Tackle SAD head-on, says expert
13/12/2011
With days so short and the nights so long, it can be tempting just to curl up in your bed until the winter is over.
However, this could lead you to suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which is a common problem at this time of year that makes it difficult to get out and about.
As a result, Geoffrey Beattie professor of psychology in the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Manchester, urged everyone to pull themselves out of bed and tackle the day head-on.
He revealed that there are a number of conflicting theories about what contributes to SAD, with some suggesting that it could be something to do with light levels.
"Any psychologist will argue that if you want to do something about people's depressive illness, emotions or mood, then you have got to work with their basic patterns of thinking, and patterns of behaviour," Professor Beattie explained.
The expert therefore believes that you need to put more effort into how you spend your days and the type of activities you engage in if the presence of SAD is a real possibility.
Professor Beattie indicated that if you think you have SAD then you probably do. "The question is can you start thinking about other kind of things that you can do constructively now which might prevent that from happening," he added.
There is little substitute for actually seeing people in the flesh, rather than using electronic methods of communication.
"Texting is great, Facebook is great, but it is not as great as the real thing," he commented, stressing that the weather or doctor shouldn't put you off doing this.
Figures from the Seasonal Affective Disorder Association show that the condition affects around seven per cent of the UK population every winter, especially in December, January and February.
Posted by Michael Ewing
