Seasonal Affective Disorder
How Seasons Affect Depression: The Winter Blues
Those feeling an extreme case of the winter blues may well be suffering from a case of Seasonal Affective Disorder (Also known as SAD)
For centuries poets and philosophers alike have tried to describe the feeling of sadness, loss and lethargy that accompany the short days of fall and winter. Many cultures have winter festivals associated with candles, warmth, bright lights and fire. Many of us notice that we tire easy, that we are gaining some weight, and that we have trouble arising from bed in the morning. Some call these feelings the “winter blues” while others would see it as a possible case of Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD.
Symptoms of SAD
- Lethargy and disturbance in sleep pattern
- Lack of energy
- Increased need for sleep
- Craving for sleep
- Weight gain
- Anti-social behavior
- Lack of enthusiasm
- Easily disturbed or irritated by brightness
Some people with SAD experience mild (or occasionally severe) periods of mania during the spring and summer months. If the symptoms are mild, no treatment may be necessary. With more severe symptoms the mood-stabilizing drug Lithium may be a method of treatment that is chosen.
Light therapy is also a method that has been chosen as a means to combat SAD. Exposing a person suffering from SAD to ultraviolet light rays in regular doses has proven to not only be effective in treating the depression disorder, but their circadian sleep cycle tends to return to its normal state. Researchers are still studying the ways that light can lift depression and normalize the sleep cycle. A person can purchase these “light boxes” from $250 to $500. The amount of light exposure that is needed is conducive to the level of depression that is diagnosed by a doctor.
SAD is recognized in the DSM IV (the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic Manual) as a subtype of major depressive disorder. Classic major depression includes symptoms of decreased appetite, decreased sleep, and more often than not, poor appetite that brings about weight loss. About 70-80% of those who suffer from SAD are women. The common age for the onset of SAD is in one’s thirties but cases of childhood SAD have been reported and treated successfully. The incidence of SAD increases with the increase of latitude but it does not keep increasing all the way up the poles. There seems to be a connection between an individual’s innate vulnerability and their degree of light exposure. Some individuals who work in office buildings with few windows for light to shine in suffer from SAD year round. In extreme cases a climatic change has been the cure from some. Within six month after moving from Toronto to Miami for example, most of the SAD symptoms have disappeared and people can live their lives depression free and also medication free.
