As you know, the weather is snowy and most of us have locked ourselves at home. During these months, many of us may experience symptoms such as fatigue, not wanting to get out of bed, drowsiness during the day, unhappiness, decrease in sexual desire, and avoidance of socializing, and most of us may think that this only happens to us. First of all, you should know that you are not alone. This state of unhappiness, weakness and laziness, which starts in November and continues until almost the end of March, is called seasonal affective disorder. This disorder is 4 times more common in women than in men. Possible cause of increased appetite, reluctance to get out from under the blanket, repeated failed diet attempts = winter depression.
What causes this winter depression and how to deal with it?
First of all, I would like to tell you a little about the serotonin hormone. This hormone, also called the happiness hormone, is secreted in the brain and produced in various points of our body. Serotonin has many functions. It helps regulate mood, sleep, appetite and sexuality. Imbalances in the level of serotonin in our body can affect our mood and cause depression.
Now let me explain to you why I am talking about serotonin. Vitamin D plays an important role in increasing serotonin. The thing that allows us to get the most vitamin D naturally is sunlight. Less exposure to the sun during the winter months prevents us from getting serotonin naturally, and as I mentioned above, the decrease in serotonin hormone can affect our mood and cause us to become depressed.
So what should we do?
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We should try to be exposed to sunlight as much as possible, open our curtains and let sunlight in.
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We should ventilate our house frequently. We should take care to get fresh air
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We should try not to stay away from our social environment and daily activities.
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Wear warm clothes and go for a walk even if the weather is cold. It will add vigor to both our body and mind, and we should exercise as much as we can. We should do it.
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We should put colorful, vibrant flowers in our home or office.
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If we are constantly reading news with negative content, take a break from it. We should allocate certain hours of the day to watching positive things and reading.
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We should consume tryptophan-rich foods such as milk, cheese, yoghurt and red meat.
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Massage also increases serotonin levels. We can get a massage.
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And most importantly, we should try to get away from whatever gives us stress in our lives. We should not forget that stress affects not only our mental health but also our physical health.
As a result, although autumn and winter depression is a temporary condition, it can impair the quality of life if left untreated
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