For you the beginning of March is by no means the threshold of spring, but a deep winter, the end of which is yet to be seen? And not a bright premonition of change visits you in the mornings, and an aching yearning ruled the ball all day in the shower? Does it make you sleepy and want chocolate? So, she still won you. Depression! Meanwhile, the causes of depression are very few, and coping with them in most cases is possible even without a specialist. What really is depression and how to cope with it. All this is set out below.
From the point of view of physiology.
The oppressed mood and the decline of vitality in winter and early spring are just a result of a lack of light. The riddle, how exactly one of them is connected, has now been solved. The blame is for the pineal gland located in the human brain. This is where the well-known hormone of joy - serotonin is formed. And it is formed exclusively under the influence of light.
The mechanism is simple: light is perceived by the retina of the eyes, information about it comes to the hypothalamus, and from it the signals are transmitted to the epiphysis - that same pineal gland. Moreover, the pineal gland itself contains light-sensitive cells and even is provided with a certain likeness of the lens, and the wall of the skull at its location is thin enough that light penetrates through it unimpeded. In the absence of light or in its absence, another substance is actively synthesized in the epiphysis, melatonin, which leads melancholy. That's why in the winter, when the nights are longer than the days, and the sun seems to be too rare for us, the heart is often depressed. That is why in ancient times the epiphysis was called the third eye and attributed to him the role of the receptacle of the soul. In fact, our mood and attitude to life depend on what processes occur in it.
We draw conclusions.
• In the morning and in the evening, when the windows are dark, do not save electricity, and if your chandelier has five lamps, let them all burn at once. Benefit of this simple way the body usually begins to feel right away. Check on yourself today.
• Leave the habit of opening the bedroom windows for a while. Perhaps your alarm clock is set for a time later than the February dawn. But, firstly, to regularly miss the first rays of the sun - an inadmissible luxury. And secondly, even scientists have proved a positive effect on the body of such a peculiar strategy of anticipation: first - light, and only then - awakening.
• It's time to sit down on a tryptophan diet. Amino acid tryptophan is a particularly important link in the synthesis of serotonin. Write it down on a piece of paper when you're in the grocery store: turkey, eggs, cheese, bananas.
• Do not deny yourself a day of walking. It's a good way to get more sunlight even on a cloudy day. We divide the lunch hour break into three parts: walking to the nearest café, lunch, returning from the cafe, also on foot - all for twenty minutes. Total - forty minutes of recharging for a good mood for the rest of the day.
From the standpoint of psychology.
Seasonal depression is a far-fetched phenomenon, artificially created and capriciously cultivated. Blame everything - the tradition of scolding the seasons. You noticed? Most people are never satisfied with anything. So it is accepted. In the spring it's windy, it's hot in the summer, it's raining in the autumn, and the winter from all the seasons is generally the most unworthy, because at this time of the year we are visited by depression. This we ourselves diligently inspire ourselves with the idea that winter must be endured. We protest against winter holidays and do not allow thoughts about floral patterns on winter coats and dresses. Winter in our understanding - the time to make money and climb the career ladder. All the most pleasant things we save for later - when the winter is over. And we are lonely waiting for her graduation.
The winter depression is what this expectation is reborn. And by the way, in the Slavic traditions winter is the time of the most active and healthy rest, the most cheerful and numerous holidays, the brightest and most colorful colors.
Correcting errors.
• We go on vacation. Somewhere, where and now flutter butterflies - a good option. But if you stay in your native country, pleasures and benefits can be obtained even more. To go for a whole day on a ski trip - through the roundabout for the city. To leave for a week in a remote village - fire wood with a stove and knit woolen socks for them, prepare a real grandmother in a cast iron and walk to the well in valenoks, look at the stars in hunting binoculars, and listen to the wind howling in the wires. Stay for the whole vacation in the city - go to theaters, museums and exhibitions, invite friends to pies and arrange evenings of guitar music ...
• We buy bright things. To the morning shower - with a towel in the daisies, to work - in a lilac costume, to the store - with a bag in a cage, and to sleep - under a blanket with palms and parrots ...
Against the background of age.
Many events and phenomena seem discolored. It seems, but they are not. A dim view of the world is not only the most common cause of depression, but also the most offensive. Because it masquerades as a consequence. But even the ancients established that the world in which we live is what we think of it. Have established absolutely precisely. Not the world surrounds us, but we surround it with our attention. And it looks exactly the way we see it.
Perhaps the most correct view of the world is in children. Note: they do not suffer from seasonal depression. Remember how you once rejoiced every little thing - brand new mittens, a randomly discovered candy, flies directly into the face of the snow flakes ... Everything has changed, - you sadly state. But nothing has changed! You have new gloves, there are lots of candy wrapped around the box from the New Year's Eve, and flakes fly in the window, so it's time to leave the office and make a snowman's whole party together. We will not delve into the details of why the former view of reality was lost. Just return it.
Action plan.
• Day regimen is a great power. Thanks to him, everyone is healthy and cheerful. Why do not you paint the day according to all the rules - with an eight-hour sleep, a healthy breakfast, an evening walk, a chamomile bath and a glass of milk for the night.
• If you do not have any hobbies, quickly find something interesting. Even better - sign up for a circle, studio, school or club.
• To fall into childhood does not mean to go insane. Allow yourself not only to spread out solitaires on your working computer, but also to fold the children's mosaic sitting on the floor. Set the detective aside and read the tale. Start watching cartoons and buy a cup with a teddy bear.
• Sometimes the mood is a matter of technology. Give yourself the task: to smile - ten times a day, to laugh - five times and one time - to burst out laughing. It will definitely help!