The Wall Street Journal had a recent article on Winter Depression.

Here are some paragraphs from that article, for the full lenght article visit the WSJ directly to read the article titled “Bright Ideas for Treating the Winter Blues”

“Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, affects an estimated 6% of Americans, causing depression, lethargy, irritability and a desire to avoid social situations. It can also create an urge to overeat, particularly carbohydrates. As many as 15% of people in the U.S. may have a milder version that includes only some of these symptoms. The incidence rises along with the distance from the equator: Roughly 8% of Canadians, 10% of Britons and as many as 20% of Scandinavians suffer from SAD this time of year.”

“If light therapy isn’t sufficient to alleviate SAD symptoms, some patients find relief from antidepressants, particularly selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. A multicenter study in Canada that followed 96 patients over three winters found that those subjects randomly assigned to take fluoxetine (Prozac) and a placebo light therapy fared just as well as those taking 10,000-lux light therapy and a placebo capsule. The light therapy worked faster, and had fewer side effects, according to the study, published in 2006 in the American Journal of Psychiatry.”

There here are healthy natural alternatives to Prozac and other prescription antidepressant. St.John’s Wort act as natural SSRI and increases serotonin levels by similar mechanisms as certain prescription medicine.