From 1995 to 1996, researchers followed 263,925 people between the ages of 50 and 71. Specifically, they looked at the consumption of drinks including soda, tea, fruit punch, and coffee. A decade later, the study authors checked up on participants to see who had been diagnosed with depression.

It turns out the bubbles put people in trouble: Those who drank more than four servings of soda per day were 30 percent more likely to be diagnosed with depression than people who didn’t sip the fizzy stuff at all. As for the punch, those who drank more than four cans per day were as much as 38 percent more likely to be depressed than those who didn’t drink any sweetened beverages. And forget about trying to stay slim: People who drank diet soda, diet fruit punch, or diet iced tea were the most likely to develop depression (though it’s unclear exactly how much more likely). We should note that the full text of the study isn’t available online yet, and the study authors will be presenting their findings at the American Academy of Neurology in March.

Even still, while Diet Coke fiends were spending time at the shrink, coffee addicts were doing just fine. Those who drank four cups of coffee per day were about 10 percent less likely to develop depression than people who didn’t drink any coffee.

One caveat is that the people drinking four cups of soda might have been also drinking coffee, and vice versa. Researchers didn’t give participants any rules, per say — they just asked them about their diets.

via Sipping Sadness: New Study Links Sugary Drinks to Depression | Greatist.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (also known as seasonal depression) is a common mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout the year experience depressive symptoms as the season changes, year after year. Even more common is a milder form of SAD, Subsyndromal Seasonal Affective Disorder, which does not occur every year.  Usually the disorder clears up on its own and doesn’t lead to further mental health problems. But repeated depressive patterns can be a signifier of an underlying major depressive disorder, and rare cases of SAD can result in suicide, if left untreated. Luckily, there are many ways you can see through the winter blues.

Seasonal mood variations are believed to be related to light. Rates of SAD are much higher in Arctic regions, such as Northern Finland, and are also affected by cloud cover. At times, patients may not feel depressed at all, but lack the energy needed to perform everyday tasks. This should not be confused with the normal shift to lower energy levels people experience in winter, often misleading people to believe they have a physical problem that should be remedied with various therapies or drugs.

via Seasonal Affective Disorder – AllTreatment.com.