Holiday Blahs.....

Every year around this time I can not help but reflect on my father and his bouts of seasonal depression. As he aged into his seventies it seemed to get progressively worse. Along about Halloween, usually well before Thanksgiving, he would start becoming more and more isolated. More withdrawn. More "down in the dumps" and, just generally, increasingly sad. Often his primary care physician described it as Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) which was a big, catchall bucket that I am not convinced actually did much for my father. The general diagnosis did not make my father feel better, nor did he actually receive any kind of therapy to treat it.

Every year, it would begin in early fall and seem to peak around Thanksgiving but then linger around until Christmas. There were times when Dad was so severely depressed that all he could do was cry. He missed his mother and father, his siblings whom had passed away, and other relatives and friends that had long since departed. Perhaps it was his way of internalizing his own mortality during the metaphorical "autumn" of his own life. Whatever the case, I felt helpless to help him. Think about it, a young man helping his elder father (another male)deal with emotions. We weren't genetically wired as men, or smart enough as individuals, to deal with his situation in a healthy beneficial way.

Now, years later, after Dad has passed away, I reflect on him and his srtuggles. Now, I am smarter having dealt with this issue of depression in older people, seasonal or otherwise. There is help to be found, all kinds of help available these days - whether it is social support groups, pet therapy, medical therapy, or therapy through the use of other technologies. Whatever the mechanism, there is help if you look for it.

Help is there for the family, and family care givers as well. Yes, the person dealing with the depression needs help but so do the family members trying to care for them. Don't overlook this aspect of your own health. If you are going to be there, there to help your loved one, you have to be physically, mentally, and emotionally strong yourself. Agencies like Home Instead are there to help both the senior, and the family through issues such as seasonal depression. Please, for everybody's benefit, reach out and understand your options.

Having dealt with this for over five years with my Dad, I know what it means to need help and relief. There is help. There is help, there is Home Instead.

Vitamins, are they really bad for us?

Recently there has been a spate of articles in the press stating that the very vitamins we have been encouraged for years to take as daily nutritional supplements may in fact significantly decrease our lifespan. Just today I read an article that said Vitamin E, which has been recommended for years as the best way for men to reduce the risk of cancer, may be responsible for an increase in prostate cancer. Does this sound vaguely familiar to the cycle of "eat eggs they are good food....don't eat eggs because they are bad for cholesterol.....to once again, eat eggs cause they're good for you"?? There are studies that show virtually anything you want them to, so what are we to believe? Are there studies available through the AMA which has conclusive data and results? Should we all immediately stop taking our 1-a-days?

Vitamins are drugs. Drugs are chemicals. Food at its essence is chemicals as well. But, no one is recommending we stop eating, are they? We will always be reminded, and rightfully so, to eat responsibly. Eat healthy foods. Eat balanced diets. Eat smaller, more appropriate, portions (not "super-sizing" everything). Often we find this sage wisdom easier said than done for any number of legitimate reasons. Vitamins taken in the appropriate and recommended daily dosages, are meant to help us with healthy balances when our food intake and diet do not.

I am not a doctor. I am not a research scientist. I do; however, consider myself to be educated and in good health. My good health I attribute to eating "pretty" healthy most of the time and I take daily vitamin supplements to help me with balancing my nutrition. I also exercise regularly, drink lots of water, and get an annual check up with my doctor during which I always get my blood tested.

I for one am not going to give up my vitamins since I believe they do help me stay healthier than I might be otherwise. I hope I am right about this. I will continue to watch the media for any further information that gets conveyed and should it begin to show conclusive data that vitamins are indeed bad for us, then I will change my diet by eating my words.