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SAD No.1
You know you don’t have fur all over your body and bear claws, but you are grouchy as a bear, feel sluggish, and just want to crawl back in bed and hibernate for the winter. You can’t get motivated except to reach for “comfort carbs”. It could be SAD. Yes, you may feel hopeless, but SAD stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder, a depression some people get during the months of less sunlight.
According to Gabrielle J. Melin, M.D., a Mayo Clinic psychiatrist, people with SAD produce excess melatonin, a hormone manufactured during hours of darkness that helps regulate sleep, temperature, mood and various hormones. Too much melatonin can lead to depressive symptoms.
Some SAD-buster suggestions:
Speak to a health professional. Rule out: other forms of depression; thyroid, adrenal or reproductive hormone imbalances; or protein/amino acid or other nutrient deficiencies.
Let there be light! Sunlight affects the body’s responses that keep us awake. The most recommended treatment, if you can’t be out in the sun, is to sit 12-18 inches from a special full-spectrum light (10,000 LUX for 30 minutes per morning, or 5000 LUX for 60 minutes). Melin cautions people with bi-polar disorder to not use it later in the day to avoid insomnia.
Exercise to increase endorphins, our natural “happy” brain chemical. Look through this issue for numerous ways to stay active this winter. Vigorous exercise at night delays melatonin secretion, so better to exercise in the morning - outdoors if possible.
Keep mealtimes regular to help regulate melatonin. Keep the evening meal light; digestive processes slow after nightfall. Avoid stimulating foods, drinks, and medications with caffeine. Their sleep disruption can interfere with melatonin. Eat foods rich in omega-3 fats vs. rancid vegetable oils and fried fats. Decrease sugar intake.
(References: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/comments/
MY00371_comments#post; Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC, and www.moodcure.com - The Mood Cure by Julia Ross, Director of The Recovery Systems Clinic in Mill Valley, California.)
SAD No. 2
The second SAD represents three common arenas that can damage kids’ lives, health, and happiness, both present and future. They are: Sex, Alcohol, and Drugs. No one knows more about these topics than Paul Dunbar of Cedar Falls, known to thousands of kids and grown-up kids as “Fritz”, who has spent the last 25 years listening to kids all across the nation. Twenty-nine years ago, after Two SADs Can Have Happier Endings watching a TV program about the prevalence of drugs in high schools, he asked his teenaged daughter if she could get drugs in her school. Her reply? “Yeah, Dad, what do you want?”
He began a one-man campaign, talking to kids about how valuable their lives were and what can destroy them. Going from school to school, he gathers real stories about real kids that are really heartbreaking. I went with him to one Iowa school and, as typically happens with Fritz, the students were spellbound the whole 90-minute assembly, then gave him a standing ovation.
Over the years he has received and answered thousands of letters and emails from kids spilling hidden problems or saying how much of an impact he had on them. Some, contemplating suicide, have said he saved their lives. Others have flushed drugs down the toilet, ended destructive friendships and more. Parents, teachers, and school administrators also contact him, as well as businesses wanting to sponsor his program.
Recently, with the help of his assistant Nicole Thomas and Suzanne Freedman, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Human Development at UNI, Paul has published a long-requested book of some of the letters he has received (with names changed). Grouped by different categories, such as alcohol, drugs, self-injury, family, friends, depression/suicide, wearing masks, success stories, and positive choices, the letters will leave you speechless. The title of the book is Real Kids, Real Life and it is a must-read for every student, parent, legislator, school faculty and youth ministry.
The book is available at www.realkidsreallife.com, where you can also download the chapter on alcohol. Or, contact 319-277-2040 or paul@realkidsreallife.com.
Not a big non-profit. Not a celebrity. Just one big heart making a big impact on many individuals. Now that’s a happier ending.
(If Fritz has made an impact on your life, we’d like to hear from you. Send me an email - and Fritz too!).
Jean Vaux is a Life and HealthCoach and Wellness Advocate in the community. Contact: 319-277-7444 or jean@cedarvalleyathlete.com
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