Seasonal Affective Disorder

Sometimes the dark dreary skies of the season turn our positive outlook into mush.  We call that the “winter blues."  And sometimes, when that dismal outlook on life doesn’t go away, it’s a more serious ailment known as Season Affective Disorder, or SAD.  Season Affective Disorder is a form of depression that occurs seasonally most often during the winter months.  But it can happen in the summertime as well.  The condition is characterized by reoccurring or long last episodes of depression and is triggered by the lack of sunlight. Usually people affected by SAD become depressed in the fall and winter and feel better during the spring and summer.  SAD affects both men and women, and the illness typically begins in the early twenties.  Some features of wintertime SAD are insomnia, carbohydrate cravings, and weight gain.  Other symptoms include the usual characteristics of depression, like decreased sexual appetite, fatigue, hopelessness, suicidal thoughts, and social withdrawal.  If your recurrent depression happens in the summer the characteristics may also include decreased appetite, weight loss, and constant agitation or anxiety.  SAD usually begins in October or November and subsides in March or April. Depressions are usually mild to moderate but can be severe.  The most common characteristic is the person’s reaction to changes in the environmental light; when the weather is overcast depression worsens. The most common treatment for SAD is light therapy.  Sitting in front of a full spectrum fluorescent light reverses the winter depressive symptoms because it reduces the level of a certain brain chemical (melatonin) which is normally present at night. The intensity of the light is equal to the amount of light a person would get from looking out a window on a sunny spring day.  Antidepressant medication and psychotherapy in conjunction with light therapy also reduces SAD symptoms.  If you think you might have SAD, first track your symptoms, if they are mild and do not interfere with your daily living, you might just have the “winter blues.”  In this case, light therapy might help.  If your symptoms are severe enough to significantly affect your day to day functioning, you need to consult a mental health professional to get the proper treatment. For more information on SAD, contact The Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI of Greater Chicago, www.namigc.org.

LHC team

January 25, 2012