With clocks having gone back a fortnight ago, this is prime time for SAD to kick in. But what is SAD?
'Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of depression that's related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you're like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in Autumn and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody'
Sound familiar??
Speaking on Today FM's Dermot and Dave, clinical hypnotherapist and psychotherapist Fiona Brennan kicks things off by saying, "It is a real biological condition. It effects up to 1 in 3 of us". A startling fact, and a possible eye-opener for some of our listeners.
Fiona offers her advice on how we can start our days in the best way possible, and likens tackling the disorder to training for a marathon, or other physical activities, "you obviously would put in a lot of time and effort to make sure that you're at your optimum fitness level for that day" - so that's the approach you need here too.
Here are her top five tips:
Create your own inner light
Visaulise the sunrise and sunlight with an effortless morning exercise
Connect to other people
She looks to Denmark and its 'hygge' way of life
Grab the real sun when you can
We need to keep those serotonin levels high
The '90 Second Rule'
Embrace those negative thoughts and feelings so as to be deal to with them
Maintain a healthy sleep routine
8hrs is a must + wake up and sleep time to be the same each day
Fiona expands on these points in much greater detail, and if you listen well, and put them into practice, then your circadium rhythm will be back to itself in no time.
Every Monday, we dedicate a section of the show called Mind Yourself Now to help our listeners with any well-being issues they may have.
For more information, you can check out, and contact Fiona on her website www.thepositivehabit.com
Check out Fiona's chat in full by pressing the play button in the image at the top of the page.
