Privacy Policy and Disclosure

Disclosure:

As a visitor to this site it is better for me if you are a regular reader of the blog than disappearing through a link to another site. You can bookmark this blog for future reference and if unclear about any products or services you were recommended elsewhere, you can contact me and I will give my opinion directly.

Some Links, recommendations and advertisements on this site may or may not directly or indirectly lead to compensation for me or a future blog owner.

When a direct link is used for a product review it is likely an affiliate link that will lead to direct compensation. However, some links will lead to sites that offer products or services where I do not receive any direct compensation.

This Privacy Policy covers the treatment of personal information recorded when you browse the site or submit any voluntary information on the site.

Information Collection:

Seasonal-Affective.blogspot.com collects minimal personal information when you request or submit information. However, other non-personally identifying information may be collected when you enter or leave our site(s).

    * Cookies: A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user's hard drive containing information about the user. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information. We only use cookies to record session information. Once the user closes their browser, the cookie simply terminates.
    * Web Beacons: Web beacons may be placed on your machine when using this site via 3rd party advertisers such as Google Adsense. Information such as your IP address, your ISP and the browser you are using may be sent to such advertisers. This information is generally used to serve more appropriate advertisements.
    * Log Files: For each visitor to this website, our Web server automatically recognizes the consumer's IP Address, Browser Information (such as client, and version), Username (If registered), Referring page, pages viewed on our servers and duration of each page view. We use IP addresses to analyse trends, administer the site and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.
    * Ad Servers: To try and bring you offers that are of interest to you, we may from time to time have relationships with other companies that we allow to place ads on our Web pages. As a result of your visit to our site, ad server companies may collect information such as your domain type, your IP address and clickstream information. For further information on how they handle your privacy, you would need to consult the privacy policies of each company.

We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.

Information Disclosure:

Seasonal-Affective.blogspot.com maintains your email address and other pertinent information submitted if registering for an account. Your contact information will never be released or sold to any vendor, partner or outside agency unless we are legally required to do so, such as but not limited to, the request of governmental authorities conducting an investigation, to verify or enforce compliance with the policies governing our Web site(s) and applicable laws or to protect against misuse or unauthorized use of our Web site(s).

We reserve the right to deliver notices to authors and publishers regarding changes or updates to the website and service. Any email notices or update announcements from the site will include detailed unsubscribe information, giving you the option to remove yourself from future mailings at any time.

Contact Us:

You can Contact Us at bizanew@gmail.com

Privacy Policy Exceptions:

This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this website. Our policy does not apply to the practices of other companies advertised, linked to or otherwise listed, on the Seasonal-Affective.blogspot.com website.

This web site contains links to other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site to read the privacy statements of every web site they visit that collects personally identifiable information.

Privacy Policy Changes

We may amend this policy from time to time. If changes are made in the way your personal information is used, we will post a prominent announcement on our Homepage notifying you of the change.

Disclaimer:

Seasonal-Affective.blogspot.com is a blog format and does not necessarily represent the views of the author; the posts are not meant to be used for legal, medical or other types of advice; they are only provided for information purposes. Use of this web site is provided "AS IS" with no warranty whatsoever.

Seasonal-Affective.blogspot.com does not endorse any statements or claims made in any post on this site and does not accept any responsibility or liability for the use or misuse of the content on this site or reliance by any person on the site's contents. By using this web site, you agree not to hold Seasonal-Affective.blogspot.com, its owner, it's partner sites and/or any other affiliated sites or persons, liable for any damages that may occur from use of this web site.

What vendors are certified for third-party ads?

The following third parties are supported:
North America: Ad servers

    * Atlas (www.atlassolutions.com)
    * DoubleClick DFA (www.doubleclick.com)
    * Eyeblaster (www.eyeblaster.com)
    * Mediaplex/ValueClick (www.mediaplex.com)
    * Tumri (www.tumri.com)

North America: Rich media

    * DoubleClick Rich Media (www.doubleclick.com)
    * Eyeblaster (www.eyeblaster.com)
    * EyeWonder (www.eyewonder.com)
    * Interpolls (www.interpolls.com)
    * Pointroll (www.pointroll.com)
    * Unicast (www.unicast.com)

North America: Research

    * Dynamic Logic/Safecount (www.safecount.net)
    * Factor TG (www.factortg.com)
    * IAG (www.iagr.com)
    * InsightExpress (www.insightexpress.com)

All vendors must complete a certification process. At its sole discretion, Google reserves the right to change this vendors list at any time.

