If you notice that your mood, energy level and motivation go way down around this time of year, only to return to normal in April, you may have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). What can you do about this?
Dr. Angelos Halaris says, “This condition, characterized by depression, exhaustion and lack of interest in people and regular activities, interferes with a person’s outlook on life and ability to function properly.
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Fish oil, which contains omega-3 fatty acids, works as well for depression as Prozac. “We’ve been very impressed by the response rates we’ve observed,” says psychiatrist David Mischoulon. “We believe there is definitely something to these treatments.” Maybe some of us are depressed because our ancestors lived near the sea, where they developed genes that thrive on fish. John McKenzie writes in abcnews.com that scientists first became interested in the fish factor when they noticed that countries with the highest fish consumption had the lowest rates of depression. Also, mothers in the U.K. who ate little fish during their pregnancies doubled their risk of postpartum depression, compared to women who ate fish regularly.
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Genes linked to depression differ between men and women, according research by George Zubenko of the University of Pittsburgh. His work suggests that there are important differences in the molecular basis of clinical depression in men and women that determine their resistance to stressful events.
?We hope that the tools of reverse genetics will eventually lead to the identification of products of these genes and how they contribute to depression and mood regulation more generally in humans,? Zubenko says.
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