"Spring has come.
Nobody knows how it has been. "
Antonio Machado.
For some people, the arrival of good weather is a martyrdom. For some strange reason they fall out of harmony with what surrounds them: instead of feeling lively and in a good mood, they feel incredibly tired and depressed. It is spring asthenia, a psychosomatic illness.
All of nature, including human beings, is subject to a series of cycles. With the arrival of spring, both the environment and the human organism prepare for a renewal that will be repeated next year. After the much calmer and more introverted winter months, greater activity begins abruptly. Furthermore, the organism also initiates a whole mechanism of renewal: the metabolic system must prepare to cool the body, take advantage of the light that will synthesize certain substances present in the organism, activate a whole defense system against solar action, etc. All this puts the body in a stressful situation.
It has been proven that stress decreases the effectiveness of the immune system to the point that under stressful situations it is much easier to acquire diseases. With the arrival of spring, there is an overload in the body and many people suddenly feel tired, drowsy, irritable and even depressed. They suffer from spring asthenia. Other ailments such as asthma, allergies, and even some types of tumors, make their appearance in the spring months.
The symptoms of seasonal asthenia, which is also suffered at the beginning of autumn, last for the brief period of a week or fifteen days.
Spring asthenia is considered a psychosomatic illness, since in 80% of cases there is no concomitant symptom. In addition to the physical reasons for renewal in the body, it is necessary to talk about causes of psychic origin. Asthenia often constitutes the somatization of an emotional conflict. The number of suicides increases with the arrival of spring, which suggests that this season brings to light emotional problems that remain more or less hidden during the winter. People with a tendency to depression perceive such a great contrast between their internal mood, gray and sad, and the vital deployment of the environment, that they feel depressed.
Although asthenia is a temporary ailment, it is reasonable to want to end it as soon as possible. To achieve this, a series of good habits are effective. Nothing is better for physical fatigue than gentle exercise. Half an hour of walking a day is enough to activate the entire metabolic system, increase oxygenation and the elimination of toxins, and stimulate cardiac work, in addition to serving to strengthen muscles and facilitate rest. It is an antidote against stress. All this accompanied by a healthy and adequate lifestyle.
The need for rest increases during the period of asthenia. It is not just about more sleep, but about good quality, that is, a peaceful and comfortable rest. And it is that, as the poet said: "I may seem to be / and not be what I seem. / I can sleep and dream / that I wake up in a dream".
Francisco Arias Solis
