4 of 7

Write now Article Tools

It's the season of joy. Everything around us is "oh so very happy and jolly!" but somehow you just can't get into the mood. There are carols in the air, sounds of bells jingling on television, on Oxford Street in London, along the banks of the Thames on a very cold, wintry night, in shopping centers. The world's one large honey filled chocolate and it oozes when you step on it as you make your way towards the town center to do that Christmas shopping. And then the air is punctuated by a vehement "I hate Christmas!" It wasn't me talking this time, I know that. My mouth was filled with chestnuts. It was just another passerby, another one to add to my mental list of haters that was growing daily.

According to mental health studies, Christmas is a prime time for depression to set in. It does not only have to do with the fact that it's winter and London is gloomier and more anti-social than it usually is, with people just wanting to get home to the warmth of the living room and family. No, it has to do with the excesses of the season. It signifies the excess joy that is soon to end when the big day does arrive and emotions are suddenly let down. Christmas Day itself isn't much of a grand affair. Streets are empty, church begins and ends, lunches and dinners had, families gatherings end and everyone returns to their own homes and we prepare ourselves to get back out to work.

Logically and rationally nothing is wrong with that. For those prone to depression however, logical and rational thought doesn't figure in their equation.

Depression comes in various strengths. Some can manage it without prescription drugs. There are others who can't. It takes an enormous act of will power for those choosing to go it without the aid of prescription drugs or the more destructive element of substance abuse to control the often painful effects of depression.

But here are some tips on roughing it and surviving as the season sets in and carries on until the new year.

1. For those with depressive disorders the saying "You are what you eat" could not have been truer. The importance of food as a means of coping with depression has not as yet taken up a place of primary importance in dealing with depression. But experience has thought me otherwise. Sustain Web, a UK based body has some suggestions on that. They can be found on the net.

But generally avoid too much caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, anything that's too addictive. Omega 3 (which can be found in fish), my personal favorite: Vegetarian

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about How to beat depression without prescription drugs?
We want to hear your view. Write now!