How to cope with seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
Dec 21, 2023
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Learn about the symptoms and effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Explore coping mechanisms like light therapy, maintaining a healthy diet, and engaging in physical activity. Discover the importance of making pleasurable plans and finding happiness in small things to cope with SAD and the pandemic. Explore the effectiveness of medication in treating SAD.
20:14
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Quick takeaways
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) can be diagnosed if you feel more difficulty during darker seasons and feel better in bright days of spring and summer.
Using a sad lamp that generates intense light for 20 to 30 minutes a day can improve symptoms of SAD within two weeks.
Deep dives
Recognize your symptoms
If every fall when it gets darker earlier, you feel like things are getting more difficult and if it gets better in the bright days of spring and summer, it's almost a diagnosis that you have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
Get some light
Light is at the heart of SAD. Using a sad lamp, which generates intense light, can be beneficial. Light therapy for 20 to 30 minutes a day can make a difference within two weeks.
Be thoughtful and consistent about what and when you eat
Eating is a strong environmental signal for your body. By controlling the time and consistency of your meals, you can help synchronize your internal clocks with the environment and ease the burden of seasonal changes.
It's getting darker and colder, and there's still a pandemic. Oh, and then there's seasonal affective disorder. Here's how to spot it and what you can do. (This episode originally aired in October 2020.)