Problems

Solutions

• Anxiety is an adrenaline response to a perceived threat, which is helpful when a person faces a real threat but is debilitating when the anxiety is constant and free-form.

• Anxiety causes increased heart rate, rapid breathing, shakiness, racing thoughts, and a general sense of impending doom with no specific source.

• Depression is a state of prolonged sadness that does not relate to the person's situation but instead comes from a lack of dopamine in the brain.

• Depression causes loss of interest in favorite activities, loss of energy, disengagement from social situations, feelings of pointlessness, and deep sadness.

• Seasonal affective disorder is a form of depression that occurs during winter, when scarce sunlight makes it harder to metabolize Vitamin D.

• Seasonal affective disorder makes the darkest, coldest time of year an even greater challenge due to the desire to stay inactive inside.

• All three disorders relate to chemical imbalances in adrenaline, neurotransmitters, and hormones as well as disruptions in circadian rhythms (sleep cycles).

• All three disorders are very common, and they often occur in combination with each other.

• These three disorders tend to feed into each other—a prolonged state of anxiety robbing a person of sleep, dampening appetite, and wearing the person out, until depression sets in, and with it a sense of hopelessness, helplessness, and worthlessness. Solutions have to disrupt the downward feedback loop and create an upward feedback loop instead.

• Talking with others—especially parents, friends, and counselors—is critical. They can help you know you aren't alone, can find support for you, and can connect you with services.

• Sufficient sleep, balanced diet, drinking water (to avoid dehydration), and other basic self-care habits are the foundation of lessening affective disorders.

• Exercise helps to elevate mood, releasing endorphins, which are natural antidepressants in the brain.

• Vitamin D is key to combating mood disorders, but the body can't absorb it without sunlight. Exercise out of doors during daylight helps with Vitamin D absorption and setting circadian rhythms. During winter months, a full-spectrum lamp can assist with Vitamin D absorption.

• Doctors prescribe anti-anxiety medications as well as antidepressants. They use different chemical strategies to target the imbalances, but even after 50 years of such drugs, the underlying mechanisms that they affect are still poorly understood, and all have side effects.

• Mindfulness practices such as meditation can help to calm anxiety and train a person to take control of overstimulated or understimulated mood states.

• Active, structured social activities can help elevate mood by creating interpersonal connection with others. Activities like playing a sport, performing in a music group, playing a game, or just taking a walk with friends can help alleviate anxiety and depression.

• Meaningful projects with clear goals can focus attention and energy on action instead of depressive thoughts, helping to elevate mood.

Types of Information

Sources

Definitions/Examples

Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mood-disorders/symptoms-causes/syc-20365057

National Institute of Mental Health: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders/index.shtml

Causes/Effects

Healthline.com: https://www.healthline.com/health/affective-disorders#causes

Johns Hopkins: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/mental_health_disorders/
overview_of_mood_disorders_85,P00759

Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-red-light-district/201501/vitamin-d-and-seasonal-affective-disorder-symptoms

Background/History

eMedMD: http://www.emedmd.com/content/mood-disorders-historical-introduction-and-conceptual-overview

Statistics

National Institute of Mental Health: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/any-mood-disorder.shtml

Solutions

PsychGuides.com: https://www.psychguides.com/guides/mood-disorder-treatment-program-options/

Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20364722

University of Michigan Depression Center: http://www.depressiontoolkit.org/takecare/

Mindful.org: https://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-for-anxiety-research-and-practice/