Bright light therapy is the treatment of choice for seasonal affective disorder or seasonal depression. Sitting in front of a bright light for an hour in the early morning extends the perceived length of your day and convinces the brain that it is summertime even during the winter months.
The Behavioral Treatment For Depression

Victims of depression experience very little pleasure. They often do very few things. This, in turn, fosters their sense of isolation, hopelessness, and depression. The result is that they are unwilling to venture out of their shell.

The behavioral treatment for depression aims at reversing this vicious cycle caused by loss of pleasure and inactivity. It does so by encouraging the patient to take part in pleasurable activities. It is often hard to get the victims to start on these activities. They are often convinced that it won’t do any good and that they are wasting their time. Once they get started, however, they will be surprised to learn that it is possible to feel some pleasure.

As you embark into psychotherapy, don’t expect anything miraculous to happen in the beginning. This will take time. Take small steps such as eating some ice cream, watching a favorite television show, taking a bath, or sitting in the sun, etc. If you enjoy it, spend more time doing it. Once you recognize that doing pleasurable things is still rewarding, you will participate in more activity. This will lead to a greater sense of control, hopefulness for recovery, and ultimately an improvement in mood.

Common Sense Techniques for Relieving Depression

The following techniques are good for getting relief from depression. Try any two of these for a quick relief.

1. Aerobic Exercise: Twenty to thirty minutes of bicycling, swimming, dancing, running, or brisk walking can relieve most common, mild depressions. It has been proven that depressed people who had never exercised improved considerably when starting an intensive exercise program which included long distance walking and jogging. They found a new zest for life, became more stress-tolerant, and improved their self-image. Details.
2. Take a Stimulating Shower: Start showering with warm water, gradually making it hotter. Then decrease the temperature as low as you can stand it. Cold water stimulates the nerves close to the surface of the skin and is rejuvenating. Do not do this if you have a serious illness or are pregnant, premenstrual, or menstruating.
3. Deep Breathing Exercises: In just ten minutes, you can oxygenate your body and relieve your depression by practicing deep breathing and relaxation. Details.
4. Movement and Breathing Meditation: Do five minutes of acupressure breathing exercise, “Letting Go of Depression.” This exercise will deepen your breathing and enable you to feel better and in control. Details.

Other Suggestions

Two hours of early-morning sun help lift depression. Spend as much time as possible outdoors.
Take daily walks, preferably in the park or along the sea shore, to connect with nature and appreciate the beauty it offers. Fresh air and deep breathing exercises are both good in aiding relaxation and promoting good oxygenation of the entire body.

Avoid spending a lot of time in concrete buildings. Some scientists suggest that overexposure to electro-magnetic smog from computer terminals and kitchen appliances, especially the microwave oven, upsets the balance of the body’s own electromagnetic field and leads to depression.

A complete change of environment, such as a vacation in the mountains, is extremely helpful.

Give yourself a “treat” or special activity occasionally, such as fresh flowers.

Get plenty of rest. Overtiredness and depleted nerves create a feeling of depression.

Massage by a family member or an understanding friend is very comforting and improves the outlook on life, especially under stressful emotional situations.

Take up journaling: If you’re uncomfortable talking about your depression with others or have no one whom you can share your thoughts with, you can write down your feelings in a journal. Writing will help you organize your thoughts and provide an outlet for your feelings. This can help dissolve unpleasant emotions. We recommend that you set aside 20 to 30 minutes daily to jot down your thoughts, feelings, and observations about life.

Volunteering and helping others is another way to focus on someone other than yourself and your own problems. Keep yourself busy. Take up projects and hobbies such as gardening, woodworking, traveling, and other projects. This will prevent you from dwelling on whatever is making you feel unhappy. Write down a list of goals you want to accomplish in the next week or month and dive into them. Always have something to look forward to and you’ll be less susceptible to the blues. Staying active gives you a sense of purpose for the future. And that is an effective antidote to depression.

Add 5 drops of rose oil to sweet almond oil or your regular massage oil and get a massage to uplift your spirits.

Drugs, caffeine, cigarettes and contraceptives induce depression. Paint solvents or any toxic chemicals are also capable of producing symptoms of depression. Avoid contacts with these.

Avoid black tea, and alcohol. Use herbs in cooking, fresh in salads, and as spices. Eat more wheat germ, which is an energizer. Pears, apples, and nuts contain bromine which assists the nervous system in functioning properly.

Do not keep a grudge. It takes an enormous amount of emotional energy to hold a grudge, and a guilty conscience damages the health. Learn the art of forgiving.

Set your day’s tasks by prioritizing, and be realistic in your goal setting.

Melodious, harmonious music can uplift and influence the psyche and improve the outlook on life. However, the selection of music is important. Music with repetitive, loud rhythms and dissonant and/or atonal arrangements actually causes depression in some people. The soothing influence of music relaxes cramped muscles, improves the function of the glands and promotes good digestion.

Find a friend to share your feelings with. If you are in a seemingly hopeless situation, share it with someone who can look at it from a different point of view. Simply knowing someone cares and wants to listen helps.

Have a good cry. If talking about your problems leads to tears, go ahead and cry. Crying is a wonderful release-especially if you know what you’re crying about.

Sit down and analyze the situation. A lot of times, if you can pinpoint the source of your depression, you’ll feel a lot better. Once you understand the problem, you can begin to figure out what you need to do about it. Sometimes when you start to gauge your assumptions against reality, you may find things aren’t as you think they are. For example, if you are depressed because you suspect that your lover may be cheating on you go ahead and ask. You may be wrong.

Sound/Music Therapy

Slow, relaxing music helps some people deal with the root causes of their depression, such as anger, frustration, sadness or anxiety. Listening to the music for at least 20 minutes each day can help slow down your heart rate and other body functions and can help you focus on your feelings.

Music therapy consists of using music therapeutically to address physical, psychological, cognitive, behavioral and/or social functioning.

According to The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), music therapy is an effective and valid treatment for persons who have psychosocial, affective, cognitive and communicative needs. Research results and clinical experiences attest to the viability of music therapy even in those who are resistive to other treatment approaches. Music is a form of sensory stimulation that provokes responses due to the familiarity, predictability and feelings of security associated with it. Music therapy is also powerful, but, at the same time, non-threatening medium.

Music therapists use music activities, both instrumental and vocal, which are designed to facilitate changes that are non-musical in nature. Music therapy programs are custom designed for each individual. Music therapists work as part of a multidisciplinary team of healers. Both individual and group therapy are offered based on the needs of the individual.

According to AMTA, music therapy intervention provides opportunities to:

Explore personal feelings and therapeutic issues such as self-esteem or personal insight

Make positive changes in mood and emotional states

Have a sense of control over life through successful experiences

Enhance awareness of self and environment

Express oneself both verbally and non-verbally

Develop coping and relaxation skills

Support healthy feelings and thoughts

Improve reality testing and problem solving skills

Interact socially with others

Develop independence and decision making skills

Improve concentration and attention span

Adopt positive forms of behavior

Resolve conflicts leading to stronger family and peer relationships