It has been noted that with the arrival of autumn days, people more often notice various ailments: they are mercilessly attacked by viruses, chronic illnesses sharply remind themselves of themselves, and the cardiovascular system fails. Also, with the onset of bad weather, many people lose their courage and complain of oppressive melancholy and loss of strength. A person not only feels sad about the passing of sunny days and a missed vacation, but is also forced to adapt to a new rhythm of work in conditions of a lack of sunlight. For most people, the autumn blues are temporary, and the mood is restored in a matter of days.
However, some people dive deeply into their minor mood and note that depression manifests itself in many other unpleasant symptoms. Autumn depression does not accept a dismissive attitude towards its “surprises”: an unresolved problem will worsen over time and cause significant damage to health.
What seasonal depression reveals itself to be and how to get rid of pathological melancholy without swallowing handfuls of medications will be discussed in this publication.
Causes
Although, in the understanding of most contemporaries, depression in the fall is directly related to the decrease in daylight hours and the predominance of cloudy and rainy weather, scientists have a different point of view about the causes of this endogenous disorder. Autumn depression can be triggered by a variety of negative external factors, but the soil for the disease is “cultivated” by the person himself. Seasonal depression can be a consequence of various factors, the main “culprits” of which are:
- unfavorable heredity - a tendency at the genetic level to mood swings and focusing on one’s bad feelings;
- a deficiency of neurotransmitters that regulate the emotional sphere that occurs during stressful conditions;
- some somatic pathologies that disregulate the functions of the central nervous system, thyroid gland or provoke metabolic disorders.
Often depression is a direct consequence of the problem of “growing up”: raising a child in conditions of excessive criticism and demandingness from parents, which led to the formation of an inferiority complex.
Depression often occurs as a result of excessive physical or mental stress, exposure to extreme situations for the body, after serious injuries (for example: acquired disability);
Depression is usually recorded in people with a “special” structure of mental organization: suspicious, impressionable, overly responsible, overly pedantic. It is for this reason that autumn depression is recorded more often in women than in men.
Do you need to treat autumn depression?
It is believed that if a person himself understands and is aware of his condition and wants to get out of it, then OD can be successfully treated.
In most cases, the seasonal blues go away on their own. Otherwise, if you don’t fight it in any way, the person’s condition may worsen.
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For example, from a simple decrease in mental/physical activity, as well as absent-mindedness and apathy, you can lose your job. If, due to such a condition, a person cannot cope with his job responsibilities. Losing a job can exacerbate self-blame, depression, and feelings of worthlessness. Therefore, it is not recommended to let this condition take its course.
The disease itself does not lead to deaths, or rather is not their cause. This is a psychological disorder. Therefore, even in advanced conditions it will not cause death. But, as has already been said, in some cases the disorder can be aggravated by other mental pathologies, alcohol/drug use, which pushes unbalanced people to voluntarily die.
Therefore, such cases cannot be ignored. If among your surroundings there are people suffering from autumn depression, then you need to look after them, communicate with them, and encourage them. So that trouble doesn't happen.
Sometimes prolonged or frequent OD can provoke psychosomatic illnesses.
Therefore you need to be careful. If the blues persist, you need to take action.
Symptoms
Autumn depression has its classic signs: instability of emotional status, impaired cognitive functions and changes in habitual behavior. Moreover, for this seasonal disorder, various combinations of symptoms of varying intensity are possible. Among the main, most common symptoms of autumn depression:
- sad mood, depressing regardless of the time of day and activity;
- apathetic state, lack of desire to perform any actions, even those that were previously within the scope of interests;
- lack of need for social contacts, or, conversely, a desire to draw attention to one’s problems;
- a significant decline in performance, a decrease in the quality of work performed;
- inability to concentrate on one type of activity, fussiness and incompleteness of actions, which further leads to irritation;
- dissatisfaction with oneself and others, excessive demands, criticality;
- poor night sleep with frequent awakenings, difficulty falling asleep, early rising combined with daytime sleepiness;
- changes in eating behavior and taste preferences;
- irrational anxiety, the emergence of various fears, anticipation of an imminent catastrophe;
- “chewing mental cud”: a condition in which a person continuously analyzes his life and tries to find new evidence of his worthlessness, which often results in suicidal attempts.
