Light Therapy for SAD

Posted: Mar 02, 2011 |Comments: 0 |

If you're looking for some ways to alleviate Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, you'll probably be looking for "light therapy", or "light therapy lamps". Kudos to you for taking such a proactive effort to treat SAD! Indeed, it's been proven that light therapy for SAD is effective, and even for other mental health-related disorders. If you constantly feel under the weather, constantly seeing the world in a depressing hue, light therapy is the treatment you need.

However, to benefit others who do not share this disorder, let's explain what SAD is first. SAD are bouts of depression that occurs only during autumn or winter. Symptoms usually improve, or even disappear during spring and summer. In a sense, it's as if your emotions are reflecting the seasons of the world. You know you have SAD if, during autumn/winter, you:

· Feel lethargic in the afternoons, or generally throughout the day

· Sleep a lot in the daytime

· Lose interest in many activities

· Generally lack energy

· Withdraw from society

· Are easily irritated by seemingly trivial matters

The reasons behind this disorder are not known, but it is speculated that the change in environmental ambience (i.e. less light due to winter), changes in hormonal balances and the temperature are to be blamed. In short, the real scientific cause of this mental health problem is unknown, but what we do know is that this disorder comes about during winter or autumn. In rare cases, SAD affects individuals even during summers.

This is why light therapy for SAD is commonly administered to patients. The light therapy lamp actually gives off light that mimics light that's coming from the sun. It is theorized that sunlight is vital in maintaining equilibrium within the body. As such, it helps the body achieve homeostasis, alleviating SAD symptoms.

Of course, it'll be pushing it a little too far if I say that light therapy alone can completely treat a person of SAD. This treatment is designed to complement other treatments, such that it is easier to eliminate SAD. Usually, light therapy is used with counseling, with the psychologist/counselor providing the main bulk of treatment through psychotherapy and medication.

In conclusion, if you're one of the unlucky individuals suffering from SAD, do try light therapy for SAD. It might be the very treatment that you have been searching for that'll help you break through this disorder. However, always keep in mind to consult your doctor before administering any form of alternative treatment.

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