7 Ways to deal with Depression this Winter!

After the recent case of Tunisha Sharma, an actress just 20 years old who committed suicide on the sets of her own show that too between the shooting hours, issues like Depression, Mental health and Suicide have again came into a limelight. But this time too most people are not yet realizing how important these issues are and our society is not yet ready to talk about it as much as it was needed.

However, this issue is not that simple what many of us think. According to WHO, the calculated Economic loss due to Mental Health conditions can be approximately up to $1 Trillion from year 2012- 2030. The National Mental Health Survey of India stated that approximately 14% of the Indian population needs urgent help of Mental health professionals. That means 1 in 7 is suffering from mental illness such as depression, anxiety, etc. which especially increased after the pandemic. Even NCRB declared that suicide rates were highest in the year 2021.

Therefore, it has now become very important for all of us to discuss and understand this Disease and know about some remedial measures which can be taken to control it. But first of all we must understand what is Depression exactly, how does it happen and what are its symptoms. And most important thing that Why does it increases in Winters? So let's first understand about this.

WHAT IS DEPRESSION?

Depression is generally a mental health disorder characterized by persistently sad mood and loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life. So, basically Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Like other diseases it is also a disease which needs to be diagnosed and treated. Being associated with the mental health it becomes even more complicated if not treated properly on time. And can lead to serious consequences in one's life.

SADNESS VS DEPRESSION

People often get confuse between Sadness and Depression. Some mistakes Depression as Sadness or vice versa. But according to mental health experts, both things might appear as same but are different as Sadness consists of low mood which happens in response to any event in one's life, but it lasts up to few hours or days then gets good.
Depression on the other hand, causes mood swings which keeps on going continuously which can happen due to any reason or sometimes without any reason also. Thus, one must never get confuse between the two terms.

WHY DEPRESSION HAPPENS?

As depression is a disease, there are various reasons why does it affects some people while some people face many challenges in their daily life yet they remain unaffected by it. Generally there are many misconceptions in our society regarding depression that it can affect only weak and poor or people with introvert personality but the truth is that anyone can suffer from it regardless of their age, gender, personality type or even financial status.
According to medical health experts it depends upon several biological, mental and outside environmental factors. Many people live in heavy stress still not get depressed but many get into depression in the absence of stress also. It can depend upon various biological factors along with family problems, financial and relationship stress, dissatisfaction with one's progress and pressure of performance to get depressed.
However, there many cases when people get into depression and after gets out of it but after sometime due to any circumstances when there depression gets triggered their situation again gets worst. Like other diseases depression needs to be diagnosed and treated well and after the person gets better proper prevention must be taken so that it does not come back.

WHY DEPRESSION INCREASES DURING WINTERS?

Winters are often recognized as a weather which increases depression. This "Seasonal Depression" is often termed as "Seasonal affective disorder" or "SAD". Experts believe that during winters people usually stay in homes and get in less touch with outside world also snowfall and fog causes less light during daytime also and staying in darkness triggers mental health.

SAD is related to brain making less serotonin, a chemical linked to brain pathways that regulates mood which results in depressed mood. Along with this reduced level of sunlight and fall in temperature may cause winter - onset SAD. Other than this the disturbance in our sleeping cycle due to long nights and short days and less physical activities are also responsible for SAD.

SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION

1- Feeling of sadness, tearfulness, emptiness and hopelessness continuously.

2- Angry outbursts, irritability and frustration becoming common.

3- Loss of interest and pleasure in daily life.

4- Sleep disturbances such as insomnia or sleeping too much.

5- Persistent anxious or empty mood.

6- Feeling of guilt, worthlessness and helplessness.

7- Decreased energy, fatigue and feeling slowed down.

REMEDIAL MEASURES TO DEAL WITH DEPRESSION

As depression is one of the mental health disorder, when its symptoms arises then one should immediately seek medical help. But other than having medicines and counselling below are some basic habits which people must include in their daily life:-

1- Nutritious Diet

Having a balanced diet for good mental health is very important as the food we eat directly affects our mind. If you have more junk food then you are more likely to deteriorate your mental heath, thus eat more vegetables, have milk and don't forget to include a small amount of sweet dish in your diet as eating it improves mood.

2- Listening Music

Try to listen spiritual music at morning and relaxing music at evening, as both times your mind needs to be charged with positive vibes. Along with music you can also watch motivational videos or stories to relax and stay motivated.

3- Reading books

Reading plays a crucial part in improving mental health as it needs concentration, when you are feeling anxious or feeling trapped in over thinking you can try reading any book, be it a novel or any story book. Try to focus on that and make it a habit to read at least half an hour everyday which will help you to improve concentration.

4- Yoga and Exercise

The main problem during winters is that people feel loss of interest in activities specially the physical one. On the other hand, becoming physically active is very important for mental health, thus practicing yoga or doing exercise including jogging and walking is necessary and must be practiced daily during morning.

5- Avoid staying alone

During winters many of us tend to live inside in a room and have less touch with the outside world, where as people dealing with depression needs to spend time with people and have social touch, be it anyone your family, friend or relative keep it in your habit to go out of your house or travel to different place. Avoid sitting alone in your house.

6- Meditation

Meditation is to engage in mental exercise (such as concentrating on one's breath, repetition of mantra, etc). It is an outstanding remedy for one's mental health, helps to improve memory, productivity and concentration. Meditating everyday for at least 15 minutes can help you to feel better. Thus, along with 'medication', make 'meditation' also your daily routine.

7- Taking proper sunlight

As we have already discussed that reduced level of sunlight is responsible for winter onset SAD, on the other hand living in dark away from light triggers symptoms of depression. Therefore whenever the weather is clear try to sit in the sunlight, it will not only improve your mental health but provide Vitamin D to your body and helps in improving both mental as well as physical health.