Body: | Seasonal Affective Disorder, (SAD) is pure "classic" Junk science.
Winter Blues
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Psychiatry is Junk science
No scientific data that Psychiatry works!
"If these shocking presumptions were not an actual description of the current state of the Psychology industry, they might be laughable. But regrettably, these simplistic theories are widely applied and widely accepted in a society that naively trusts psychologists to be scientific and objective, optimistic and positive, and caring and other-oriented." (Manufacturing Victims, Dr. Tana Dineen, 2001, p 266)
Seasonal Affective Disorder
(SAD)
Debunked
See the Case of Eeyore:
(The Eeyore Syndrome: High self-esteem depression disorder)
Introduction:
"Seasonal Affective Disorder" (SAD) ranks among the best examples of
pure junk science. The basic theory is that changes in the annual photo
period induce a chemical imbalance in the brain causing depression. This is
about as scientific as the "fact" that women menstruate in sync with the
full moon. Strangely, 80% of SAD "sufferers" are women.
So why would someone make themselves sad with the approach of
winter?
SAD affects 80% women probably for the same reason they make their
men keep the windows rolled up in the car and the heat cranked up in the
house, while they sit around wrapped up in blankets watching reruns of the
Bachelor. Women generally hate cold more than men. They are also more
fashion conscious than men and high heels don't work well in slush.
Canadians generally vacation in Florida in the winter to escape
unpleasant weather. The tourist industry in Canada is not driven by huge
numbers of Floridian's vacationing in Canada in the winter months.
If you lived in the far north you would not anticipate with gladness
the approaching 3 month period of darkness.
Inuit do not throw a festival in anticipation of the 3 miserable,
cold winter months of darkness. Who would look forward for having to crawl
into a cold igloo for three long dark months? The effect of lack of
sunlight on brain chemistry is junk science.
A. SAD "Studies" are worthless:
Studies are conducted to chart latitude and the frequency of
seasonal depression. So the theory goes, the farther north you live, the
greater the percentage of the population that have SAD. Eskimo/Inuit,
Iceland, Greenland populations have been studied and found to have a higher
rate of SAD then those living at the equator, etc. The problem is that such
studies are entirely subjective and worthless and are about as scientific
as the study that found one in four people on earth have a "mental
disease".
Then there are studies like this that show the opposite of SAD:
Depression peaks in Greenland in mid-summer when the sun never sets.
Swedish researchers Karin Sparring Björkstén from the Karolinska
Institutet, Sweden, conducted a longitudinal study on suicide in relation
to seasons in Greenland (1968-2002 AD) and said, "In terms of seasonal
light variation, Greenland is the most extreme human habitat. Greenland
also has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. We found that
suicides were almost exclusively violent and increased during periods of
constant day. In the north of the country, 82% of the suicides occurred
during the daylight months (including astronomical twilight)" ... "Light is
just one of many factors in the complex tragedy of suicide, but this study
shows that there is a possible relationship between the two." (Accentuation
of suicides but not homicides with rising latitudes of Greenland in the
sunny months, Karin S Björkstén, Daniel F Kripke and Peter Bjerregaard,
BMC Psychiatry, 2009)
In 1758 AD, William Battie, mad doctor of Bedlam asylum, observed
depression was caused by too much sun which heated up the brain wiring
causing insanity.
In the exact opposite to modern psychiatry's "SAD" or Seasonable
affective disorder, Battie observed cases of madness that were triggered
immediately by exposure to sunlight.
"One case of Consequential Madness that proves the intervention of
such pressure is an effect of Insolation or what the French call coup du
soleil. An instance of which I lately met with in a Sailor, who became
raving mad in a moment while the Sun beams darted perpendicularly upon his
head. Which maniacal effect of heat could be attributed to no assignable
cause, except either to the violent impression of the Sun's rays, upon the
medullary substance of the brain, which the cranium in this case was not
able to defend, or to the intermediate rarefaction of blood contained in
the vessels of the Dura or Pia Mater, which vessels being suddenly
distended compressed the same medullary substance." (A Treatise on Madness,
William Battie, 1758 AD, p 47)
Like his modern Biopsychiatric counterparts, Battie was looking for
a mechanical etiology of behaviour. The truth is that all mood and
behaviour is a choice of the spirit, not the body.
So one "study" concludes lack of sunlight in Sweden causes
depression and another concludes too much sunlight causes depression. The
obvious stupidity of this junk science should be readily obvious to all.
