if
there is any out there) and self medicate with coffee in the winter.
A:Mood changes synchronised to the seasons exist on a continuum between
individuals, with anxiety and depression increasing during the winter
months. An extreme form of seasonality is manifested as the clinical
syndrome of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) with carbohydrate
craving, hypersomnia, lethargy, and changes in circadian rhythms also
evident. It has been suggested that seasonality and the symptoms of
SAD may be due to changing levels of vitamin D3, the hormone of
sunlight, leading to changes in brain serotonin. Forty-four healthy
subjects were given 400 IU, 800 IU, or no vitamin D3 for 5 days during
late winter in a random double-blind study. Results on a self-report
measure showed that vitamin D3 significantly enhanced positive affect
and there was some evidence of a reduction in negative affect. Results
are discussed in terms of their implications for seasonality, SAD,
serotonin, food preference, sleep, and circadian rhythms.
This is not really answering your question about vegetarians as I'm not
one, but I wondered if you could tell me more about your St John's Wort
intake. I took S.J.W. for about 2 months leading up to christmas and
thought that I wasnt experiencing such strong SAD symptons as usual.
But I could not say that I was feeling truly un-depressed, so it was
quite a vague improvement.
Today has been a real low in which I didn't feel like I'd woken up
until about 4.30 pm by which time it was already going dark. Unless I
force myself to go to bed and just lie there I am pretty sure that I
won't feel