How to handle the winter blues and feel a whole lot better without having to be drugged. It is possible for us to enjoy your life without being tranquillized like somebody's ornery livestock.
by Kieron McFadden
Here is another gem from the psychiatric hoaxucopia, that great work of implausible fiction known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the DSM.
It is called "Seasonal Affective Disorder" (SAD) and also known as the winter blues or winter depression. Some people, who are perfectly normal and do not have diseased or defective brains, get depressed or feel less chirpy in the winter months or even during the Fall.
Now, psychiatry has dubbed the winter blues a mental illness, given it a scientific-sounding name with the word "disorder" in it, Seasonal Affective Disorder, and of course prescribes drugs to "manage" it.
As, we are told, almost 3 percent of Americans are affected by SAD, this creates quite a lucrative market for drug sales, a couple of million potential clients if my maths is any good (which, let's face it, it isn't always so perhaps - I am suffering from Arithmetic Disorder and need a pill to make me good at sums.).
The funny thing is that before psychiatry came along and insisted humanity had a defective brain, most people attributed the Winter Blues to the weather. You know, not feeling quite as chirpy as one did in summer might have something to do with it being cold, damp and uncomfortable or some such and the environment on the whole being just that little less full of life and optimism as leaves die on the trees, people don't smile as much but huddle instead against the cold, the fields lie stark and barren, the wind howls in the eaves, the nights close in and myriad living things shut up shop for a few months.
Well, it turns out people were right after all and they know a lot more than either psychiatry or they themselves give themselves credit for. It turns out too, surprise surprise, that one does not need to take for it a drug that damages your liver or messes up your brain chemistry and thus in a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy creates the defective brain your psychiatrists always insisted you have.
As I have pointed out on numerous occasions, there are many reasons a person can feel down and none have anything to do with brain defects but one of the factors that can subtly affect mood is how much sunlight you are getting. SAD symptoms are manifested when there is less sunlight: in fall and winter. This can be exacerbated by other factors, including your life style, nutrition and so on. To take a crude example, if you make your living by dealing drugs or live on a diet of burgers, pizzas and French fries, you are gong to have a hard time making contact with the joy of living even if you live on a sun-kissed Fijian island.
Some may experience the winter blues throughout the year if they work long hours indoors in an office with few windows for sunlight to pass through. The degree to which this affects you may also be moderated of course by what goes on in the office, whether it is a hive of activity doing something of value, a tax department, mortuary or police interrogation room for instance.
You may be "suffering from SAD" if you often feel fatigued, crave foods rich in carbohydrates, lack enthusiasm, have difficulty relaxing and dealing with stress, find it difficult to concentrate, feel socially withdrawn and experience weight gain.
Okay, so there are a lot of things you can do about SAD, none of which involves allowing anyone to drug you. Drugging is what we do to horses or animals to render them tractable or cats when we take them on long train journeys. We, though, are not pets or livestock however much some would like to believe we are and we really do need to move away from the lazy "quick fix" of doping human beings because human beings do badly on that kind of treatment.
Try these out:
Get exercise. Exercise helps the brain produce naturally the "feel good" chemicals known as endorphins, and these help promote a sense of well-being by reducing pain and stress.
Include in your diet high quality krill oil and fish oils as these optimize your levels of omega-3 fats, which help improve your brain function and emotional health.
Avoid grains and sugars as much as you can: they increase your risk of insulin resistance, which is associated with depression.
Avoid artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and the processed foods that contain them.
Laugh: watch the "Life of Brian," "Friends," "American Vacation" or whatever tickles your funny bone. Laughter also releases the feel-good endorphins.
Avoid alcohol, street drugs and psychiatric drugs as these will only depress you more.
Supplement Wild Blue Green Algae (see the Freedom Plaza website for details). I highly recommend you try this. My free book on it is available through Freedom Plaza.
Take a walk: go look at the scenery and the passer by, just get some space and some fresh air.
Avoid caffeine.
Get sufficient natural sleep: where possible go to bed early and get up early. Evolution has geared our bodies to go to sleep when the sun sets so try to preserve this biological pattern and avoid disrupting delicate hormonal balances.
Socialize: catch up with old friends and family, write the letters you've "been meaning to write for ages." You're not an island and human beings do not thrive in isolation. Good company can be wonderfully therapeutic.
Be productive: production is the basis of morale, so be industrious: get things done at home or at work or in the community. Empty the ashtrays, paint the kitchen, weed the flowerbeds or help clean up the neighborhood or do someone a favour. You will be surprised as to how much better you will feel after a while.
Avoid newspapers and so forth as much as you can. The media bombards you with bad news and irresolvable problems morning noon and night and just loves to tell you how BAD everything is. No wonder people feel down. Who wouldn't?
Try light therapy. Light therapy uses small portable lamps called "light boxes" that produce artificial full-spectrum light which mimic outdoor daylight and can help improve your mood.
Do Dianetics. I cannot recommend this strongly enough. From my experience of this wonderfully simple yet extremely powerful technology, Dianetics does a whole lot more for you than merely lightening your mood. Check it out! Details available through Freedom Plaza.
Love,
Kieron
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