The Benefits of Light Box in Fighting Seasonal Affective Disorder

Seasonal Affective Disorder is a medical condition that could be dangerous especially in severe cases. The condition is usually triggered by the changing season usually during late fall and winter.  Experts suspect the diminishing sunlight, shorter days and longer nights could adversely impact on people susceptible to this kind of disorder.

The reason behind this malady is not clear yet but in most research, it is believed that the diminishing light affects the circadian rhythm of the body.  The circadian rhythm is popularly known as the body clock.  It regulates sleep and activity behavior based on the amount of natural light of the environment.  If the natural light environment changed, it can trigger an imbalance in some people.   If this happens, Seasonal Affective Behavior could set in.

Symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder

You will know that you are suffering from Seasonal Affective Behavior if your depression occurs in a cyclical pattern that corresponds to the changing season.  If depression, mood swings, extreme fatigue, and loss of energy last for many weeks and you have been experiencing these behaviors for at least two to three years, then you probably have Seasonal Affective Disorder.

What to Do if You Have SAD?

The first thing you should do is go to your doctor and seek professional advice. Some physician prescribes medication against depression and loss of energy.  If you don’t want medication to treat the disorder, you can try the Light Box therapy.  There are many clinical evidences and research that show the efficacy of light therapy against Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Light Box therapy seeks to correct the circadian rhythm disruption caused by the changing season.  It means your body clock would be repaired and restored to normal function through the use of light and illumination.  If Seasonal Affective Behavior is caused by the decreasing daylight, the provision of artificial light that can mimic daylight could solve your problem.

Benefits of Light Box Therapy

There are many benefits associated with the use of Light Box to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder.  If you don’t want to take anti-depressant drugs, then Light Box therapy is the best solution for your condition.  This is also true if your system reacts negatively to anti-depressant drugs.  Through the use of Light Box, your body will not be exposed to synthetic chemicals associated with anti-depressants.

Light Box is also beneficial for nursing mothers or pregnant women. So if you fall in this category, you better use Light Box therapy instead of taking medicated drugs.  Light therapy has no known adverse side effects on pregnant women.  So it would be safe to undergo light therapy even if you are pregnant.

Light Box therapy is also a good alternative to expensive psychotherapy.  Although the distinguishing symptom of Seasonal Affective Disorder is depression, researchers believe that the root cause of this disorder is primarily physio-chemical.  So instead of undergoing psychotherapy treatment, the Light Box therapy could be more effective in combating the disorder.

Depression due to Seasonal Affective Disorder is categorized under mental medical problems.  Usually, some health insurance does not cover mental health problems.  So if your insurance policy does not cover mental problems, Light Box therapy is the cheapest treatment method for Seasonal Affective Behavior.  All you have to do is buy the Light Box apparatus and you can use it forever if you like.  No more consultations, regular psychotherapy, or expensive medications.  You treat your disorder without hurting your budget.

Seasonal Affective Disorder could be very annoying because it affects your normal routine functions.  If unchecked, this disorder could lead to more severe problems.  To avoid this, you better use Light box therapy which has been proven to work against SAD.   It offers numerous benefits and can be a very good alternative to conventional treatment and medication.