Psychology Facts

▲ Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) ▲

》Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that's related to changes in seasons — seasonal affective disorder (SAD) begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you're like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.

》In most cases, seasonal affective disorder symptoms appear during late fall or early winter and go away during the sunnier days of spring and summer.
Less commonly, people with the opposite pattern have symptoms that begin in spring or summer. In either case, symptoms may start out mild and become more severe as the season progresses.

》About 5% of adults in the U.S experience SAD. It tends to start in young adulthood (usually between the ages of 18 and 30). SAD affects women more than men, though researchers aren't sure why.

》About 10% to 20% of people in America may get a milder form of the winter blues.

》Signs and symptoms of may include:

Feeling listless, sad or down most of the day, nearly every day

Losing interest in activities you once enjoyed
Having low energy and feeling sluggish

Having problems with sleeping too much

Experiencing carbohydrate cravings, overeating
and weight gain

Having difficulty concentrating

Feeling hopeless, worthless or guilty

Having thoughts of not wanting to live

Fall and winter SAD

Symptoms specific to winter-onset , sometimes called winter depression, may include:
Oversleeping

Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates

Weight gain

Tiredness or low energy

Spring and summer SAD

Symptoms specific to summer-onset seasonal affective disorder, sometimes called summer depression, may include:

Trouble sleeping (insomnia)

Poor appetite

Weight loss

Agitation or anxiety

Increased irritability

》People who have bipolar disorder are at increased risk of seasonal affective disorder. In some people with bipolar disorder, episodes of mania may be linked to a specific season. For example, spring and summer can bring on symptoms of mania or a less intense form of mania (hypomania), anxiety, agitation and irritability.

》It's normal to have some days when you feel down. But if you feel down for days at a time and you can't get motivated to do activities you normally enjoy, see your health care provider. This is especially important if your sleep patterns and appetite have changed, you turn to alcohol for comfort or relaxation, or you feel hopeless or think about suicide.

》SAD can be effectively treated in several ways, including light therapy, antidepressant medications, talk therapy or some combination of these. While symptoms will generally improve on their own with the change of season, symptoms can improve more quickly with treatment.

》Light therapy involves sitting in front of a light therapy box that emits a very bright light (and filters out harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays). It usually requires 20 minutes or more per day, typically first thing in the morning, during the winter months. Most people see some improvements from light therapy within one or two weeks of beginning treatment

》Talk therapy, particularly cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), can effectively treat SAD. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the type of antidepressant most commonly used to treat SAD.