Did You Know…
that a great deal of cancer survivors are diagnosed with clinical depression? Some survivors struggling with depression have been cancer free for years. Even though the cancer is gone, patients still struggle immensely. Is it going to come back? What happens if I does? What do I do with all of these debt? How do I become myself again? Will I ever be happy again? All of these questions are one hundred percent valid which is why we should never except cancer survivors to constantly be leaping with joy with no other thoughts in their minds. That is just not fair.
Depression…
is a much more than feeling just feel low for a couple days. Everyone has their moments where they feel sad and low, sometimes even depressed. These feelings can be brought about by rejection, loss, drastic lifestyle changes, low self esteem, every day struggles, and more. However, when these feelings don’t fade away as the days go on, and your mood is always as low as the dirt, it is very likely that your sadness has transformed into something far more serious. These are signs of being clinically depressed. Clinic depression is difficult to conquer and therefore should never be ignored. However, when sadness turns into depression, it becomes a condition that is medically treatable.
The Symptoms…
of depression are not necessarily anything that you wouldn’t expect. Imagine your worst day, when you feel so sad and low, helpless and anxious, and then morph that into a lifestyle. This is depression for most people. Web MD, a scholarly website dedicated to helping us understand our bodies, has a section on their website explaining depression and all of the details surrounding the condition. In their section on depression, there is a chapter titled, “How Do I Know If I Have Depression?” The site continues to list signs that point towards depression followed by some important key signs…
• A depressed mood during most of the day, particularly in the morning
• Fatigue or loss of energy almost every day
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt almost every day
• Impaired concentration, indecisiveness
• Insomnia (an inability to sleep) or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping) almost every day
• Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities nearly every day
• Recurring thoughts of death or suicide (not just fearing death)
• A sense of restlessness or being slowed down
• Significant weight loss or weight gain
Light Therapy…
is slowly becoming a total game changer for our world. It is helping treat Seasonal Affective Disorder, depression, skin disorders and conditions, and a whole lot more. Lucky for cancer survivors everywhere, Light Therapy is most definitely helping kick depression’s butt.
New studies conducted in colleges across the world have shown that Light Therapy can decrease symptoms of depression in cancer survivors. It is also helping to balance the circadian rhythms in their brains.
According to Psych Central, a very credible website dedicated to the interworkings of our brains, the studies were extremely enlightening. The website explains,
“For the study, researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Northwestern University, University of Iowa, University of California in San Diego, and Reykjavik University in Iceland randomly divided 54 cancer survivors into two groups. Participants were provided with a light box and asked to use it for 30 minutes every morning for four weeks. The boxes either had a bright white light or a dim red light. Depressive symptoms and circadian activity rhythms were measured before, during, and three months after completing the light exposures to determine the effectiveness of the light therapy. The study found that patients exposed to the bright light experienced improvements in depressive symptoms, while those exposed to the dim red light experienced no change in symptoms. “Our findings suggest light therapy, a rather non-invasive therapy, may provide an innovative way to decrease depression among cancer survivors,” said William Redd, Ph.D., a professor of oncological sciences at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and co-author of the study.” (PsychCentral.com)
It is important that whatever treatments occur post cancer for these patients remains non-invasive and very positive. This is why Light Therapy being effective for treating depression is so important to acknowledge. Light Therapy is harm free and can seriously improve the quality of life that cancer survivors are experiencing.
