Got those Winter Blues? Let's beat them!

Want to beat those Winter Blues?!

Do you suffer from fatigue or general lethargy?
Do even the most simple day-to-day tasks feel like an effort?
Feel fed up? Depressed even? Can't be bothered with family and friends? Need more sleep?

You could be suffering from SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, also more commonly known as Seasonal Depression, Winter/Summer Depression, or Winter Blues.

This usually affects people during the months of October through to February, although this can of course be shorter for some and longer for others, or intermittent through the period.
The main reason for these symptoms at this time of year, in the main, is lack of sunlight. For those very sensitive types it could be intermittent through the year depending on how much sunlight you are getting and weather its enough for you as an individual.

This lack of sunlight has an effect on the Pineal Gland (or "third eye", situated in the brain) which secretes two vital hormones, Melatonin which is triggered by sunlight to protect the skin, and Serotonin which affects our moods (higher levels of Serotonin = feeling happier). Sunlight is needed for Serotonin to be produced and stored. This is, generally speaking, why we generally feel better when the sun is shining.

Why then do some people suffer more from lack of sunlight than others? 
Susceptibility plays a big part here, we all have our own Achilles Heal, our weak spot. This is strongly connected to our genes, family traits, but also others factors can and do contribute. Stress is a big factor. When we are under strain and stress , and are run down, juggling home/life/jobs etc, trying to be all things to all people, our minds and bodies suffer, and our susceptibility is open to be abused by what ever is thrown our way.

Of course, what we put into our bodies can have a dramatic effect on conditions like SAD, and although we cannot determine or control our genetics, we can control what we put into and onto our bodies.
Eating processed foods, consuming too many stimulants (i.e. coffee and tea; more than 4 cups a day is too much!) and also smoking inhibit our absorption of nutrients from foods. If you smoke you need, on average, twice as many vitamins a day than any one else! Tea and coffee and caffeinated carbonated drinks, i.e. Cola, and the ingredients added to Vodka and other spirits to get you drunk quicker over stimulate the system, giving you a false high, so your restless at night and cant sleep, urinating more so your dehydrated, experiencing headaches, and due to the false-high, you experience a bigger low, so your worn out and feeling down.

So what can we do to help our systems fight SAD and feeling down and lethargic?
Try eating more fresh fruit and veg, and drinking more water, fresh fruit juices, and herbal teas (adult women should drink 1.6 Litres of liquid a day; adult men 2.0 Litres), and try to cut down your caffiene (tea, coffee, Cola) intake, and see how much better you will feel! These simple changes will re-hydrate your system, and maintain a healthy level of hydration, will help balance you pH levels, strengthen your immune system, improve the look of your skin, and will help reduce the low to experience after a false-high.

If after these simple changes you still feel low in the winter months, there are herbal preparations to help lift your mood!
St John's Wort (I know it doesn't sound very attractive, but trust me); bought in tincture form is best as it is absorbed much quicker into the bloodstream than the tablet form.
Another product called 5-HTP naturally helps to increase the levels of Serotonin that your Pineal Gland releases! There are also Light Boxes available on the market which imitate sunlight which you can time to come on when you need them most!
These supplements are very beneficial, but may not get to the core of the problem; like why you are susceptible but others aren’t...

This is where Homeopathy, in my view, takes the lead as far as natural therapies are concerned. 

No other therapy deals with the core issues like Homeopathic medicine can! 

What makes your lethargy and depression different from someone else’s? Is it since taking the contraceptive pill that you’ve had these mood swings? Are you on antidepressants for the sadness that overwhelms you but they haven’t solved the problem of your sadness just made you more tired and more withdrawn?
A Homeopathic consultation finds out what makes you, you; where it all started from birth to present day, what your parents and grandparents suffered from (looking for hereditary links). When did it all start? Birth or childhood trauma? Vaccination damage? Never been well since?

These are the questions that are asked by the Homeopath to lead us to a remedy that fits your specific and personal symptoms. What we are trying to do as Homeopaths is alleviate the present symptoms and the propensity for them to keep returning. The remedies chosen are going to strengthen your immunity and your susceptibility to getting certain symptoms so they happen less frequently and with less aggression... and hopefully stop all together!
The highest ideal in homeopathic prescribing is to reduce/remove symptoms as quickly and as gently as possible with the least upset to the system and hopefully affecting a cure to the patient, as long as the patient has the patience and commitment to their health and healing!

So, want to beat the Winter Blues?
Want to take your own health into your own hands?
Want a therapy which is tailored to YOUR symptoms, YOUR needs, and YOUR body?

Then Homeopathy could be exactly what you need.

I hope this blog has informed and helped you, and if you feel Homeopathy could help you I would love to hear from you.

Jane
http://janevarey.wix.com/janevareytherapy

September Soul Searching

Hi,
This first blog is especially for all the Mums and Dads out there.

Are some of you saying goodbye to Sons or Daughters going to University this September, for the first time or maybe for their second, third or final year?

Well I am too. My eldest son is going back for his third and final year. I wish that I had been warned about how heart-wrenchingly hard it is not to have him at home. Yes, I know we can Skype, we can send emails or chat on the phone, but it's just not the same. It's not just the fact that they are no longer at living at home full time, but you're no longer needed in quite the same way anymore. They are moving further away from you, emotionally as well as physically. But I guess that's what's supposed to happen if we, as parents, are doing our jobs properly... not that it is a job, let's face it, we're not getting paid for it for a start! But joking aside, it's been really hard for me adjusting to this new role, and I'm now already starting to worry about when my youngest son (16) decides to fly the nest. Unfortunately for me, this feeling of emptiness has also coincided with pre-menopausal symptoms as well, just to add insult to injury. Lucky me!

Does any of this sound familiar?

Well, here's the good news. There is help out there. I've been giving myself flower essences and homeopathic remedies to help me through this tough time. Grief remedies such as Ignatia certainly help you emotionally to overcome the feeling of loss or separation. So if anyone out there is reading this blog, and it all sounds far too familiar, complementary therapies really can help, and have helped me, reduce and help with this feeling of emptiness (and indeed menopausal symptoms for that matter!)

So please do get in touch! As a homeopath and complementary therapist I can certainly help you with these same feelings and symptoms I have been experiencing, either through a consultation, or a remedy through the post. It really has helped me!

Thanks for reading.
Jane.
http://janevarey.wix.com/janevareytherapy
https://twitter.com/jvareytherapy