Anti-stress food
Some foods also help get rid of the blues. The most famous “antidepressants” are bananas and chocolate. It is also worth leaning on cottage cheese, cheeses, buckwheat, mushrooms, legumes, grain bread - they contain the amino acid tryptophan, which promotes the production of the good mood hormone serotonin. Turkey meat increases stress resistance, nuts contain selenium, which reduces anxiety, and spinach contains folic acid, a deficiency of which, according to studies, is observed in a third of people suffering from depression.
Dishes made from millet cereals are useful: during ripening, this grain crop absorbs a lot of light and heat, which it then transfers to the body. In addition, in the fall we need a vitamin boost: the daily diet should include about 400 g of fruits and vegetables. Oranges, grapefruits, carrots, beets, and red peppers will delight you not only with their bright colors: they contain bioflavonoids that stimulate blood circulation and improve brain function.
Although tea and coffee help to cheer up, you should not abuse them. Decoctions of linden, thyme, St. John's wort, hawthorn and mint help to cope with a bad mood.
Treatment
It is impossible to give unambiguous universal advice on how to get rid of this endogenous disorder: by taking medications, relying on the treatment of depression with folk remedies or the possibility of psychotherapy. In each specific case, the choice of treatment regimen depends on many factors:
- stages of the disorder;
- severity of symptoms;
- degree of risk of suicidal actions;
- features of hereditary history (presence of depressive disorders in close relatives);
- general state of human health, concomitant diseases and individual tolerance to medications;
- personal interpretation of the patient’s feelings, preferences and financial situation.
Means and methods of self-help
“Any depression should be met with a smile.
Depression will think you're an idiot and run away."
Robert DeNiro
Most doctors are convinced that the first priority for getting rid of the blues is a person’s independent, thorough analysis of their usual lifestyle, eliminating negative phenomena in the environment, and making useful adjustments to their daily routine. How to deal with melancholy on your own? If you are overcome by autumn depression, follow the recommendations of experts and take simple but effective steps.
Step 1. Reviewing your diet
Those who are occasionally overcome by seasonal depression are not recommended to torment their bodies with the currently fashionable weight loss diets in the autumn. A deficiency of vitamins, minerals and protein foods in combination with emotional stress, which certainly arises in response to a limited amount of food, provides ideal conditions for the predominance of a minor mood.
If autumn depression still captures emotions, you should use natural antidepressants: products that stimulate the synthesis of serotonin. It is necessary to include in the daily diet suppliers of the amino acid tryptophan, from which serotonin is produced in the body: bananas, dates, nuts, sea fish, dairy products, brightly colored fruits and vegetables, dark chocolate. Depression requires replenishing the lack of vitamin D. The following will help with this: beef liver, fatty fish, seaweed, cheeses, chicken yolks, butter.
Although caffeine provides energy for a short period of time, it is advisable to give preference to vitamin drinks: freshly squeezed grapefruit, orange, carrot, and beet juice. Herbalists claim that autumn depression can be overcome by the healing abilities of infusions of St. John's wort, linden, hawthorn, thyme, and rose hips. When depression overcomes you in the off-season, it is recommended to take adaptogens: infusion of lemongrass, ginseng, eleutherococcus.
Attention! It should be borne in mind that depression cannot be cured by drinking alcohol; alcohol will only worsen the severity of the disorder. We are guided by Remarque’s saying: “It is better to pour out your sadness in front of the paintings of Delacroix, Rembrandt and Van Gogh than in front of a glass of vodka or surrounded by powerless pity and anger.”
Step 2. Eliminate bad mood with physical activity
How to deal with blues without drugs? An effective way, conceived by nature itself: move actively and a lot, preferably in the fresh air. Depression will loosen its grip when jogging in a forest area, long walks in the park, football tournaments, hiking in the mountains, or swimming in a natural body of water. A contrasting soul can “wash away” melancholy, and a Russian bathhouse can banish deep-rooted illness.
Try to perceive the time of bad weather as an ideal opportunity to devote time to self-improvement and pay attention to your health. Your body will certainly appreciate and thank you with a great mood for the hours devoted to studying the complexes of yoga, wushu, fitness, shaping, and aerobics. The secret to the success of physical activity is simple: with active movements, blood flow in the brain accelerates, metabolism improves, pleasure hormones - endorphins are synthesized, and depression disappears.