All terms and conditions are subject to change without prior notice.

What treatments exist for Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Treatment for seasonal affective disorder normally involves light therapy or phototherapy. This is where you are exposed to bright artificial light for a short time - 30 minutes per day. The fluorescent light is designed to mimic normal daylight and appears to stimulate your circadian rhythm. This suppresses the level of melatonin produced naturally and you feel more alert.

The most common light therapy treatment uses a lightbox. A daily treatment of 30 minutes is required. This process is repeated daily until the longer days arrive - usually spring time. There are a few associated side affects with light therapy devices, but this depends on the time of day used, the type of device used and the duration of exposure.

The most common side affects include:

• Eyestrain
• Fatigue
  
• Headaches
  
• Irritability
• Impact on sleep

Overall, the side affects vary from person to person and really depends on the time and length of daily treatment. 30 minutes in the morning is long enough and normally avoids the side affects.

Alternative treatments for SAD include more traditional medications associated with general depression. These are not ideal as more side affects occur and they can be costly. Behavior therapy and counseling is another alternative. A combination of all 3 treatments is rare.

More cost effective solutions include more time spent outdoors during winter months - walking or gentle exercise. Even on overcast days, being outdoors and being exposed to natural daylight will help keep melatonin production in check.

What are the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Like most things, the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder vary from person to person. Some people will experience more symptoms than others. At the same time, some people will experience varying degrees of the symptoms. This makes it difficult to pin down the exact symptoms of SAD.

Common SAD symptoms include:

• Fatigue - lower energy levels
• Increased anxiety and irritability
• Decreased motivation
• Lower ability to concentrate
• Increased sleep time (oversleeping)
  
• Appetite is affected - craving for sweet snacks that may lead to weight gain

For the less common summer-onset depression, the symptoms are reversed in some cases. The most common SAD symptoms for summer-onset depression include:

• Lower appetite - leading to weight loss
• Insomnia
• Increased anxiety and irritability

Other symptoms related to different types of depression are common as well. These are likely to be more ongoing than cyclical. SAD symptoms tend to be cyclical and come and go as the seasons change.

How Common is SAD?

SAD is surprisingly common. There have been no specific studies that I am aware of that show the true extent of seasonal affective disorder. Some studies show up to 20% of people may suffer from some form of SAD. SAD affects more men than women. However, when a man is diagnosed with SAD, they experience more severe symptoms.

Most people will have experienced "winter blues". However, if accompanied by other symptoms such as fatigue or lethargy, it is more likely SAD than normal winter blues. Many people with the condition do not seek medical help.

Winter-onset depression is the most common. The shorter daylight hours may be the cause. People in northern regions are more likely to suffer - due to the shorter days the further north you go. Most people affected will only show mild symptoms of depression.

Summer-onset depression is rarer - believed to be lower than 1% of the population. No detailed study to understand summer-onset depression has been undertaken.

What is Seasonal Affective Disorder

Seasonal Affective Disorder (or SAD for short), is a form of depression related to the changing seasons. The most common type of SAD is during winter. It is also known as winter-onset depression. Most people affected will start to show symptoms towards the end of Autumn and will shake off the affects as Spring arrives.

This winter depression is caused due to a lack of natural light. This can affect the levels of vitamin D in the body - which helps prevent depression. Not everyone affected by SAD will have a vitamin D deficiency, but some of them will. It may help to be exposed to natural daylight during the shorter days rather than staying indoors.

The less common type of SAD is called summer-onset depression. A lack of vitamin D isn't an issue in this case, but the variable hours of daylight can be attributed to it. As daylight varies, people may go through various stages of seasonal affective disorder - some of which is not noticeable at all.

The good news for people who suffer this condition is that it can be overcome easily enough.