Many people suffer from winter blues. The days are shorter, the sun isn’t shining as bright and you’re stuck inside because it’s too cold outside. All of these factors can make you feel blah. This blah feeling can be completely normal unless it starts to significantly affect important areas in your life, then it could signal a problem, such as depression.
Depression can hit during the winter months and last into spring and summer or stop as suddenly as it came in the winter. It all depends on you’re chemical makeup. Many times, people who suffer from depression during the winter, do so because of a reduction in sunlight and they can benefit from increased light in the home. However, other people are severly depressed and may need antidepressants to help get through the winter and then during the rest of the year to combat the symptoms.
To know if you are experiencing depression, you must have the following symptoms for at least two weeks.
- Fatigue
- Lack of energy
- Feeling guilty
- Feeling hopeless
- Feeling helpless
- Feeling worthless
- Pessimistic
- Irritable
- Restless
- Insomnia
- Decrease in interest in activities you once found pleasure in
- Appetite changes
- Sleep changes
- Aches and pains
- Persistent illness
- Sad or anxious
- Suicidal thoughts or attempts
If you believe that you are suffering from depression, it’s best to contact your medical doctor for a full evaluation. You don’t need to feel like this and there is help out there for you. Life is too short to feel miserable.
Photo Courtesy of: Luckie 13 on Flickr
Wed, Dec 23, 2009
Health