Step 3. Use sunlight resources
Although in the autumn the weather rarely spoils us with sunny, fine days, it is necessary to make the most fruitful use of the hours of daylight. To do this, you should try to think through your routine in such a way that you get up with the first rays of the sun. Depression requires following the rule: as soon as the clouds clear, dress comfortably and go for a country walk.
To avoid internal discomfort caused by shortening the length of the day, care should be taken to provide sufficiently intense artificial lighting. A weekly visit to the solarium will help you maintain your summer bronze tan and get a lot of pleasant emotions.
Step 4. Regulate sleep-wake patterns
Depression is almost always accompanied by insomnia, which, in turn, causes even greater nervous tension and reduces performance. In order to break this vicious circle, he takes measures for a good night's rest:
- we go to bed at a certain time;
- We have dinner no later than 2 hours before bedtime;
- We don’t strain our brains before bed with scientific research;
- we refuse to watch horror films and emotional television programs in the evening;
- equip your sleeping place with a high-quality mattress, nice bed linen and a comfortable pillow;
- We ventilate the room well and keep the temperature no higher than 20 degrees;
- takes a warm bath with pine extract in the evening;
- drink a glass of sedative herbal mixture.
Step 5. Discovering the secrets of art
Creativity can restore a wonderful mood. Depression will subside when visiting art exhibitions, classical theater productions, concerts, watching comedies or trying yourself in painting, beadwork, vocal art. Remember, after the playful colors of summer and the color celebration of golden autumn, when gray and gloomy days come, a person feels “ aesthetic" hunger - lack of catchy saturated colors. Add bright details to your interior, give up conservative black clothing, and allow yourself bold, extravagant makeup.
Simple rules on how to deal with despondency: communicate with positive, cheerful optimists, hone your sense of humor, try to smile when encountering any trouble, and say a compliment to your reflection in the mirror.
Drug and psychotherapeutic treatment
In difficult situations, when depression significantly complicates the usual rhythm of life, the desire not only to fulfill one’s professional duties, but also to indulge in fun disappears, and the conviction arises that life is aimless and hopeless, the only correct way out is to seek medical help. The doctor will choose an adequate program of pharmacological treatment, using the huge arsenal of modern medicine. As a rule, endogenous depression is treated with serotonergic antidepressants, for example: fluoxetine.
A course of psychotherapy will not be superfluous, which will help to identify the real causes of bad mood, reconsider the interpretation of the current situation, get rid of existing complexes, discover new facets of your personality and gain motivation for further actions.
Adviсe
If you feel that you are experiencing manifestations of depression, you should listen to the following recommendations.
- Try to surround yourself with objects and things of bright colors, that is, those that will remind you of summer days without plunging you into cloudy days.
- Try to make some changes in your life. For example, you can do renovations, buy new clothes, change your image.
- Try to be calm about the fact that the time of year has changed, this is a common phenomenon that happens from year to year, you don’t need to fight it, you don’t need to wait for it in tension.
- Try to fill all your free time with some kind of hobby, something that has interested you for a long time, but you have always put it in the back drawer.
- Try to concentrate on proper nutrition and enrich your diet with healthy foods.
- Make sure that your home gets as much sunlight as possible. Do not curtain the windows, allow the sun's rays to enter the room.
- Make sure you get enough sleep, don't go to bed too late, don't get up too early.
- Maintain relationships with your friends and loved ones, do not isolate yourself. Try to go out to people, visit the theater, museum, spend as much time as possible with other people.
- Don't forget about the need for rest. Don't overload yourself with work, don't overwork yourself.
- Find time for physical activity and sports. Physical exercise has a beneficial effect on the human psyche, because during exercise, hormones are released that improve mood.
- Consume foods that are considered antidepressants:
- dried apricots enriched with magnesium;
- spinach, which is the best source of folic acid;
- cocoa and chocolate are known to be excellent sources of fighting depression;
- water - it is extremely important to drink the right amount of liquid for normal well-being, including mental health.
The recommendations outlined above will also be relevant for people who have not yet experienced the state of autumn depression, since these tips are also methods of prevention.
Now you know how to deal with autumn depression. It is important to understand what reasons can provoke this condition and be able to resist them. Remember that a depressive state can lead to undesirable consequences that affect a person’s well-being in general and the psyche in particular.
