Christmas, winter, darkness, stress and depression

Seasonal Affective Disorder

This is the most commonly known type of depression – most people have heard of it. Some of us feel particularly affected by months of the year in which there is a lack of sunlight. For those who live in the northern hemisphere, December through to February are the darkest months.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is thought to be caused by a lack of a hormone called melatonin. When the eye is exposed to bright light it triggers the production of melatonin in the pineal gland, a tiny pine cone shaped organ near the middle of the brain. Melatonin is believed to act in the brain as an anti-depressent.

Some patients who report depressed symptoms during winter months are treated with light therapy. Not an ordinary light, SAD therapy lights are much brighter than ordinary light bulbs and their brightness is measured on what is called the ‘Lux scale’. A candle at around 20cm distance is around 10-15 Lux, 100 Lux is approximately normal living room lighting, 20,000 Lux is a bright sunny day. SAD lamps are thought to work best if their output is between 5,000 – 10,000 Lux.

Other than buying a special lighting, SAD can be helped by ensuring that time is spent in the outdoors – and exercise is helpful as well. In some cases, light therapy and exercise doesn’t work for SAD sufferers and their treatment may be supplemented by anti-depressant drugs such as fluoxetine. In the worst cases, people affected by dark winter months may require hospitalisation.

Christmas, stress and depression

Lots of people get stressed during Christmas. Some of us dread seeing family and dealing with the pressure of making sure that everything is perfect. We may feel pressure to ensure that we get along with difficult family members, that schedules are managed so that everyone can get together, or any number of other socially motivated stresses. Others are stressed because they are away from family, friends or loved ones. Now, more than ever, due to the demands of work, or the desire to find new opportunities, many of us have left where we grew up and have friends and family. This as well can cause stress, worry, loneliness and depression.

Worse, we might react to the pressure of Christmas holidays by drinking too much alcohol, which doctors refer to as ‘self-medicating’

Help for stress and depression during winter and Christmas

For some people, stress and depression during the holiday period is based entirely on the situation in which they find themselves in. For some, they may be involved in extremely difficult situations where other family members are known to argue, or other circumstances which cannot be directly controlled. While there are some things which we can’t change one thing which we have much more control over is how we react. It may sound trivial or simple, but what we believe influences how we feel.

One of the most successful and widely accepted treatments for stress and depression is called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

Many people don’t like the word ‘therapy’. They imagine sitting in an office discussing their deepest inner-most fears and worries, delving into their childhood and formative experiences. In many ways, Cognitive Therapy doesn’t concern itself with these issues. Instead it focuses on creating ‘options’ for people who feel they don’t have any.

Read on to found out how Cognitive Therapy works...