How to Beat the Winter Blues (S.A.D.)
What used to be called the “winter blues” now has a diagnosis complete with a code, it’s called “Seasonal Affective Disorder” or SAD.
I’m going to digress and explain why medical diagnoses are created. As a doctor, I went to “medical” school and received a doctorate degree in “medicine.” When people go to a “medical” doctor, should they be surprised when he/she gives them a medicine? No. If I go to a Chiropractor, I would expect that I would get an adjustment of the spine. If I went to an herbalist, I would expect an herb. If I went to a surgeon I would expect him to cut me (on purpose!) 🙂
Diseases in the medical world are mostly created when there is a medicine to treat it. In 1922, before the advent of antibiotics to treat infections, there was a wonderful article in a prominent medical journal by a professor of gynecology all about how women with cystitis (bladder infection) were so difficult to treat because they really didn’t have anything wrong with them and they whined all the time. He called it “hysteria” (which literally means “wandering uterus”). When antibiotics became available and cystitis could be treated it became a real medical diagnosis. This pattern has followed for the last hundred years or so, the most recent being ED (erectile dysfunction) which used to be “impotence” and was a psychiatric diagnosis. Now that Viagra and others are available, it’s a real diagnosis paid for by insurance companies. There are still those who are still relegated to the “hysterical” such as chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia because there isn’t a drug to treat them.
OK. Back to the winter blues. With the invention of Prozac and other such drugs the winter blues became “SAD” so many doctors recommend antidepressants for this. There are, however, other ways to deal with this depression.
In a nursing home, patients (who generally never see the light of day) were given monthly shots of 100,000 units of vitamin D3 to study the effects on bone fractures. What was found was amazing. Fractures decreased almost immediately, before the bones had time to build up calcium. The patients who got the vitamin D were more stable, thinking more clearly, and were less depressed. Vitamin D is not a vitamin, it’s a hormone and has multiple effects on every part of the body. In the winter those in the upper latitudes get little, if any, vitamin D and this can clearly affect the mood. I recommend 1-2 Tablespoons of Cod Liver Oil during the winter (this will also prevent the flu better than a flu shot).
Sunshine is also very helpful. The light from the sun does much more than help us see and make vitamin D. The amount of sunlight we get affects our brain chemistry to a great degree. There is a gland that is specifically stimulated by sunlight called the Pineal gland in the brain that is responsible for the production of melatonin which affects sleep and mood.
Exercise is very important in maintaining a healthy mental outlook. Heavy exercise releases endorphins and other hormones that improve and stabilize the mood and prevent stress. During the winter many more hours are spent indoors with little exercise, which may contribute to SAD.
If you have an especially difficult case that doesn’t respond to the above, you may want to try a natural mood enhancer. Since each person is different, in these cases it’s proper to use the “Thomas Edison approach to medicine.” Mr. Edison tried over 2000 filaments before he found one that would make light for any length of time. Be your own guinea pig. When you test something you need one, and no more than two weeks trial to evaluate it. (That would generally be true with ANY treatment). These are the ones I recommend:
- 5HTP 100mg twice a day.
- Niacinamide 500mg twice a day.
- St. John’s Wort can help the mood, even on a seasonal basis.
- SAMe 200mg twice per day.
- Some find GABA 500mg two to three times a day to be useful.
Dr. Scott Saunders
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Valuable Encouragement for things we already believe, but don’t do sufficiently: Exercise & Vit. D (+ Calcium) (+ many don’t know or believe)
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Thakks for the advice doc but we are all not as familiar with these products as you It would be helfful if you were a bit more specific with the rememdies you mentioned and spell them out please, not just in abbreviated form to those of us less well informed! What is HTP and GABA.
Many thanks, -
Dr. S.
I can’t say much about the vitamins, but have seen St. John’s Wort ameliorate SAD. What I’ve found to be most effective during the many years I worked as a Clinical Psychologist in Washington State was to increase light. As I’m sure you are aware, phototherapy has been used with SAD and other depressions for many years. While many phototherapy lights are effective, in the past, most were big and clunky. There have been dozens to perhaps hundreds of papers published evaluating intensity vs. color of light in phototherapy. I found that for many office workers, switching the four foot four tube florescent bulbs in their offices or cubicles to full spectrum lights to be enough to make the difference. It was fun to watch the color of the lights change in large workgroups as one person would come in on a weekend and change out the tubes. The next weekend, others would, until after a few weeks, the entire facility’s work spaces had new tubes, even though it was generally at worker expense. For other individuals, it has been necessary to use a phototherapy lamp. A Canadian company makes what, at the time, was the best-looking (like a regular desk lamp) and most economical. If one sits very close to the lamp with the light shining in the eyes, 20 minutes or so is generally sufficient. I pointed my lamp at my face and used it all day on work days, sitting about 3 to 4 feet away from it. When the bulb dimmed after many hours of use (about a year and a half), I found I was ready to fall asleep by 8 pm. With a new bulb, I was immediately back to my normal energy level and sleep duration. When I raised several thousand African Violets, I used full spectrum florescents on some and “regular” florescents on others. The plants could tell the difference and so could I. For people who are unable to be out of doors, phototherapy is a quick and easy way to end seasonal depression. Phyllis R. Cazares, PhD -
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Waiting your reply.
Thanks and Regards,
Sh.Kaleem
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what helped my depression the most was Mother Angelica. She has a book and also a t.v. station wetn. Cod liver oil tastes terrible. I will try the vitamin d.
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Also, I walk 4 miles every day. Work out, and I love winter sports; ice skating, skiing, snowmobiling, and cross country skiing.
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I take 5-HTP which is cheap and readily available. It’s like St John’s Wort on steroids. There’s loads of stuff on the net about it. Always hard to say how much of the effect is psycholgical but since I have had no side effects, I think that it us worth a try.
JW
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Will a primary care physician administer vitamin D shots?
My 86 yo grandmother refuses to take osteo meds and because
of her age, her doctor is really pushing her even though she
shows no signs of osteo. If this isn’t an “MD” area, where
could she obtain vitamin D shots? -
Hi – I’m quite sure that most physicians will administer a Vitamin D shot… you’d need to
ask your health practitioner to be sure, though. -
Thanks for the SAD info. I think I will try the vitamin D. I have had this problem for quite a few years and get so frustrated by times and do the shopping spree thing to help make me feel better or so I think. If you have any further suggestions I look forward to hearing from you.
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I am currently taking 10MG of Lexapro for depression and anxiety. Are there any concerns with taking your suggested supplements with Lexapro?
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Steve – Dr. S said “Be very careful with 5HTP, Seratonin, Tryptophan with Lexapro. The others are OK, though.”
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Vitamins, Systemic enzymes as well as digestive enzymes and Western herbs are all very helpful in most of my ailments and have helped me in many ways. Recently I have discovered Traditional Asian Medicine and this has also helped. A natural mood enhancement, energy and this has also helped my sleep and my anxiety. http://www.mygoyin.com/healthprevention
Sunshine and exercise and just getting outside is so very important to help fight depression. In the winter when the sky is grey and when the weather is cold, snowy and icy it is a bit hard to get outside.
Anti-depressant medications were very bad for me as they gave me bad side effects and I would not recommend them as they did not work either for me. Plus, prescription medications are costly and then one has to go to a doctor for the prescription. I would say to be very careful when trying any prescription medications, look at the warning labels and look the medication up in the internet and see what the side effects are.
The natural preventive medicines have worked wonders!
useful, will send to my family in england. brrrrr