Fighting Off Those Winter Blues: Alternative Treatments For Seasonal Affective Disorder

When winter rolls around, many people are happy and excited about the holidays, time with family, and beautiful snowy weather. However, others have an entirely different experience of winter and find themselves experiencing a lack of energy and motivation, a general feeling of being down or perpetually in a bad mood, and who cannot adjust to the shorter days and daylight that winter bring along. These issues, collectively known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD for short) can make winter miserable for those affected. Get to know some of the alternative medicine treatment options that can help you if you are one of those people suffering from SAD. With any luck, you will begin feeling better and more like yourself in no time.

Chiropractic Care

While you may not think it, going to a chiropractor can have numerous positive effects on your life, and it may even help with mental health issues such as seasonal affective disorder. SAD is a form of depression, which means that some of the symptoms of the disorder can be physical. The affected person may feel aches and pains in their back and other parts of the body, as well as fatigue and tiredness.

When you go to a chiropractor for these symptoms, your chiropractor will assess your situation and talk to you about how you have been feeling, mentally and physically. They will then treat any misalignment that they may find in your spine. A misaligned spine can have numerous effects on the mind and body. This is because your nerves, the parts of your body responsible for communicating messages between the brain and the rest of the body run along the spine.

A pinched or blocked nerve as a result of a misaligned spine can cause innumerable problems for you in your daily life. As such, a visit to the chiropractor may help with the physical symptoms of SAD but can also help to clear your mind and make you feel more content and may break the SAD cycle. Your chiropractor, one like Dr. Paul Lyons, can also help you with your diet and exercise program which also helps with SAD symptoms.

Vitamins and Other Supplements

In addition to making regular visits to a chiropractor, you can treat the symptoms and causes of seasonal affective disorder with vitamins and other supplements. One of the biggest issues that people with SAD face is the shortened periods of daylight that occur during winter. Many people find themselves heading to work in the dark and getting home when the sun is setting.

This leaves them deprived of sunlight and its health benefits, namely the absorption of vitamin D that occurs naturally when someone is out in the sun. As such, a person suffering from SAD could benefit from a vitamin D supplement.

Melatonin is a mood regulating hormone that occurs naturally in the body. However, people suffering from depression and seasonal affective disorder often have low levels of melatonin in their body which can contribute to their symptoms and poor mood. A synthetic melatonin supplement can help to remedy this issue and return moods to normal. Other supplements that may help SAD sufferers include omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil or flax seed oil supplements), St. John's Wort, and a multivitamin with high amounts of vitamin B.

Now that you know a few of the alternative treatments for seasonal affective disorder, you can give these treatment methods a try as soon as you notice symptoms this year. With any luck, you will make in through this winter feeling better and not suffering from SAD any longer.

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