B. Biopsychiatry: photo-period causes Chemical imbalances
SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) It is caused by a biochemical
imbalance in the hypothalamus due to the shortening of daylight hours and
the lack of sunlight in winter. ... The non-sedative SSRI drugs such as
sertraline (Lustral), paroxetine (Seroxat) and fluoxetine (Prozac) are
effective in alleviating the depressive symptoms of SAD and combine well
with light therapy. (SAD Association, England, No. 800917, "the world's
longest surviving support organization for Seasonal Affective Disorder")
Seasonal Affective Disorder, SAD: If you notice periods of
depression that seem to accompany seasonal changes during the year, you may
suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This condition is
characterized by recurrent episodes of depression - usually in late fall
and winter - alternating with periods of normal or high mood the rest of
the year. Most people with SAD are women whose illness typically begins in
their twenties, although men also report SAD of similar severity and have
increasingly sought treatment. ... Treatment: Light therapy is now
considered the first-line treatment intervention, and if properly dosed can
produce relief within days. Antidepressants may also help, and if necessary
can be used in conjunction with light. ... Bright white fluorescent light
has been shown to reverse the winter depressive symptoms of SAD. (Seasonal
Affective Disorder, SAD, NAMI, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Michael
Terman, Ph.D., February, 2004)
C. Photoperiod and the Snowshoe Hare:
Now there is science behind photo period triggering changes in
plants and animals.
Leaves fall, birds migrate and Showshoe Hares change the colour of
their fur based on a ridged, involuntary and always predictable calendar
timetable.
Nothing like this is observed in the "winter blues disease".
Further, controlled indoor "light therapy" on Snowshoe Hares can
artificially manipulate the colour of the pelt.
Studies have shown that the Snowshoe Hare is not even aware of how
the change in pelt colour might help or hinder its personal survival. For
example, a brown hare does not get stressed when in snow out of fear of
being visible to predators and conversely as well. But the Snowshoe hair
really should be stressed because predation dramatically increases in the
fringe months of fall and spring when their coat colours often do not match
their environment. This is clearly a creation designed by God where the
animal is not aware of the matter the way humans can clearly see. While the
pelt colour change benefits the rabbit in mid-winter, it benefits predators
in early spring when food is critical to their survival. Neither the rabbit
nor the lynx are aware of this design as both species exist in symbiosis.
Praise be to God!
The fact that lightbult therapy has a marginal effect on depression
easily explained by the placebo effect. And the fact that 100% of Snowshoe
Hares' pelts change as photo period varies exposes the fraud of behaviour
in human's being "dependent upon the photoperiod".
If humans were snowshoe hairs, they would have real cause for
depression if they had white fur during an early mid-winter thaw.
Likewise, there are an almost infinite number of simple, explainable
social and circumstantial reasons why people become sad with the onset of
winter.
Treatment of "SAD" with lightbulbs and psychiatric drugs is pure
medical malpractice.
D. Cases of depression and anxiety:
Depression in the DSM-5
Depression
Candy, Muffin, Abba, Potato, Egg, Deferred, River, Amnon
See the Case of Eeyore: (The Eeyore Syndrome: High self-esteem depression disorder)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Potato, River
Panic Disorder (PD)
Postpartum Depression (PPD)
Pregnant
Post-Traumatic/Stress disorder (PTSD)
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Sunshine
Social Phobia (SP)
Conclusion:
SAD reminds me of the proposed recent addition to the DSM-5 of the
disease called, "Snowmobilitis".
Men who have bought a new Skidoo get real sick with the lack of snow
but are cured with the first snowfall.
Perhaps spending an hour a day in the deep freezer in the garage
cure them like an hour a day under a light bulb cures SAD. SAD is just
ridiculous junk science.
Don't get me wrong, there is clearly a direct correlation between
the onset of winter and depression. It's the cause and effect and cure I
take issue with this classic pop-psychology of biopsychiatry.
A photo therapy light? How utterly ridiculous! The notion of curing
"Winter blues" with a light bulb smacks of Mesmer's historic magnetic and
hypnotic cures for insanity, the Qray energizing bracelet and the "Shakti
Helmet". I mean really. Step back and think about this. The placebo and
nocebo effects are working in full force here.
4. All behaviour is a choice. Depression is a choice and if you
ask you will discover the reason.
a. When a SAD "sufferer" is asked what they are sad about and
they reply, "I don't know why I am sad", reject it as a lie and ask again.
b. People always know why they have chosen to mope around like
Eeyore. See the Case of Eeyore: (The Eeyore Syndrome: High self-esteem
depression disorder)
c. However, most depressions are caused by high self-esteem
because the person thinks they are better than, or do not deserve their
current life situation. Being content in whatever circumstance is in
important virtue Christians are to exhibit.
d. Depression is a sinful behaviour choice in light of the fact
the Bible commands us to rejoice in our hope of heaven in spite of earthly
persecution, trials and tribulation.
e. This kind of thinking will always be rejected by
biopsychiatry, but then they are atheists who hate the Bible and base their
life values on Darwinism.
5. The history of psychiatry is one of harming and disabling the
human body with surgery, shocks and drugs. The harm non-Christians endure
at the hand of chemical psychiatrists is the price they pay for rejecting
the Bible as their behaviour manual. For Christians it is a breach of
faith.
By Steve Rudd: Contact the author for comments, input or corrections.
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