Amid all the celebrations, merriment and cheer of the holiday season, a high amount of Americans still suffer from depression.
Most of this comes from season affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression caused by the change of season from fall to winter, according to the Mayo Clinic. It affects more than 10 million Americans every year, The Huffington Post reported.
In most cases winter causes people to have less energy and more moods since the body is not exposed as much to sunlight, which provides nutrients to the body that improves one's mood, the Mayo Clinic reported.
This isnt just a case of winter blues, though.
It's common to feel bouts of the winter blues, but those with seasonal depression may experience symptoms and low moods that sometimes make everyday tasks feel impossible, The Huffington Post reported.
New research has found that light therapy can help heal people from SAD, according to The Huffington Post. By exposing themselves to light, patients earn many benefits that the sun offers to the body.
Experts theorize this technique helps correct the body's inner circadian rhythm and produces feel-good hormones that people get from the sun during other times of the year, The Huffington Post reported.
Another helpful method through SAD is talk therapy, in which patients interact and talk about their thoughts and feelings, according to a University of Vermont study.
Talk therapy isnt an uncommon thing, either, especially in the age of the Internet. In fact, people who have suffered from depression took to Reddit this week in two separate threads to explain (warning: these inks contains some mature language) what the experience feels like in their own words. Heres a look at ten of the responses.
Depression is like being in a stale and abusive relationship with yourself, and wanting to break up. nevernukewinter
I like the way Shakespeare put it: Being one too many by my own weary self. Mausel_Pausel
To me it is more like a 2 ton brick that sits between your shoulder blades, that you are too tired to remove, because it feels like you haven't slept in days, even though you just got done sleeping for 12 hours straight. sir_halos
Depression is like an emotional poison. Something bites you and you either recover or die. dogfighter42
Depression is anger without enthusiasm. PrimalMusk
Depression is anger turned inward. marklemagne
I was shocked when I realized that I treated myself worse than everyone I blamed my problems on. ThisCommentEarnedMe
It feels like a cycle, and nothing feels real, or everything feels forced/fake. I remember how everything used to make me feel, but I no longer feel much emotion towards anything. I do nothing, I feel regret, and then I just continue on hoping it won't catch up with me. DVSCold
I feel like Depression or something else like it has blanketed my emotions and made me numb towards a lot of things, and makes me not indulge in stuff that I used to enjoy greatly. DVSCold
I'm so paranoid I don't even want help, but at the same time I do. I just put on a mask and seem happy to people because I don't want them to worry about me. PotatoPowerPugilist
Most of this comes from season affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression caused by the change of season from fall to winter, according to the Mayo Clinic. It affects more than 10 million Americans every year, The Huffington Post reported.
In most cases winter causes people to have less energy and more moods since the body is not exposed as much to sunlight, which provides nutrients to the body that improves one's mood, the Mayo Clinic reported.
This isnt just a case of winter blues, though.
It's common to feel bouts of the winter blues, but those with seasonal depression may experience symptoms and low moods that sometimes make everyday tasks feel impossible, The Huffington Post reported.
New research has found that light therapy can help heal people from SAD, according to The Huffington Post. By exposing themselves to light, patients earn many benefits that the sun offers to the body.
Experts theorize this technique helps correct the body's inner circadian rhythm and produces feel-good hormones that people get from the sun during other times of the year, The Huffington Post reported.
Another helpful method through SAD is talk therapy, in which patients interact and talk about their thoughts and feelings, according to a University of Vermont study.
Talk therapy isnt an uncommon thing, either, especially in the age of the Internet. In fact, people who have suffered from depression took to Reddit this week in two separate threads to explain (warning: these inks contains some mature language) what the experience feels like in their own words. Heres a look at ten of the responses.
Depression is like being in a stale and abusive relationship with yourself, and wanting to break up. nevernukewinter
I like the way Shakespeare put it: Being one too many by my own weary self. Mausel_Pausel
To me it is more like a 2 ton brick that sits between your shoulder blades, that you are too tired to remove, because it feels like you haven't slept in days, even though you just got done sleeping for 12 hours straight. sir_halos
Depression is like an emotional poison. Something bites you and you either recover or die. dogfighter42
Depression is anger without enthusiasm. PrimalMusk
Depression is anger turned inward. marklemagne
I was shocked when I realized that I treated myself worse than everyone I blamed my problems on. ThisCommentEarnedMe
It feels like a cycle, and nothing feels real, or everything feels forced/fake. I remember how everything used to make me feel, but I no longer feel much emotion towards anything. I do nothing, I feel regret, and then I just continue on hoping it won't catch up with me. DVSCold
I feel like Depression or something else like it has blanketed my emotions and made me numb towards a lot of things, and makes me not indulge in stuff that I used to enjoy greatly. DVSCold
I'm so paranoid I don't even want help, but at the same time I do. I just put on a mask and seem happy to people because I don't want them to worry about me. PotatoPowerPugilist